Preventing Workplace Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation

B. D ISSEMINATING THE P OLICY In addition to developing an anti-harassment, discrimination, and retaliation policy, the Employer must also disseminate the policy in one or more of the following ways:

1. Print and provide a hardcopy of the policy to all employees with an acknowledgement form for the employee to sign and return. 2. Send the policy via e-email with an acknowledgement form for the employee to sign and return; 3. Post the policy on the employer’s intranet with a tracking system that ensures that all employees have read and acknowledged receipt of the policy;

4. Providing and discussing the policy with new hires; and/or

5. Any other way that ensures employees receive and understand the policy.

Employers with workforces where 10 percent or more of the employees primarily speak a language that is not English must translate their policy into every language spoken by that population of employees.

C. D OCUMENTING AND T RACKING C OMPLAINTS The employer must keep documentation and track the progress of complaints through its process. To accomplish this, the person designated to receive complaints should keep a confidential log of the complaints received from non-sworn personnel. For sworn personnel, the employer should use its internal affairs procedures. A log can serve as a checklist, help the public employer track the progress of particular investigations and complaints, spot repeat victims and alleged offenders, monitor the effectiveness of the public employer’s prevention and remediation efforts, and serve as evidence of the public employer’s thorough prevention and prompt remediation efforts. The log may include:

 The names of the complainant and alleged harasser;

 The complainant’s protected status, if applicable;



The nature of the complaint;



The date the complaint was received;

 The name of the person assigned to investigate the complaint;



The findings from the investigation;

 What, if any, remedial action was taken;

 Whether the complainant was satisfied with the result;

 Whether the complainant or alleged harasser filed a claim with the DFEH or the EEOC; and

 Whether the complainant filed a tort claim or a lawsuit.

Preventing Workplace Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation ©2019 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 46