You have been in Human Resources or management for years. Your plate is full-too much to do and to know in your increasingly stressful job. You are expected to stay current in discrimination and harassment case law for all the federal and state protected classes. Are you current? It seems like an unending responsibility. You remember hearing something in the news about a change in the pregnancy law, but can't remember what it was. You know that the American Disabilities Act and Title VII have expanded with something called an accommodation meeting, but what does that require? You heard that a company was required to pay a plaintiff an additional $1,000,000 because the company didn't do harassment training-could that be true? You have a company wellness program and have heard that employees are suing for discrimination based on the incentives offered for those who take part in the program. And it still isn't clear as to whether you can personally be sued for the misconduct.
It is almost impossible for managers and HR professionals to stay current in the ever evolving civil rights case law due to their busy workload. As a result, discrimination and harassment may go unrecognized and allowed to continue creating a hostile work environment for employees resulting in absenteeism, turnover, loss of productivity and physical and emotional health consequences to the target and witnesses of the abuse. Failure of managers and HR professionals to recognize discrimination and harassment creates liability for the organization and costly lawsuits.
Dr. Susan Strauss is a national and international speaker, trainer, consultant and a recognized expert investigator on workplace and school harassment and bullying. She conducts harassment and bullying investigations and functions as an expert witness in harassment and bullying lawsuits. Her clients are from business, education, healthcare, law, and government organizations from both the public and private sector.
Dr. Strauss also provides organizational, management, and employee development by conducting training, coaching, and facilitating workshops. She has been the Director of Training and Development and consults with a variety of organizations and industries, both large and small. Susan has also been the director of Wellness and has consulted with organizations to help them design, develop, implement and evaluate their Wellness programs.
Susan has a doctorate in organizational leadership. She is a registered nurse, has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and counseling, a master’s degree in community health, and professional certificate in training and development. She has been involved in the harassment and bullying arena since 1985.