As of September 1, a new sexual harassment law in Texas goes into effect, prohibiting sexual harassment in workplaces of all sizes. This new sexual harassment law amends the Texas Commission of Human Rights Act and now effects organizations with one or more employees. The law also states that individual supervisors may be held personally liable for sexual harassment for their failure to take immediate corrective action.
As explained in our recent blog, sexual harassment occurs when one exhibits unwanted sexual advances, conduct or behavior at another person. Studies indicate 40% of women and 14% of men have experienced sexual harassment at the workplace. It’s important to understand anyone can be a victim or perpetrator of sexual harassment, regardless of gender.
Work Shield Chief Legal Officer, Travis Foster, advises that “establishing a policy for reporting harassment is now more important than ever to reduce liability for discrimination. These policies mitigate risk not only for the employers, but now also for managers and supervisors.”
Work Shield is creating a safe space to report harassment in the workplace without fear of retaliation. Each incident is safely and securely reported to Work Shield’s third-party team of legal professionals, where each incident is impartially and carefully heard, thoughtfully investigated, and effectively resolved.
“The Work Shield safe-reporting platform addresses the new law’s requirement that an employer take immediate and appropriate corrective action when these incidents arise. In doing so, employers not only protect their employees against harassment, but also reputational risk,” Foster adds.
By reporting harassment and discrimination issues directly to Work Shield for investigation, the risk of retaliation is significantly reduced.
About Jared Pope
Jared is Founder and CEO of Work Shield, the only start-to-finish workplace harassment and discrimination reporting, investigation and resolution solution that protects employees, employers and cultures at the same time. Jared practiced law and ran a practice focused on human resources, ERISA, benefits and employment matters for over 15 years and is a knowledgeable resource on workplace culture and harassment and discrimination issues.
Connect with him on LinkedIn.
