Sexual Harassment Policy Guide With Free Template

A sexual harassment policy is a document forbidding both types of sexual harassment in the office — quid pro quo and hostile work environment. It typically provides examples of prohibited workplace harassment, including unwanted touching, teasing, or improper jokes, and includes advice on the best way best to report a complaint.

This guide will show you how to create a sexual harassment policy, including a free template.

Please note that this article includes general information and we suggest consulting your own legal professional with particular questions about preventing sexual harassment and producing a policy in your workplace according to your town, state, and business size.

Free Sexual Harassment Policy Template

To obtain our sample Sexual Harassment coverage as a fillable template:

Click here to download in Google docs
Click here to download PDF version

A Professional Employment Organization (PEO) like Justworks also has coverage templates you may use. Another easy way to ensure your company is in compliance with federal, local and state anti-discrimination and harassment legislation is to buy labour law posters with coverage language from a seller website including The Poster Compliance Center, BLR, or State & Federal Poster.

Sexual Harassment Laws

Businesses with 15 or more employees fall under EEOC Title VII which prohibits discrimination in employment and hiring courses such race, color, sex, and age. Under federal law, these businesses are required to have a policy prohibiting sexual harassment and also a process to investigate and resolve sexual harassment concerns.

Some countries including Arizona, California, Hawaii, New Jersey, Maine and Washington DC have stricter demands requiring companies with as much as 1 worker to obey sexual harassment regulations. See table below to find out more about your state.

Even if you’re not required to have a formal policy by federal or state law, then we recommend small businesses protect themselves from formalizing a policy on sexual harassment.

Things to Include in a Sexual Harassment Policy

As you can see in our template above, a sexual harassment policy must have two parts:

1. Policy Statement — to describe the coverage and illegal behavior.
2. Reporting Process — to ensure employees know who to contact.

1. Policy Statement

Below is a summary to consider for your policy announcement:

• Include a definition of sexual harassment
• State that sexual harassment will not be tolerated
• Describe illegal behavior (use examples appropriate to your company )

Definition & Examples of Sexual Harassment

In defining sexual harassment as part of your coverage, consider borrowing language similar to what the EEOC provides on their site. Although you are not required to word your coverage in this specific way, it’s a good practice to maintain policy language similar to what’s provided by the EEOC. In reality, many companies expand on this definition by adding their own examples within policy and training documents.

“It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or worker ) because of the person’s sex. Harassment can include”sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual improvements, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual character”

Although It Isn’t mandatory, a few policies also include illustrations of the two types of harassment clarified by the EEOC:

• Quid pro Quo
• Hostile Work Environment

What is Quid pro Quo Harassment?

Quid pro Quo is a legal term meaning’this for this .’ It’s the type of harassment that happens when an employee is promised something work-related, such as a promotion, in exchange for sexual favors. The term’Quid pro Quo’ shouldn’t be included on your sexual harassment policy. Rather, we recommend including work-related examples that make sense for the workers.

A Costly Instance of Quid Pro Quo

As an HR professional, I observed first-hand repercussions when the married manager of a small company asked his administrative assistant to get a date. She feared she would lose her job if she turned him down, so approved and started an affair. When his wife / business partner discovered the connection, the administrative assistant was promptly terminated and given a settlement to keep silent. This business paid dearly, endured a scandal locally, lost good employees and the brand was tarnished. Had she not accepted the settlement and chosen to sue, how much worse would the damages have already been?

What is a Hostile Work Environment?

This type of harassment is regarding the environment itself, and happens when harassment is indeed intense/frequent that it materially alters workplace conditions. It happens when behavior like sexual compliments, improper jokes, demeaning pictures, or unwanted physical touching or even disturbance, like blocking a person’s path, cause anxiety or make it tough to do one’s job.

For a legal representation, review the article, Sexual Harassment, The Employer’s Role in Prevention, by the American Bar Association (ABA).

Some Cases of Hostile Work Environment

Below are examples in my own experience investigating harassment claims:

• A male worker said his co-worker intentionally”grabbed his junk” while functioning
• A female customer answered the door naked asking the serviceman to come upstairs
• Man personnel objected to some transsexual using their shared restroom/locker area
• A male worker was ridiculed by his own supervisor from the restroom in front of his peers

Not All Harassment is Male Against Female

The examples above also demonstrate that people of either sex can be victims of harassment. In reality, recent cases have demonstrated that courts may see the law not just from the point of view of a’reasonable person’, but in the instance of harassment against women, they might interpret the law by a female standpoint. They may ask if a’reasonable woman’ would consider it harassment. And California, frequently very first to adopt stricter legislation, additionally protects people with gender-identity problems, such as cross dressers. You may choose to include examples on your coverage and training illustrating that both males and females are victims of harassment.

2. Reporting Process

As our sample sexual harassment policy template illustrates, your reporting process can be simple:

List by job title who a worker must contact to make a complaint

• • Do you need complaints ahead to you or into your HR representative?
    (An HR best practice would be to have workers bring the questions to their immediate supervisor either in person or in writing, unless the supervisor is the alleged harasser, in which case the worker would need to take their complaint up a degree. The manager would then report it to your HR representative, even if there’s one. Otherwise, the supervisor should notify you straight away.)
  • Is a telephone call sufficient, or do you want employees to complete a complaint form? (In a small business, a proper’complaint’ type is rarely necessary, and might prove to be a barrier for employees without access to the workplace or a pc.)
  • Although federal law allows employees up to a year to report a claim, we advise that you encourage your employees to report harassment issues immediately. Additionally, should the harassment issue can be investigated, recorded and resolved fast, it is best to do so. An HR, payroll, or PEO vendor like Gusto or JustWorks frequently has templates you can use to document, investigate, and document employee asserts.

Describe how complaints are to be investigated

• • Are You Going to investigate the complaint? (A best practice is to get a neutral party, typically an HR representative, meeting the victim. Next, the alleged harasser should be permitted to share his/her aspect of the story.)
  • Collect as much detail as possible. Ask who, what, where, if questions. Additionally, ask whether there were witnesses. (Office video cameras, or other information, such as email threads, could also be reviewed.)
  • Findings, including any disciplinary action against the’alleged’ harasser’ ought to be documented in the employee’s personnel folder. (For instance, a harasser may be requested to apologize, or may be subject to discipline up to and including termination based on the seriousness of this crime.)
  • To protect your business, you may also wish to seek advice of your attorney.

Condition that people making a complaint won’t be retaliated against

• • Retaliation is a form of revenge. The EEOC states,” it is unlawful to retaliate against workers for: filing or being a witness at an EEO charge, complaint, investigation, or lawsuit, or for communicating with a supervisor or manager regarding employment discrimination, including harassment.”

Document a time frame for resolution

• • Although all cases are different, a best practice is to provide yourself 30-60 days to completely investigate the claim.
  • It’s essential that the complaint be kept confidential to protect both/all parties.
  • If aware of this investigation, the alleged harasser should be educated that retaliation will not be permitted and that the analysis is to remain confidential.

How To Know When Sexual Harassment is Occurring

After reading the coverage process and harassment examples above you could be asking yourself,”how would I know whether that kind of behavior is occurring?” Therefore, you may have uncovered the largest challenge business owners face in preventing sexual harassment, even with a coverage . Company owners and HR managers may not know about harassment… unless they create both a policy along with a civilization which allows sufferers to come forth and report their concerns.

Preventing Sexual Harassment

In fact, every one of the examples above were considered harassment and addressed efficiently so that lawsuits were avoided. Workers were permitted to examine their concerns without fear of retaliation. Your business can take comparable measures to avoid harassment. In addition to having a written policy, you may want to:

• Take harassment complaints seriously
• Address every concern, being willing to subject and/or terminate a harasser
• Review and upgrade your non-discrimination and/or sexual harassment policy
• Train new hires and existing staff to recognize and prevent sexual harassment at work

See our detailed sexual harassment training manual for the best practices on training your employees.

According to the ABA post cited above: “under case law, an employer meets its obligation if it takes reasonable steps to prevent harassment before it happens, and takes effective actions to remedy harassment once it happens”

Why You Should Care About Documenting a Sexual Harassment Policy

Along with possible labour law violations and penalties, a promise of sexual harassment may cost your business thousand of bucks and damage your standing or company brand. Take for instance a restaurateur I worked with whose female servers sued claiming that cooks regularly yelled profanities and insults creating a hostile work environment. The judge threw out the case, noting that management had allowed all employees to get away with having’potty mouth’ language, but the business nonetheless spent $80,000 defending the case! That restaurant owner now supplies a sexual harassment policy and training to all employees.

Implementing Your Sexual Harassment Policy

A sexual harassment policy can be added to an existing non-discrimination policy, or contained in the part of your existing employee handbook which covers harassment legislation.

The simplest way to demonstrate compliance would be to ask your employees to sign and date which they have reviewed the policy. Should you use a PEO like JustWorks, you’ll have documents e-signed and e-filed for reference.

Your coverage may also be submitted on a wall (as required in some states like California), printed out as a stand-alone document, or insured as part of new hire onboarding. A best practice we recommend is that after your sexual harassment policy is designed, place it at the employee breakroom or primary office region and provide training to all employees to ensure they understand it.

Sexual Harassment Policy Question & Replies

Below are a few common questions that you may have when creating a sexual harassment policy or preparing to conduct training. Our answers are based on legal summaries, EEOC interpretation and HR best practices.

Query: Should I have a statement discouraging individuals from making bogus claims?

Answer: No. We don’t recommend including this type of language on your coverage for fear of discouraging the reporting of valid claims. (Your employee handbook must already prohibit the breaking of any national, state or local legislation — that would probably comprise’slander’.)

Question: My spouse and I are in business together. Should we not exhibit affection at work?

Response: Perhaps. Small businesses often employ relatives and relevant business partners. Customary greetings like kissing your partner goodbye wouldn’t typically create a hostile environment. However, be aware of how employees feel about your interactions at work, and err on the side.

Query: Should my policy specifically prohibit employees from dating co-workers?

Answer: No. A review of the law by ABA decided:”While it is impossible to prevent friendships and relationships between co-workers, sellers and customers, it’s imperative that such relationships do not end in creating a hostile work environment for other employees of the company.” In addition, we recommend, so as to avoid possible Quid pro Quo difficulties, that”worker spouses” do not have a reporting connection like manager-employee.

Question: What about a stray comment or compliment?

Answer: It is different. Just because remarks are meant as compliments, they might still be considered harassment. Though a stray comment or joke is generally not considered harassment, we encourage business owners to discourage most of inappropriate jokes or sexual compliments in the workplace.

Question: What about a home-based business such as a health spa –should we prohibit all touching in our policy?

Answer: It depends. You understand your employees and business environment best. It could be required to discuss your policy with workers as a group to get a feel for what they would consider appropriate and inappropriate behavior on the job. For instance, female workers in your spa can welcome shoulder presses in their own peers, whereas that type of behavior might be completely inappropriate in a professional office environment.

State Sexual Harassment Laws — Summary Table

Here is a summary of state sexual harassment laws that are stricter than national harassment laws. To learn more, contact your state EEOC office or other agency in your state that handles discrimination complaints.

State	Notable Differences From Federal Law
Alaska	Statutes apply to all employers except social clubs and fraternal, charitable, educational, or spiritual associations or corporations, Provided That the corporation or association is not-for-profit. Policy must be submitted. See State of Alaska Posters.
Arizona	Statute applies to businesses with 1 or more worker.
California	The California Fair Employment and Housing Act FEHA provides additional employee protections. Statutes apply to all companies regardless of size. A 2-hour supervisory training must be offered if more than 50 workers. Policy must be posted.
Colorado	Statutes apply to all employers, except religious organizations. Watch Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies Employment Discrimination.
Connecticut	Statutes apply to businesses with 3 or more workers. A 2-hour supervisory training has to be given within 6 months, if greater than 50 workers. Watch Connecticut Discrimination Employment Practices Act.
Delaware	Statutes apply to businesses with 4 or more workers.
District of Columbia	Statutes apply to all employers Irrespective of size.
Hawaii	Statutes apply to all employers and training is suggested. See Hawaii Civil Rights Commission Administrative Rules 4
Idaho	Statutes apply to businesses with 5 or more workers.
Indiana	Statutes apply to businesses with 6 or more employees.
Iowa	Statutes apply to businesses with 4 or more employees.
Kansas	Statutes apply to companies with 4 or more workers.
Kentucky	Statutes apply to businesses with 6 or more employees.
Maine	Statutes apply to all companies, and coaching is expected within a year of hire to get employees in companies with 15 or more workers. Length of instruction isn’t specified. See Maine Title 26.
Massachusetts	Statutes apply to businesses with 6 or more employees.
Michigan	Statutes apply to all companies, and representatives of a company. See Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act.
Minnesota	Statutes apply to all employers regardless of size. Contains Sex Identity.
Missouri	Statutes apply to businesses with 6 or more workers.
Montana	Statutes apply to all employers regardless of size.
New Hampshire	Statutes apply to companies with 6 or more workers.
New Jersey	Statute applies to companies with 1 or more employees.
New Mexico	Statutes apply to companies with 4 or more employees. Gender Identity applies to companies with 15 or more employees.
New York	Statutes apply to businesses with 4 or more workers. Includes Gender Identity.
North Dakota	Statutes apply to all employers Irrespective of size.
Ohio	Statutes apply to companies with 4 or more employees.
Oregon	Statutes apply to all employers regardless of size.
Pennsylvania	Statutes apply to businesses with 4 or more employees.
South Dakota	Statutes apply to all companies regardless of size. Watch Sexual Harassment brochure in Publications.
Tennessee	Statutes apply to businesses with 8 or more employees.
Virginia	Statutes apply to businesses with 4 or more workers.
Washington	Statutes apply to businesses with 8 or more employees. Protects Gender Identity. See Human Rights Commission Washington Law Against Discrimination WLAD.
West Virginia	Statutes apply to companies with 12 or more employees.
Wisconsin	Statutes apply to all companies Irrespective of size.
Wyoming	Statutes employ for businesses with two or more workers.

Bottom Line: Sexual Harassment Policy

As a small business owner or HR manager, you lead by example in not tolerating harassment or discrimination of any type, and by taking all complaints seriously. Culture is created top down in a little company, based on the behavior and expectations set by the company owner and supervisors.

Creating a policy is key to making sure your company is compliant with non-discrimination laws. The free template, tools, and suggestions in this article might stop sexual harassment in your workplace and safeguard your company from undesirable asserts that cost money and damage your reputation.

Once you implement your harassment policy, the next step is to train your employees on recognizing sexual harassment and resolving complaints.