Training

Required by law or not, make harassment training mandatory

01/06/2010

Although California, Connecticut and Maine are the only states with laws requiring workplace harassment training for supervisors, employers in other states have followed their lead in an effort to reduce liability for ill-informed behavior of employees, decrease the cost of litigating complaints of harassment and create a more hospitable work environment.

EEOC targets teen harassment; Ruby Tuesday pays $255,000

12/23/2009

The Ruby Tuesday casual dining chain has agreed to pay $255,000 to a group of teenage girls who worked at its East Stroudsburg restaurant after the EEOC filed a lawsuit accusing a manager there of sexual harassment.

Settlement ends bias suit against Wyomissing company

12/23/2009

Wyomissing-based industrial fastener and tool maker SFS Intec has agreed to settle an EEOC discrimination lawsuit arising at a plant in Ohio. Two Hispanic employees complained of being denied training opportunities that were open to non-Hispanics.

Medina company settles national-origin EEOC case

12/08/2009

Industrial fastener and tool manufacturer SFS Intec has agreed to settle an EEOC discrimination lawsuit arising at its Medina plant. Two Hispanic employees complained of being denied training opportunities that were open to non-Hispanics.

Who’s your Gladys? Give employees the power to solve tough customer problems

11/24/2009

The recession has caused the rise of a new class of “hypersensitive consumers.” Here’s how to turn those disgruntled clients into your biggest champions. Hint: Employee training plays a big role.

Justify why some got training, while others didn’t

11/09/2009

Training opportunities at work must be available to all employees regardless of race, ethnicity, religion and so forth. That doesn’t mean, however, that everyone who wants to take a particular training course must get the opportunity. Employers can base training opportunities on the critical need for some employees to get the training.

Age discrimination alert: Beware using high training costs as excuse to deny promotion

11/09/2009

We all know that it costs money to train employees—and that turnover after investing in advanced training is a genuine and expensive problem. That doesn’t mean employers can get away with refusing to train someone approaching retirement age. That may be seen as age discrimination.

As boomers gray, Minnesota employers could see silver lining

11/02/2009

With so many companies focused on downsizing to contain costs in a down economy, many employers have failed to prepare for a pending change that will significantly alter workforce demographics. Beginning in 2011, the first of the baby boomers will turn 65. As the rest of the roughly 70 million baby boomers follow, we’ll see a major shift in the age of our society—and our workforces. This shift will have a significant impact on employers.

Track older workers’ training opportunities

10/23/2009

Technology changes fast, and so do the skills employees need to succeed in their jobs. But some employees don’t feel comfortable taking the steps needed to adapt. If those employees happen to be older and you end up having to replace them, you could face an age discrimination lawsuit. You can avoid such lawsuits with a good skill-building plan …

8 lessons you can learn from the fed’s top agencies

10/13/2009

Set aside any notions you might have that the federal bureaucracy is inherently dysfunctional. In fact, Uncle Sam’s best agencies have a thing or two to teach private-sector employers. Here are eight lessons employers can learn from the biennial agency-by-agency ranking of federal employers by the Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation.