Missouri State Sexual Harassment Training Requirements

The EEOC is the federal governing body that describes and enforces sexual harassment and discrimination laws. 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).

The EEOC found that in 2018, out of 1,572 workplace discrimination charges filed in Missouri, 35.5% were related to sexual harassment. These 558 charges constituted 2.3% of the total sexual harassment charges filed in the US in 2018. For more statistics on workplace discrimination and sexual harassment in Missour.

In 2018, The state of Missouri paid nearly $600,000 in a settlement to a Department of Corrections officer over a sexual harassment case. A female worker was harassed by a male co-worker on a regular basis. Shortly after filing a complaint the female co-worker was stabbed by a masked assailant in the parking lot of the facility she worked at. She ended up transferring to a different work site. Read more about the sexual harassment settlement.

In 2017 alone, the state of Missouri paid out more than $23 million in sexual harassment case settlements. This underscores the importance of robust sexual harassment training programs, as well as strong discrimination policies and enforcement of such policies.

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.