In Kolstad v. American Dental Association, the Supreme Court impressed upon employers the necessity of training employees on how to prevent all forms of workplace harassment and discrimination. The Court ruled that employers could be liable for punitive damages-damages designed simply to punish an employer-in cases brought under the primary federal anti-discrimination statute, Title VII, if the employer acted with "malice" or "reckless indifference" to the employee's rights. Fortunately for proactive employers, however, the court ruled that employers could avoid punitive damages if the employer could show that it made "good faith efforts" to prevent harassment and discrimination. In defining what would be considered "good faith efforts," the Court stated,

The purposes underlying Title VII are ...advanced where employers are encouraged to adopt antidiscrimination policies and to educate their personnel on Title VII's prohibitions.

Subsequent federal court decisions from around the country have made clear that to avoid liability and punitive damages in harassment and discrimination lawsuits, employers must train employees how to avoid all forms of workplace harassment and discrimination.

• Supervisors
• Managers
• Human resource professionals
  

Global Compliance's online course, Discrimination-Free Workplace, teaches supervisors and managers how to deal with some of the more complicated equal employment opportunity issues that they are likely to encounter in the workplace. The course focuses on issues that have seen a surge in litigation in recent years. For example, the course includes interactive scenarios that address the following topics:

• English-Only Rules. Can I ask employees to only speak English on the job? If so, under what circumstances?
• Religious Proselytizing. Must I allow employees to discuss religion in the workplace? If so, under what circumstance?
• Race, National Origin and Religion. How can I ensure that discussions of terrorism or other political issues do not lead to claims of race, national origin, or religious harassment?
• Disability and Age. If an employee's job duties are limited because of a disability, what do I tell other employees about the limitations? How do I ensure that jokes do not lead to age discrimination claims?
• Gender and Pregnancy. What can I discuss and not discuss with an employee who informs me that she is pregnant?
• Retaliation. How do I avoid retaliation claims? How do I fairly evaluate someone for a promotion who has previously complained about discriminatory conduct?
• Reporting. What are my responsibilities for preventing and reporting workplace harassment and discrimination? What do I do if a customer or vendor harasses or discriminates against an employee?

The course can easily be customized to include an audio-visual message from an official in your organization and instruction on your organization's specific policies relating to equal employment opportunity issues.

To view or print a flyer describing the content, features, and benefits of Global Compliance's online course, Discrimination-Free Workplace, click on the image below.(PDF)

To view sample user survey results for this online course, click here.

To Learn More
To view a demo or learn more about this course, call Global Compliance at (800) 331-7965 or contact us.