Work Shield is an objective third party providing the only enhanced and tech-enabled solution that partners with employers to efficiently manage reporting, investigation and resolution of workplace harassment, discrimination and misconduct issues in their entirety. Most organizations manage workplace misconduct internally, even with a third-party reporting system in place. Yet internal investigations contribute to employee fear of retaliation, which in turn causes a lack of reporting. Work Shield is the only solution to protect both employers and employees by managing the entire process from incident reporting and impartial investigations to ensuring a clear path to resolution.
Harassment and discrimination training, reporting platforms and anonymous hotlines are not enough to protect employees or mitigate risk for employers. Plus, employees are more willing to report incidents when they know they will be treated fairly, leading to fewer incidents. Safe reporting, combined with qualified, experienced Work Shield Certified Legal Professionals who provide impartial, consistent and timely investigations helps protect employees, foster a more positive and open workplace culture, and mitigates risk for organizations.
Absolutely. In fact, implementing Work Shield is one of the best ways to take meaningful action for a more equitable and inclusive workplace and shows employees that your organization is committed by creating a culture of respect for all. Work Shield addresses the very toxicity that prevents these initiatives from thriving.
$160,000 is the average cost to defend and settle an employee workplace claim. With Work Shield, organizations use resources more effectively and have fewer losses with 10x ROI or more.
But there are more than just settlement fees to consider when organizations deal with harassment and discrimination – toxic culture, lower employee engagement, increased absenteeism, lower productivity, bad press and more. One study even found that US organizations lose about $22,500 per employee in lost productivity and employee turnover due to sexual harassment. The study also found that organizations with the highest incident rates underperform the market by almost 20%, and saw declines in operating profitability and increases in labor costs.
Launching Work Shield is a breeze. Our Client Success team ensures seamless onboarding with minimal disruption to the workplace. No data integration or IT support is needed on your end to set up your Work Shield Portal, and we develop all necessary resources and documentation to roll out to your employees. Implementation can be completed in 5 days or less. It’s really that simple!
Work Shield and its team handle each investigation. We partner with certified legal professionals who manage the investigation process and provide resolution recommendations with sincerity and without bias, all within about five business days.
Yes. For a reasonable, monthly PEPM fee, you receive the EHP Plan, a secure portal for each employee to file an Incident Report Form, as well as the handling of each investigation, reporting, and recommendation. You will not find a more efficient and effective solution in the marketplace.
By partnering with Work Shield, you send a message that you are serious about the well-being and equity of the people around you. After implementing Work Shield, your organization will notice benefits such as engendering trust, reducing toxicity and fostering confidence between your organization and employees.
You can report an incident on our website or by phone 24/7. If you report by phone, you will be asked to provide some personal information, which will be passed along to one of our specialists. Even though you provide your contact information, you are still able to submit anonymously. Work Shield will not disclose your information to your employer if you choose to submit an anonymous report.
Our team will review your report and begin investigating, which will likely include follow-up questions for you and any person involved in the incident. After the investigation is complete, Work Shield submits a certified resolution recommendation to your employer. The entire process takes about five business days.
In order to conduct a thorough investigation, we ask that you provide as much detail as you can about the incident. Including who was involved, time, location, witnesses, and if there are any photographs or communications we should see. If you don’t have all this information, don’t worry, just provide what you can.
If you choose to submit an anonymous report, it will be sent to your employer without any personal information. Your employer may ask Work Shield to conduct the investigation and provide resolution recommendations to the employer, but it is not guaranteed.
In general, if what happened made you feel uncomfortable or that you were unfairly or badly treated, we suggest you go ahead and file an incident report with Work Shield. We are specially trained to investigate these types of incidents.
Absolutely. Work Shield is in place because your employer has a zero tolerance policy for harassment and discrimination and is committed to providing a positive workplace culture to its employees. You are encouraged to report incidents, whether or not you were involved.
You can email us with your email confirmation ID and ask that we delete the data and stop any investigation that may be in process. We will let you know we received the email and when report has been deleted.
Each report is a PDF that is timestamped with its submission. Anyone who accesses the report with Adobe Reader can verify that it was not altered after the date and time stated in the PDF.
If left untreated after notification, yes. For example, if a supervisor harasses you and this results in a hostile work environment, your employer may be liable unless it can demonstrate that:
It reasonably and promptly tried to correct the harassing behavior;
You unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities available (ie – you should report concerns to Work Shield).
It’s always best to report an incident as soon as possible after it occurs. This allows us to capture as many of the details as possible. If an incident occurred a while back, we still recommend submitting a report, and Work Shield will investigate as thoroughly as possible.
