JASON RESNICK | WG VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL AGRICULTURE & THE LAW
#TimesUp: Employers Brace for #MeToo Related Litigation, Legislation What began last October with the Harvey Weinstein scandal, has resulted in a tidal wave of sexual harassment and assault accusations on social media under the hashtag #MeToo, and a public reckoning for dozens of high profile men in Hollywood, broadcast journalism, Fortune 500 companies and beyond. The movement has put sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace at center stage, and has sprung another hashtag: #TimesUp.
The Time’s Up movement was sparked by an open letter published in the New York Times in November 2017 from the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas (the National Farmworker
as the effectiveness of their training programs. In California, sexual harassment prevention training has been mandated for supervisors since AB 1825 was first enacted in 2005. Since then, the requirements for
Women’s Alliance.) The letter claimed to have been written on behalf of 700,000 domestic female farmworkers, shining a light on the sexual harassment they have collectively experienced. It should be no surprise that there is pent up anger and frustration among women across all industries and socioeconomic backgrounds. In 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a report detailing the findings of the Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace. According to the report, 1 in 4 women in the workplace have experienced sexual harassment on the job. One byproduct of these movements is a deluge of complaints to human resources departments across the country. Human resource consultants are having trouble keeping up with their burgeoning caseloads of harassment investigations. We will likely see an uptick in EEOC and California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) charges as well as private lawsuits. Preventing Harassment Employers should take this opportunity to examine their anti-harassment policy as well
trainers has been expanded and California farm labor contractors must provide sexual harassment prevention training to certain employees. FLC training requirements were expanded in January of this year with the passage of SB 295. Indeed, federal law requires all employers, regardless of size, to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment and stop it once it’s been discovered. Strong anti-harassment policies and training is a critical first step. Beyond that, a growing number of employers have implemented an anonymous hotline for employees to report sexual harassment and other misdeeds. An advantage of an anonymous hotline is that it may encourage employees to use the company’s internal reporting mechanism where the complaint can be addressed by the company, rather than the
While sound policies, effective training and trusted reporting avenues are great tools to address and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as limit potential liability, employers must critically assess their company’s culture and work environment to determine if the company may be fostering an environment where harassment may be allowed to flourish.
30 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2018
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