Courtships At The Office Can Land Employers In The Courtroom

CCH Says Failure to Have Sexual Harassment Prevention Program in Place
is Flirting with Disaster

(RIVERWOODS, ILL., January 31, 2001) – More and more, people are meeting their romantic partners in the workplace. But, with every shot of cupid’s arrow comes the chance that it’s the employer who will get hit – with a lawsuit, that is. With Valentine’s Day nearing, now is the perfect time to make sure your organization has an effective plan in place to minimize the risks associated with office romances, according to CCH INCORPORATED, a leading provider of employment law and human resources information and the Shared Learning™ series of distance learning courseware.

"Workplace romances present a minefield of legal risks for employers, including invasion of privacy, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge and even workplace violence," notes Marjorie Johnson, JD, SPHR, a workplace law analyst for CCH. "But employers can go a very long way to minimize their legal liability by putting in place a sexual harassment prevention program as the cornerstone of their overall risk management strategy."

Training Important Part of Harassment Prevention Program

The courts and regulators have made it clear that to avoid liability for punitive damages, employers must make good faith efforts to implement antidiscrimination programs, and an important part of that is training.

Now, to help employers effectively train employees in a cost-efficient way, CCH offers interactive Shared Learning™ Sexual Harassment Prevention Training on the Internet. (For more information contact your CCH Sales Representative at 1-888-224-7377 or visit http://elearning.cch.com.)

Part of the Shared Learning e-learning series, Shared Learning Sexual Harassment Prevention Training combines CCH’s legal content and expertise with practical insights to deliver the most authoritative, convenient and engaging Web-based training today. The definitive training system, Shared Learning on the Internet is the most convenient and cost-effective way for companies to train employees and supervisors on sexual harassment prevention. Since Shared Learning is Web-based, it can be accessed any time from anywhere a user has browser capabilities. It can even be installed on your organization’s own intranet.

Taken at the user’s desktop, Shared Learning training also reduces classroom time and allows flexibility in the choice of training environment. And, with lessons that are self-paced, users can learn at their own speed.

With Shared Learning on the Internet, employers can customize both the content and Web interface to ensure your organization’s anti-harassment policy and message hit home with employees. Training content can be created to match your work environment, including a personal introductory message from your organization’s leader to ensure that employees understand there’s commitment from the top for a respectful workplace.

Shared Learning Sexual Harassment Prevention Overview

Shared Learning Sexual Harassment Prevention presents modules for both employees and supervisors. The hands-on interactive training uses a series of explanations, examples, scenarios and frequently asked questions to teach and reinforce key points in an engaging manner as users learn about sexual harassment.

On the Internet or corporate intranet, as well as on a stand-alone CD-ROM, Shared Learning Sexual Harassment Prevention uses the power of interactive technology to blend expert commentary, real-life scenarios and interactive Q&A into an engaging learning experience.

An administration module (Learning Management System) tracks the progress of all users and allows your program administrator to generate documentation reports that capture information such as employee name, department and date of training completion.

Upon finishing the training, everyone will understand why it is important to know about sexual harassment, be able to recognize what it is and what it is not, know what actions to avoid and, if they are supervisors, know how to respond effectively to a sexual harassment complaint.

The Shared Learning Series

Sexual Harassment Prevention is just one in a series of Shared Learning distance learning courseware. Other courses in the series include Workplace Violence Prevention; Interviewing and Hiring; Discipline; Termination; a Spanish-language version of Sexual Harassment Prevention and the upcoming E-mail and Internet Use.

"Companies can reduce liability exposure by ensuring that dedicated compliance training is in place, and Shared Learning offers an ideal solution to employers," said CCH Human Resources group marketing manager Steve Slater, "It delivers authoritative training in a highly convenient and cost-effective way."

Availability and Pricing

For more information on the Shared Learning series or Shared Learning Sexual Harassment Prevention, contact your CCH sales representative at 1 888 CCH REPS (1-888-224-7377) or visit the CCH Shared Learning Web site at http://elearning.cch.com.

About CCH INCORPORATED

CCH INCORPORATED, Riverwoods, Ill., is a leading provider of employment law information and software for human resource professionals, including Human Resources Management, Pension Plan Guide, Employee Benefits Guide and Payroll Management Guide. CCH also provides tax and business law information in print and electronic form for accounting, legal, health care and small business professionals. CCH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer U.S. The CCH web site can be accessed at www.cch.com. The Human Resources web site can be accessed at http://hr.cch.com.

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Editor’s Note: Members of the media who are interested in complimentary review access to Shared Learning Sexual Harassment Training may contact Leslie Bonacum at (847) 267-7153 or bonacuml@cch.com.