When providing anti-harassment education to employees, companies should ensure that “nondefenses” are covered in detail during the training. Nondefenses—common justifications for harassing, discriminatory and bullying behavior in the workplace—may not necessarily be unlawful, but are completely unacceptable and need to be addressed in preventative training.

The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) recently published an article to remind employers that their anti-harassment, discrimination and abusive conduct training need to dispel the following 13 “nondefenses” in the workplace:  

1. The conduct was not unlawful.
2. There was no bad intent.
3. It was only a joke.
4. The employee never complained before.
5. The harasser is a top performer.
6. The conduct occurred offsite or off-the-clock.
7. The harasser is an equal opportunity abuser.
8. The conduct was not sexual or racial in nature.
9. The harasser was a customer, not an employee.
10. The harasser and harassment target belong to the same protected group.
11. Alcohol made the harasser do it.
12. The harassment was not unwelcome.
13. The offended person was not targeted.

Western Growers’ (WG) Harassment, Discrimination, and Abusive Conduct Prevention training is designed to address these 13 misconceptions. The training also provides managers with best practices to prevent and proactively address these behaviors in their workplace.

WG will be providing training in the following locations in 2017:

SALINAS
Date: Thursday, August 17, 2017
Location: WG Field Office (928 East Blanco Road, Suite 210, Salinas, CA 93901)
Fee: $60
Registration:

• English: 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT. Click here to register.
• Spanish: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM PDT. Click here to register.

IRVINE
Date: Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Location: Western Growers in the Phoenix Conference Room (15525 Sand Canyon Ave, Irvine, CA 92618)
Fee: $60
Registration:

• English: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT. Click here to register.
• Spanish: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM PDT. Click here to register.

IMPERIAL
Date: Thursday, October 26, 2017
Location: Farm Credit Services – Southwest (485 Business Parkway, Imperial, CA 92251)
Fee: $60
Registration:

• English: 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM PDT. Click here to register.
• Spanish: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM PDT. Click here to register.

For questions, contact Adriana Robles at (949) 885-2297.