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» Harassment policies » Setting up Wi-Fi hot spots
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Harassment policies
Procedures to deal with workplace
harassment can prevent lawsuits later
You are a small-business person. You have spent 30 years building your company. Out of the blue, you are served with a complaint filed by a former employee who voluntarily resigned six months ago. She is alleging that her supervisor sexually harassed her. Is your business at risk? Possibly. The answer could depend in large part on what you did to prevent and resolve these claims.
Many employers are surprised when they find out that an employee who voluntarily resigned can file an employment claim against them and seek damages for wages lost due to the resignation. In these situations the employee contends that they were "constructively discharged." Constructive discharge is a legal theory that allows an employee to treat a voluntary quit as an involuntary discharge where the employee is able to prove that the working conditions were so intolerable that a reasonable person would have quit their employment.
The United States Supreme Court in Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders has recently made it clear that the mere fact that actionable sexual harassment may have occurred is not sufficient in itself to create a constructive discharge. The court found that there must be more present -- the abusive work environment must be so intolerable that the resignation qualified as a "fitting response."
If an official, employer-sanctioned adverse action accompanied the abusive work environment, then the employee might be able to prevail on his or her claim for sexual harassment. The court stressed that such an official adverse action must change the employee's employment status or situation, giving examples of a humiliating demotion and an extreme cut in pay. Yet where there is no such official adverse employment action, the employer is able to defend against the claim by showing that it had a readily accessible and effective policy for reporting and resolving complaints of sexual harassment and that the employee unreasonably failed to use that mechanism.
What does that mean for your business? It means that to protect your business from such claims, you need to take action.
>> First, promulgate a policy that prohibits harassment in the workplace. But don't adopt a "one size fits all" harassment-free workplace policy. The policy should be tailored to your business and your work force. Detail inappropriate behavior that could arise in your workplace based upon the nature of your business and your employees. Create an effective and clear mechanism for your employees to come forward with their concerns about possible harassment. Consider listing alternative individuals to whom concerns can be reported. Don't require your employees to jump through formal hoops to have their concerns addressed. Provide that an investigation will be conducted into these concerns when raised.Employers and employees both benefit from effective and accessible procedures under which employees can raise concerns about behavior that they find inappropriate. There might never be a "sterile" workplace, but such concerns should be addressed in a constructive manner within the workplace without employees resorting to outsiders. This should occur where there are effective and accessible policies and procedures in place and managers and employees are appropriately educated as to both the internal avenues to resolve such concerns and their individual responsibility to act appropriately and address such issues if they arise.>> Second, make it safe for employees to come forward to management with these concerns. Assure your employees that they will not be subject to retaliation for coming forward with good-faith concerns about possible harassment or for participating in an investigation into such concerns. State that concerns raised under this policy will be kept as confidential as possible.
>> Third, disseminate the policy in a manner that will ensure that your employees are aware of the policy and are encouraged to come forward with their concerns. Consider including the policy in your employee handbook; posting the policy with other employment-related postings; distributing and explaining the policy to new employees at their orientation to your company; reissuing the policy to all employees on a periodic basis; and having your supervisors periodically discuss the policy with their employees, stressing their and the company's desire that these concerns be brought to management's attention.
>> Fourth, ensure that your supervisors are well aware of the policy and their responsibilities to ensure compliance with the policy and to bring any possible concerns about harassment to the attention of the appropriate management personnel. Regular training of supervisors has been found by many businesses to be an effective means of educating supervisors in this regard.
>> Finally, address these concerns promptly when they arise. Take all concerns seriously and take action as appropriate under your policy. If inappropriate behavior occurred, take appropriate corrective or disciplinary action against the offender. Take steps to ensure that this conduct will not recur in the future. Where appropriate, restore any lost employment benefits to the victim.
Barbara Petrus is a partner with local law firm Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel. She represents management in all aspects of labor and employment law. Reach her at 547-5600.
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TECH VIEW
Some businesses see
value in Wi-Fi connectivity
If you've been following this column lately, you know we've been discussing Wi-Fi hot spots during the last few weeks.
These provide access to the Internet for Wi-Fi-enabled laptops or PDAs so you can surf the Net or download your e-mail while you're on the road.
Wi-Fi hot spots are beginning to pop up on Oahu and the neighbor islands -- at airports, coffee shops and bookstores. What do they all have in common? Each of those businesses has decided that offering wireless public Internet access is a smart decision -- whether free of charge or for a fee.
In our decidedly unscientific survey, there's no consensus whether turning your business into a hot spot can actually add to the bottom line. Some businesses owners felt confident that Wi-Fi is bringing in more customers who stay longer and spend more money. Others weren't so sure.
The obvious question is this: Why bother with the expense and effort of setting up a hot spot?
The consensus among people we spoke to was that wireless service definitely added value, if not cache. The adjective we heard most often from customers who used hot spots was that they were "cool."
My belief is that even if you aren't able to quantify making even an additional nickel in profits by providing wireless service, you'll still gain something from becoming a hot spot.
Liz Schwartz, manager at Coffee Talk on Waialae Avenue, said customers who use the store's wireless connection were likely to purchase more coffee and pastries.
Wi-Fi users tend to stay longer and often show up at all hours.
"There's no question in my mind that this has helped improve my business," Schwartz said.
Jaydence Goya, marketing coordinator at Kahala Mall, which operates two wireless hot spots, also said she believes providing wireless access is a good idea.
"We think the merchants are benefiting from this service," she said. "People may be extending their shopping trips by checking their e-mail or having a meeting."
Naturally, not every business is going to benefit. High-end restaurants that depend on a high turnover of patrons aren't necessarily going to want people hanging around longer than they have to. However, businesses that want to keep customers at their tables, knowing they'll act as magnets to bring in more business, and might actually order more food and drink every once in a while, might sell enough to justify the wireless service.
Then there's the competition to think about. If one of your competitors offers Wi-Fi connectivity, it's a safe bet customers are more likely to hang out if they can wirelessly access the Internet. If you don't offer this service, they'll visit your competitor who does.
The good news is that there is no risk and little expense to setting up a hot spot properly. Gordon Bruce, director of marketing and sales for PauSpam, said, "You'll need to set up your access point in a manner that that it doesn't pose a risk to your internal network."
He said he believes business owners are "certainly not going to drive new customers away with wireless connectivity. On the contrary, you might consider it adding value and creating a new loyalty factor."
The gear you'll need to set up a hot spot costs no more than a few hundred dollars, plus the cost of "business-class" broadband DSL or cable modem access -- something you might already have.
However, make sure that your ISP agreement allows you to sell or share your Internet access.
An argument can be made that Wi-Fi freeloaders could flock to stores with free access, buy very little and take up space all day. Businesses we spoke to didn't find that to be the case.
So where to begin? There are several options to consider.
>> You can do it yourself.
>> You can purchase a turnkey solution, known as a "hot spot in a box."
>> You can hire an IT consultant who specializes in hot spots to install and maintain your gear.
Kiman Wong, general manager of Internet services at Oceanic Time Warner Cable, is an engineer by training and a full-time computer geek by profession. Questions or comments should be addressed to kiman.wong@oceanic.comBACK TO TOP |
How to make your
Setting up a hot spot is not a big deal, but turning your business into a popular Wi-Fi hangout takes some homework. Here are some tips on how to make it happen:
business Wi-Fi friendly>> Promote! Promote! Promote! Publicize your new services in house and externally. Send a press release to the daily papers, take out ads, e-mail your customers, put up signs in your shop and do all you can to let people know the service exists. Once people are inside your place of business, tell them (through signage) how to get access.
>> Offer a laptop-friendly environment. If customers show up with a laptop, provide an ergonomically friendly place to sit and a large enough space to accommodate their machines. If possible, give them electrical outlets. This doesn't mean you'll have to rewire the place. Run down to the hardware store, buy a few power strips and put them in lesser-used nooks.
>> List yourself in hot spots directories such as hawaiihotspots.com and JiWire.com. Simply e-mail them and that will do it.
>> Provide customer service. Make sure your employees know enough to help customers get online. Another idea is to print up cards with basic instructions and ways to troubleshoot any potential problems.
>> Think about providing a free computer. This will both act as an advertisement (people will wonder what the computer is doing there) and allow visitors without a laptop to grab their mail.
>> Reduce interference from other electronic devices. If you already have 2.4 GHz cordless phones at your establishment, bring them home and buy a 900 MHz phone instead. If you use a microwave oven, keep it far from your access point. Both these devices use the 2.4 GHz band and are frequent sources of interference with Wi-Fi (which also uses the 2.4 GHz band).
>> Watch out for spammers. You have enough to worry about (like your P&L!). However, Gordon Bruce, director of marketing and sales for PauSpam, suggests if you offer a free hot spot, "be forewarned that spammers may want to hijack your service." Bruce strongly suggests that you talk to your hot spot consultant about monitoring user activity to avoid this nightmare.
To participate in the Think Inc. discussion, e-mail your comments to business@starbulletin.com; fax them to 529-4750; or mail them to Think Inc., Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. Anonymous submissions will be discarded.
