It’s Training Time! Did you know that many states have mandated training requirements? Is your state one of them?

CHALFONT, Pa. - Aug. 12, 2015 - PRLog -- While it may come as no surprise that some employers devote a lot of time and money to training their employees, employers must also devote just as much time to ensuring they are compliant in what they are training on, how often, to whom, etc.

It is not always clear what employment-related training is required versus what is simply good business practice.

A lot of this is dependent on which state an employer is located in or has employees in and what the “opinion” is of senior management as it pertains to training. We often find that companies, while operating in states with rules pertaining to required sexual harassment training, do not agree that training should be offered or required of their staff.

Take for example the topic of sexual harassment. Recent employment related claims demonstrate that oftentimes managers and employees don’t fully understand what behaviors constitute sexual harassment.

On average, companies spend anywhere from $25 to $75/per employee on sexual harassment training. However, we are finding that some companies, in an effort to save a few dollars, are cutting back, so their employees have less awareness and companies are being less proactive.

Did you know that simply commenting to someone “how they look” could constitute harassment? Ever hear of something called “perception vs. reality?” Sometimes how someone perceives what you said can be very different from what you meant. Under harassment rules, “what you meant to say” does not matter.

Companies need to make sure they are protecting themselves by putting training plans in place to make managers and employees aware of what constitutes inappropriate conduct/harassment and ensure that their Employee Handbooks contain clearly communicated “No Tolerance” Polices.

The average harassment claim settlement can be four to five figures versus $25-$75 to have an employee attend a training session. After all it’s your business, but we assume you would much rather pay $25 to train an employee on harassment versus not offer the training and follow the “hope there is no claim” approach with the possibility of $100,000+ in claim costs.

Even if your state does not require certain mandated training requirements, it is a recommended good business practice to establish effective compliance programs within your organization. Some workplace behavior is easy to identify as inappropriate but there are many actions that may appear innocent on the surface but could be perceived by someone else as incidents of harassment. Prevention training will help employees identify questionable behaviors and help employers protect themselves and minimize their risks.

Some state laws require employers to train on general topics, such as Sexual harassment, Discrimination, Bullying, Affirmative Action, and Cultural Diversity. Other state laws may require training for employees engaging in certain activities or in certain occupations or in specific industries. For example, there are training requirements for some occupations that involve public safety (OSHA, FAA, DOT). Do you know your state's requirements?

For additional information contact: McCloskey Partners, LLC; Phone: 215-716-3035; www.mccloskeypartners.com; E-mail Admin@mccloskeypartners.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn: McCloskey Partners