HRM599 Assignment 3

Mitigating Legal Issues

HRM599, Strayer University

August 6, 2017

Art of the Table Diversity and Sexual Harassment Policy

Introduction

Art of the Table is a small business organization which operates as a restaurant. It is a small organization which is rapidly growing due to the quality of the food it offers to its customers. The business has managed to create significant demand for its products and this places it in the right position for growth which has also significantly resulted in the high number of cases that have tainted the organization (Art of the table, 2017). The business has been in operation for eight years and this has enabled them to develop a strong relationship with the locals. As much as it is small, it has managed to be competitive due to the high-quality services which are provided. The basic business strategy used in this case is through inviting clients and providing them with their preferred meals. This article will develop a sexual harassment policy and a diversity policy will govern the company’s legal obligations throughout its operations.

Art of the Table Diversity Policy

For sometime now, our company has been doing well despite the hurdles the company has faced in the past. It has come to our attention the company has received a lot of complaints from the employees over the issue pertaining to discrimination cases and sexual harassment from different levels of the company management (Guillaume et al., 2017). Based on this, the company has decided to develop and implement a company diversity policy as elaborated below. The policy is aimed at ensuring there is no discrimination in the company based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or sexual orientation. This will play a significant role in promoting workplace diversity at Art of the Table.

Art of the Table Diversity Policy

1. The main purpose of the company diversity and equality policy is to ensure there is equality and diversity at the company irrespective of employees’ gender, ethnic origin, disability, race, age, nationality, national origin, marital status, sexuality, religion or belief, and social class (Guillaume et al., 2017). We at Art of the Table restaurant, hereby confine to the laws that oppose all forms of illegal, unfair and uncivilized discrimination (Yamada, 2015).

2. The policy hereby provides measures which will ensure the company employees are treated fairly and equally irrespective of their employment status (Guillaume et al., 2017).

3. The policy will provide a framework which will ensure employee promotion, training and other benefits will be based on merits and not bias (Yamada, 2015).

4. The company will use its resources equally to maximize and encourage the development of employee talents so as to realize their own potential so as to ensure the organization attains their full potential and success in the industry.

Art of the Table Commitment

1. The company’s policy is aimed at ensuring all employees are provided with the best working conditions which will ensure the dignity of each employee is respected. The company will not tolerate any form of bullying and harassment in the workplace (Farhang et al., 2015).

2. The company’s commitment to diversity and equality policy implementation is informed with the good and fair practices which are important for sound organizational management and leadership practices (Guillaume et al., 2017).

3. The company is implementing the policy as a form of legal requirement as the law will discipline any company which does not adhere to the procedures (Farhang et al., 2015).

4. The diversity policy the company has implemented has been agreed upon by the company’s senior management team and has the blessings of our company employees union and representative which make it acceptable.

5. This policy will not just be implemented in a single phase. A clause is included which states there will be an annual review of this policy.

The Laws that Will Govern the Policy

As a company which observes the rule of law, the policy will be implemented under the guidelines of the following laws (Farhang et al., 2015).

1. EPA (Equal Pay Act 1970)

2. ROA (Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974)

3. SDA (Sex Discrimination Act 1975)

4. RRA (Race Relations Act 1976)

5. DDA (Disability Discrimination Act 1995) and all the employment laws are enshrined under the employment laws in America.

Art of the Table Sexual Harassment Policy

1. As a company, we realize and confine to the fact sexual harassment is illegal and is one of the forms of discrimination. We pledge to provide good working conditions which are free from any form of harassment against any company employee or any person associated with the company (Farhang et al., 2015).

2. The company defines sexual harassment as any form of sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or unwanted sexual attention by anyone associated with the company (Farhang et al., 2015). The forms of harassment may be referenced to employment status or conditions among other forms which may be in the company. The company will also not allow any form of intimidation or any form of uncomfortable behaviors derived by any company employee.

3. Any employee of the company who faces any sexual harassment has the legal right, per the employment laws, to sue the company and the perpetrator by seeking legal redress from all the relevant organs the federal government has provided to mitigate their grievances as per the policy (Farhang et al., 2015).

4. The policy provides the guidelines which all company employees are responsible for ensuring the company environment is free from any form of sexual harassment (Yarber et al., 2013). The company also calls on any employee or any one associated with the company to report any form of sexual harassment to the relevant departments in the company. Art of the Table is committed to ensuring the company employees do not experience any form of sexual harassment.

5. The company policy demands all forms of sexual harassment are treated seriously in all matters of investigation. Investigations should be kept confidential so as not to victimize or create any form of victimization or discrimination. The company exclusively forbids any form of retaliation which may stem from reporting such case.

6. Actions will be taken immediately to address any form of sexual harassment. Immediate investigation confirms the issue(s) reported are true (Yarber et al., 2013). The company will take legal and ethical measures to ensure the case is expedited to ensure justice is dispensed in the shortest period possible and anyone found to have violated the policy will be dealt with as per the legal requirements. 

7. Art of the Table restaurant and its entire stakeholders support the rights of all the company employees and other stakeholders in relation to sexual harassment. The company will work tirelessly with other stakeholders in the society and the government to ensure this is a thing of the past. 

8. The management and all the company stakeholders confine to this policy and hereby confirm it will work to abide by the policy (Yarber et al., 2013). The company also promises to abide by the EEOC Guidelines and this policy. The company prohibits any form of harassment and promises to deal with the offenders irrespective of their position at the company for the sake of justice.

Sexual Harassment Training Plan

Course Description

This program is aimed to train and create awareness of the company’s sexual harassment policy at Art of the Table Restaurant to all employees’ and stakeholders. The program will be conducted for five (5) days, Monday through Friday, from 9:00am to 1:00pm. There will be an evaluation at the end of the training. The class size should be no more than 30 people.

Resources

The company will employ the use of charts, videos, and other published materials to convey the policy. The company will also use social media (YouTube) and main stream media to communicate the message.

Course Objectives

The program will seek to attain the following objectives:

1. To communicate the policy to the restaurant stakeholders.

2. To ensure all the company employees are familiar with the policy of the company.

3. To provide training to its employees on these requirements of the policy and how the policy will impact the company.

4. To educate the employees on the importance of an environment that is free of harassment.

5. To ensure that all the company employees are aware of the consequences if the policy is not adhered to.

Course Activities or Modules

The program activities will be role play, lecture, video, and evaluation quizzes. This training will be scheduled and rescheduled depending on the demand of the training program as it may be deemed imperative by the restaurant management.

References

Art of the table. (2017). About Us. Retrieved July 12, 2017, from http://artofthetable.net/about/

Farhang, S., Kastellec, J. P., & Wawro, G. J. (2015). The politics of opinion assignment and authorship on the US court of appeals: Evidence from sexual harassment cases. The Journal of Legal Studies, 44(S1), S59-S85.

Guillaume, Y. R., Dawson, J. F., Otaye‐Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity?. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 276-303.

Yamada, D. C. (2015). Workplace bullying and the law: US legislative developments 2013-15.

Yarber, W. L., Sayad, B. W., & Strong, B. (2013). Human sexuality: Diversity in contemporary America. McGraw-Hill.