Arizona State Sexual Harassment Training Requirements

Arizona Sexual Harassment Training Requirements: While Arizona does not have any specific legal requirement for sexual harassment training, sexual harassment training in the workplace is highly recommended.In Arizona Title XII governs companies with more than 15 employees. With such companies, sexual harassment claims are filed with the EEOC. For companies with less than 15 employees, complaints will be filed with the Arizona Civil Rights Division. Read more Here.

The EEOC is a Federal governing body that describes and enforces sexual harassment and discrimination laws in the workplace. Read more at EEOC Harassment. According to the EEOC sexual harassment and other forms of employment discrimination violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA).

Out of 1,768 workplace discrimination claims in Arizona in 2018, 646 of them were related to sexual harassment. This means that sexual harassment claims made up 36.5% of all workplace discrimination claims in Arizona and 2.6% of sexual harassment claims in the US in 2018.

In 2019, a correctional facility company paid $550,000 in a settlement over the sexual harassment of female prison guards. The claims took place between 2001-2006, and in response the company implemented more extensive training, reporting, and monitoring of sexual harassment. Since then, no claims have been filed for this company. See more about the story here (AZ News).

A recent Arizona study shows that more than 70% of people who are sexually harassed in the workplace do not report it, and more than half do not confront the harasser. Training on proper grievance reporting procedures can help greatly reduce the likelihood of sexual harassment in the workplace and the employers' liability.

There are a number of steps the EEOC recommends that employers take to reduce their chances of liability for sexual harassment claims.

1. Implementing a strong and well understood sexual harassment policy.
2. Providing a robust sexual harassment training program for training employees and supervisors.
3. Establishing an effective complaint and grievance process, within which the employees do not have to fear retaliation.
4. An employer should act Immediately to investigate any complaint or grievance.
5. The employer should take immediate steps such as disciplinary action to stop harassment.
6. Employees should be encouraged to confront the harasser directly and inform them that the conduct is inappropriate as well as informing management and Human Resources

Sexual Harassment Training Tip: Prevention is the BEST tool.

By ensuring that employees understand and are well trained in workplace sexual harassment policies, employers can greatly reduce their chances of being liable for monetary damages in sexual harassment cases.