EEOC’s New Harassment and Retaliation Guidance

April 2017

On January 10, 2017, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published enforcement guidance on Unlawful Harassment and Retaliation, and is open for public comment until March 21 before it's finalized.

These rules require all employers implement programs to combat "known or obvious risks of harassment," and states a failure to do so could result in the loss of traditional affirmative defenses to harassment claims. Employers will have a duty to respond to conduct that could lead to a clearly identifiable legal claim, even though initially it does not constitute actionable harassment.

This guidance crystallizes the agency's expectation that employers be "proactive" in eliminating workplace harassment. The guidance also illustrates the agency's broad interpretation of the types of harassment prohibited by Title VII, which under the new approach, will extend to harassment actions based on sex stereotyping, sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy.

The webinar will boil down the 72-page guidance and provide the specific actions an employer can take to counter a harassment claim by using reasonable care in advance of the claim to both prevent and promptly correct harassment, not only with the agency but in the courts as well.

This webinar is presented by:

Mike Bourgon
Employment Law Attorney & HR Consultant
Synergy Human Resources, Inc.