Harassment, Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment and Aloha

By R. Makana Risser Chai

Sexual harassment training takes skill to be effective. The other day I facilitated a Train-the-Trainer for experienced sexual harassment trainers. There were people from Hawaii, the continental US, Guam, American…

Harassment, Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment HR, Attorney, and Bystander Fail

By R. Makana Risser Chai

Sexual harassment sometimes is very obvious, yet HR, attorneys, and bystanders fail to take appropriate action. In a case decided in 2019, two women who worked at a law firm…

Harassment, Sexual Harassment

Anti-harassment training in the era of #MeToo

By R. Makana Risser Chai

Since #MeToo exploded in October 2017, many employers have been thinking about updating their anti-harassment training. If you haven't made changes to your anti-harassment program lately, now is the time.…

Sexual Harassment

Are we rushing to judgment?

By R. Makana Risser Chai

The incident last weekend at the Lincoln Memorial had many people making judgments based on a single image or a few brief seconds of video. Once they decided how they…

Sexual Harassment

How Boards Can Protect Themselves from #MeToo Surprises

By R. Makana Risser Chai

Boards of Directors are often surprised to hear of sexual harassment complaints against their companies. The decisions to settle, or not, are not ones they typically get involved in. Yet…

Harassment, HR Law Training & Investigations, Sexual Harassment

New case: Locker Room Talk Not Sexual Harassment!?!

By R. Makana Risser Chai

This company won the lawsuit, but they lost in so many other ways: with current and potential customers, current and potential employees, lost time, productivity, and attorneys fees. The lesson:…

HR Law Training & Investigations, Sexual Harassment

New Research Shows Companies how to Create a Harassment-Free Workplace

By R. Makana Risser Chai

A June 2018 report on sexual harassment was released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Two years in the making, it compiled all the available research on…

HR Law Training & Investigations, Sexual Harassment

Hawaii Court: HR Personally Liable for Failure to Investigate Harassment Complaint

By R. Makana Risser Chai

The federal district court in Hawaii recently ruled that an HR director could be sued personally for aiding and abetting a hostile work environment when she failed to investigate a…

Harassment, Sexual Harassment

How Far Back Can Sexual Harassment Claims Go?

By R. Makana Risser Chai

With Senator Dan Inouye being accused in 2018 of sexual harassment that happened in the 1980s, celebrity #MeToo complaints going back 30 years, and Bill Cosby being tried for an…