The Risk of Non-Compliance

Employers often defy the regulations of state and federal governments: “This is a silly regulation,” “we don’t have workplace harassment,” or “didn’t we just do that training?” are common responses.   Defying the law is risky – non-compliance can result in damage to your reputation, diminished employee relations, higher legal costs, and additional exposure for your organization.

2023 has been a busy year, and harassment prevention may have been put on the back burner.  However, there are compelling reasons to follow through with the requirements.

If monetary penalties don’t worry you, the last thing you want to do is invite an inquiry into your internal operations with various agencies reviewing your policy, posters, training records, and other HR documentation. 

Not doing the training can harm your employee relations. In many locations, employees can report employers for non-compliance in terms of not receiving the training, not being paid for training time, or other infractions.  Employees may get angry and report the employer’s failures to comply, especially if they have not been earnest in attempts to resolve issues that arise.

Following the law requires diligence about timing, content, and recordkeeping requirements of the law.  Details would be how frequent the training was, training documentation, and records about the investigation and response in case of an issue.  Since the average settlement is upwards of $100,000 — why risk it when compliance could be achieved in a matter of days for the cost of a pizza party?

Prevention and response are the only defenses you have. We can assist with both. {Prevention consists of training, a policy, and an effective complaint handling procedure. Response consists of knowing what to say and do when a situation arises. We also provide a free training on Internal Investigations so you will know how to respond to a situation.

Contact us at info@i2iworkplace.com or see i2iworkplace.com for more information.