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June1999

Employment Practices Training for Managers and Employees

 

QUESTION:  

How often, and in what areas, should the District hold employment-practices training?  Most of the managers and employees in our District have been with the District for several years, and each has gone through training like this at least once.

ANSWER:

While individual managers might balk at having to repeat training on a regular basis, experience has shown that regular training and review of managerial principles will not only ensure that managers trained in the past will more likely recall and implement correct principles in practice, but it assures that newly-hired managers are given the desired training.  Likewise, regular training for employees can encourage the identification and early resolution of potential problems before they become significant.  Even more importantly, a regular pattern of employment-practices training (not just when you need it) will help the District convince a judge or jury that the District takes its obligations toward its employees very seriously.

 

BACKGROUND:

Odds are pretty good that not many of the managers or supervisors with your District took that job because of a great interest in the legal requirements which federal, state and local governments have placed on employers.  Unfortunately, not only do these requirements impose a burden on the District as an entity, but as managerial employees, each supervisor carries the responsibility to know and avoid major pitfalls, as their conduct can impose significant liability on their employer.  For example,  under California law, an employer will be held strictly liable for harassment or discrimination engaged in by supervisors or other management.

Because of this potential to subject the District to significant liability where problems get out of hand, common sense business practice suggests-and governmental agencies confirm-that regular training and awareness programs to educate management on the parameters within which they must operate can be very valuable.  Not only can regular training reduce the District's exposure to claims of harassment, discrimination, or other unlawful behavior, but the resulting awareness by employees can actually eliminate potential concerns before they ripen into true problems.

Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have confirmed the value of establishing and publicizing procedures to minimize and/or remediate concerns before they become serious problems.  These decisions have emphasized that merely having a policy alone is not enough; the policy must be well-known and easily-accessible to be effective.  That's where regular training becomes important-both of managers and rank-and-file employees.

Most employers should hold training for their supervisors and their employees on an annual basis.  While there is no generally-applicable legal requirement which mandates this, many employers find it convenient to couple training sessions with the requirement that they provide annual notice to employees of their civil rights and the governmental assistance available to redress violations.  In some contexts, however, annual training will not be enough.  For example, where employee or supervisor turnover is substantial, or where a workplace has historically had problems with violations or accusations of such.

Each District should take the opportunity to use this annual training to cover a wide variety of issues.  As supervisors, management employees are often the first source of advice for employees seeking help in a wide variety of areas.  By training supervisors to properly receive and resolve all manner of concerns, the District can minimize exposure in all areas, including, but not limited to:

    • Equal Employment Opportunity, including both state and federal anti-discrimination statutes;
    • Family and Medical Leave Act;
    • Workers' Compensation;
    • Workplace violence; and
    • Other potential workplace problems, such as Invasion of Privacy or Defamation.

In addition, general training on interpersonal communication, problem investigation and resolution, and conducting effective employee reviews can pay big dividends to the conscientious employer.

Training for the rank-and-file employees should cover the same general topics, albeit geared toward the employee.  For example, while managers should be trained to identify discrimination or harassment and to resolve the problem quickly and effectively, employee training should focus on what behaviors are and are not appropriate, and where to seek assistance.  Joint training sessions covering both managers and rank-and-file employees are rarely recommended.

No District wants its management team or employees tied up in meetings all the time.  Each has an important role to play in the operation of the District; every hour spent in training is another hour away from District business.  However, because the cost of defending against employee claims can be so oppressive, any employment practices training which deters or brings informal resolution to even a single claim may have already paid for itself.

 

If you have any questions about how regular training might help your District, call the Employment Practices Hotline at (650) 592-6160.

 

The CSRMA Employment Hotline provides free legal advise to all CSRMA members on various employment issues.  For more information on the hotline please call Lynn Lieber with Fisher & Phillips at (650)592-6160.