Question: How often should employers conduct anti-harassment training?

Answer:

Harassment prevention training should be part of the on-boarding process for new hires and then, ideally, should be conducted annually thereafter.  If not annually, such training should be held at least every other year.  From the time employees join your company, you want both to set the stage as to what is considered appropriate conduct in your workplace and to establish a culture of openness so employees know what to do should a problem arise.

If your company has a dedicated human resources department, employees should be directed to bring harassment concerns there.  If your company does not have a dedicated HR department, you should select an appropriate management-level employee to handle harassment and other complaints.  Businesses want a clear and known protocol in place for such complaints and to make that complaint process well-known through training and by disseminating the harassment policy and complaint protocol.  Businesses are much better insulated from liability if these proactive steps are taken and the alleged victim chooses not to avail him or herself of the complaint process, than businesses that put their head in the sand on the harassment front.

A common employer concern is that conducting harassment training may lead to an uptick in complaints.  In fact, this sometimes can be a reality of conducting training because employees are more on the look out for inappropriate behavior or perhaps more sensitive to conduct that might otherwise roll off their backs.  But let’s face it, in the current climate with new high profile allegations of sexual harassment coming to light on a daily basis, this topic already is on the forefront of people’s minds.  Companies should be proactive in letting their workforces know that they will not stand for inappropriate conduct.  This includes conducting regular, optimally annual, harassment prevention training.

About the Author:  Laura Liss (lliss@pfs-law.com) is Chair of Patzik Frank and Samotny’s Employment Law Practice Group. She provides both legal and practical business advice on all phases of employment-related decisions. She regularly serves as a sounding board for business owners, executives and human resources professionals and assists them in successfully and efficiently navigating the various employment laws that impact their businesses.

Question: Should non-smokers get extra paid leave because they don’t take cigarette breaks?

Answer:

Time will tell in the United States, but at least one Japanese company thinks so. Tokyo-based marketing firm Piala Inc. recently began providing 6 (!) extra paid days off a year to its non-smoking employees after they complained that they were working more than employees who took smoke breaks.

One goal of this policy is to give a perk to non-smokers to help compensate for the extra time off smokers take for smoke breaks.  Each smoke break is estimated to last about 15 minutes at this company given that employees have to exit the building to smoke and the office is located on the 29th floor.  The other goal of the policy is to incentivize smokers to quit smoking so they can partake in the extra paid time off.  Since the policy was adopted in September, reportedly four employees have quit smoking to qualify for the extra annual paid days off.  This approach is in contrast to the United States, which generally takes a more punitive approach to smoking, such as by charging tobacco users more for health insurance and banning tobacco use on company premises.

The concept of providing additional paid leave to non-smokers is an interesting one and one that I imagine may be contemplated or experimented with around the world.  I cannot help but consider some of the issues that may come from policing this type of policy or benefit.  For example: Does occasional social cigarette use still qualify someone as a “non-smoker?”  What if a Facebook post inadvertently includes a photo of a “non-smoking” employee smoking?  What if the picture posted is of the person on vacation using one of the extra paid days off awarded for being a “non-smoker?”  Oh no, did I just complicate this little perk with a layer of possible social media-related pitfalls!? Welcome to the realities of today’s workplace.

About the Author:  Laura Liss (lliss@pfs-law.com) is Chair of Patzik Frank and Samotny’s Employment Law Practice Group. She provides both legal and practical business advice on all phases of employment-related decisions. She regularly serves as a sounding board for business owners, executives and human resources professionals and assists them in successfully and efficiently navigating the various employment laws that impact their businesses.