Rojgar Job News

The 2018 session of the General Assembly started last week and increasing workplace training is a top priority for passage. Indeed, it is not surprising that we’re starting to see the first proposed legislation to address the number of harassment claims that have been making headlines the last six months. Governor’s Bill 5043 sets up the following changes: First, it would increase the number of employers that need to provide anti-harassment training — resetting the number of employees needed to fall under the statute from 50 to 15. Second, the bill would also require  all employees (not just supervisors and managers) to undergo two hours of what it calls “awareness and anti-harassment compliance training” and have that training updated every five years. The training that now is just focused on sexual harassment prevention in the workplace, but would also be expanded to include all types of harassment—including that based on race, color, religiou...

In yesterday’s post, I talked about the basics of what is and is not “sexual harassment”. Continuing the theme of going back to the basics, employers in the Constitution State have certain posting and training requirements that must be followed. These requirements are found in the administrative regulations set up by the CHRO regarding sexual harassment prevention. I first detailed these in a post WAY back in October 2007 (!) but they remain just as important today as ten years ago. For posting : All employers who have 3 or more employees must provide notices that say sexual harassment is illegal and address what the remedies are for such harassment. But here’s a free shortcut: The CHRO has prepared a model poster that complies with the statute and is free to download.  You can do so here.  It’s a good time to remind employers too that employers should also update their “Discrimination is Illegal” poster also offered by the CHRO....

Earlier this week, it seemed that a bill requiring employers to conduct additional training on sexual harassment matters was a no-brainer to pass the General Assembly. After all, Senate Bill 132 passed 31-5 in the state Senate and in this #metoo environment (not to mention local elections in the fall), the House looked to be a near certainty. But a lot can happen in a few days, and some of the bill’s more controversial provisions were simply too much for the bill to overcome. Thus, employers do not yet have to worry about the new training requirements and changes to the state’s anti-discrimination laws. That said, employers still need to follow existing state law regarding training of supervisors (if applicable) and should still exercise caution in dealing with cases of harassment. One bill that did receive passage late last night was Senate Bill 175, which I haven’t talked much about. That bill makes a number of changes to  government and quasi-public agencies. ...