In response to the numerous sexual harassment during the last several weeks of 2017, members of Congress recently introduced a bill called “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act”. The bill would make it illegal for any employer to attempt to enforce arbitration provisions against employees, if those employees raise claims of either sexual harassment or sex discrimination on the job under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Currently, many employers require their employees to sign arbitration agreements. These arbitration agreements typically require that if an employee has a work-related issue or dispute including workplace harassment issues, rather than submitting that dispute to court, the employee would be required to submit such dispute to final and binding arbitration. Arbitration agreements appeal to employers because private arbitration tends to produce damage verdicts that are dramatically lower than those reached in a court case by a jury. In addition to the introduction of the bill described above, both the House of Representatives and the Senate have recently mandated that all of its members undergo sexual harassment training. I highly recommend that my clients provide proactive and regularly scheduled sexual harassment training for their executives and managers. Additionally, HR professionals should review their Handbooks to assure that their workplace harassment policies are current. To learn more about recent sexual harassment law updates, listen to this week’s Telebrief here. To learn more about Offit Kurman’s Workplace Investigations and Training Services, visit here.

Also in this week’s Telebrief: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s new General Counsel decided that certain litigation cases will no longer be decided by its regional offices, but the Division of Advice at the NLRB.

Questions about sexual harassment law or other topics from this week’s Telebrief?

Contact Howard at hkurman@offitkurman.com or 410-209-6417

About the Telebriefs®

The Telebriefs^® are 30-minute, information-packed phone calls geared towards executives, HR directors, supervisors, managers, and business owners. Join Howard K. Kurman, as he discusses employment law developments occurring over the past two weeks that will most significantly impact employers nationwide. These twice-monthly phone calls are an easy way to stay current and compliant with the latest employment law developments that will significantly affect you and your company. The goal is to provide information and insights to help executives stay current with the latest workplace law developments and in front of trends, to enable proactive policy-making and management. Our guarantee: You will learn something useful, on every call!

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

hkurman@offitkurman.com | 410-209-6417

Howard K. Kurman is an employment attorney. Mr. Kurman regularly counsels clients on all aspects of proactive employment/labor issues. He represents employers ranging in size from as small as 20 employees to those employers with geographically disparate locations consisting of over 4,000 employees. Mr. Kurman assures, through regular contact with his clients, that they promulgate and maintain the most effective employment policies that will, to the extent possible, minimize their legal exposure in today’s litigious workplace. Mr. Kurman offers advice on employee handbooks, employment agreements, and covenants not to compete as well as confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. Previously, Mr. Kurman was the chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group.

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