MONTPELIER — Attorney General T.J. Donovan recently released a video guidance aimed at assisting Vermont employers in understanding workplace sexual harassment laws. The video, entitled Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, provides businesses with an overview of Vermont’s current workplace sexual harassment laws and summarizes employers’ obligations under the law. A complete copy of the video can be found at youtube/smi28L751Es.
A joint project between the Attorney General’s Small Business Initiative and Civil Rights Unit, this video is part of Attorney General Donovan’s ongoing efforts to be responsive to the needs of employers in Vermont. “This is about working collaboratively with small businesses so that they can understand their obligations and rights when it comes to workplace sexual harassment,” said Donovan. “It’s about creating a culture of compliance and maintaining safe and healthy work environments.”
Cary Brown, Executive Director of the Vermont Commission on Women, said, “far too many people in Vermont feel they are facing the untenable choice of putting up with sexual harassment at work or leaving their job. This tool can help both employers and workers know their rights, understand the law, and create a workplace where all are respected.”
Produced with assistance from WCAX TV, the video contains a roundtable discussion moderated by Tabitha Pohl-Moore, President of the Rutland Area Branch of the NAACP, and features Brown as well as Shirley Jefferson, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Diversity at Vermont Law School. The video defines workplace sexual harassment, explains Vermont employers’ obligations to appropriately respond to claims of sexual harassment, and provides links to resources such as the Vermont Department of Labor’s model sexual harassment policy.
Comments or questions about Vermont’s sexual harassment laws should be directed to the Vermont Office of the Attorney General, Civil Rights Unit, [email protected] at 888-745-9195 (toll free in Vermont), or 802-828-3657.