Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/921563
www.HartfordBusiness.com • January 8, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 9 FOCUS ers cover a wide spectrum, according to Schwartz, Katz and Tanya A. Bovee, office managing principal in Jackson Lewis' Hartford office. Sexual harassment prevention and aware- ness training at companies typically takes place in a classroom setting, the lawyers said. Advice can range from how to handle unwanted touching to rude jokes and more, to when and how to report complaints. "Many employers want more of an interactive, exciting training," said Bovee. "Many are thinking about having training for their boards [of directors or trustees], which might be a direct response to what's going on right now. There's a greater em- phasis in providing training to employees, not just management." Schwartz says his firm might advise a human resources department within a cli- ent's firm on how to conduct an investiga- tion. Or where circumstances warrant, attorneys might find an outside investiga- tor who can investigate claims under the law firm's direction, he said. "We've been encouraging employers to tailor their training to educate employees on what behavior is acceptable in their specific workplace," Schwartz said. "It can't be a 'check the box' type of training. It has to provide real-life examples and scenarios to assist supervisors and employers." Shipman & Goodwin lawyers are in- corporating new technologies like voting buttons on keypads that are used during in-person training, he added. "People can express their views anonymously so you can get to the heart of where there might be confusion or agreement on things and you can see the votes in real- time," Schwartz said. "The feedback is really useful. People want to be educated but are sometimes fearful of raising their hand and saying, 'I don't know.' " The legal process In Connecticut, by law, the process for filing a sexual harassment complaint starts by notifying CHRO within 180 days of the incident. The person also may file a com- plaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity commission within 300 days of the incident, CHRO's Dumas Keuler said. In either case, and even if the alleged victim files in both venues, the employer must be notified and admin- istrative remedies must be exhausted before a case finds its way into the courts, she said. CHRO is a less expensive option for the accuser because the state agency becomes a party to any credible com- plaint and acts as a prosecutor at public hearings it holds, said Dumas Keuler and Spencer Hill, an- other CHRO human rights attorney. Most cases settle for money, often in the form of back pay, said Hill. If ter- minated, an accuser would likely settle for front pay or, if left unemployed, might settle for emotional distress damages. They can also settle for affirmative relief policy changes and training that CHRO would follow-up on, Hill said. "The vast majority [of cases] settle and don't result in a trial," Hill said, noting that most cases take months to resolve. "Litiga- tion is incredibly expensive for the em- ployer. The cost is a lot of the reason the litigation is settled, because even if you feel you're going to win, it's going to cost a lot of money [to pay legal counsel]." Kevin Greene, an attorney with Halloran and Sage of Hartford, also points out that it is impor- tant for employers to understand that even an accuser who recovers a "modest" damages award is entitled by law to recover attorney's fees, which often can exceed the amount of the judgment. Beyond the need to avoid claims, hefty costs and negative publicity, more employers today also want to avoid the toll on productivity or morale, he says. "Employers genuinely want to know their legal obligations and want guidance on what they can do to main - tain a proper and professional work environment," said Greene. "Employers seem to recognize that a sexually charged and hostile environment is also not a positive environment for business growth." Victim's perspective While employers grapple with sexual harassment issues in the workplace, vic- tims also face challenges in today's highly charged employment situations, according to one lawyer who represents them. Nina T. Pirrotti, a partner with New Haven law firm Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, said she has seen her caseload double in the past year. "My clients run the gamut from blue- collar workers to high-level professionals with significant degrees beyond college," Pirrotti said. "It doesn't seem any particular group has been left unscathed by this type of conduct. And the perpetrators run the gamut from chiefs of companies to profes- sors to coworkers and people who know it's happening and doing nothing to stop it." Despite the heightened public consciousness, Pirrotti says she still sees a lack of adequate training on the part of man- agers at accused companies, includ- ing a fair amount of retaliation. The ways compa- nies may retaliate include yelling at the accuser, questioning why the complaint has been filed, threatening termi- nation, transferring the employee or ostracizing them in the workplace and "just freezing them out," she said. "It happens often and it's hard enough for these women to summon up the courage and come forward — but then to be victimized again, it has poten - tially paralyzing effects," Pirrotti said. Victims risk a great deal by coming forward, she adds — reputation, career, livelihood and "becom- ing a pariah in your own workplace, being retaliated against and humiliated and not believed. The not believed part is the part that is the most devastating to my clients." Since complaints can be so damaging to all parties, Schwartz, Katz, Greene and Bovee say prevention is employers' and employees' best bet. "The good news — what I am seeing," says Bovee, "is many employers who just want to do the right thing." Sexual Harassment Complaints in CT The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities logged 145 sexual harassment complaints through November of 2017. Despite recent attention on sexual harassment across the country, the number of complaints in the state has been down in recent years. Fiscal year # of complaints 2017 145 2016 135 2015 181 2014 191 2013 167 2012 140 2011 198 2010 162 2009 170 2008 223 2007 188 Source: CCHRO Employer sexual harassment training: The basics Connecticut employment lawyers say they advise companies to take the following steps when instituting or updating sexual harassment policies and training: • Post your sexual harassment policy prominently. • Train all supervisors. • Train all employees. • Provide employees with clear-cut guidelines for reporting complaints. • Have a plan for investigating all complaints, including procedures for follow-up. • Make sure supervisors understand their responsibility to consider escalating "informal" complaints. • Create an environment where it is known that harassment is not tolerated. • Use "real-world" examples native to your workplace in training to communicate what is or is not acceptable. Nina T. Pirrotti, Partner, Garrison, Levin- Epstein, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti "If you are afraid to report because of fear of what would happen at your job, you should know that retaliation is its own protected class." Michelle Dumas Keuler , human rights attorney, Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) CT joins other 'blue' states in looking to skirt new tax law By Ana Radelat CT Mirror B lue states like Connecticut that say they were targeted in the GOP's federal tax overhaul are looking for ways to protect their residents from the negative impact of the new cap on the deductibility of state and local taxes. The problem for many taxpayers in high-income states is that the new tax law limits to a total of $10,000 the de- ductibility of, in Connecticut's case, state income and municipal property taxes. That won't affect many taxpayers in lower-income, lower-tax states like Ala- bama or Missouri, but states that have high incomes and costs-of-living, like Connecticut, New York, California, and New Jersey — states that also tend to trend Democratic — say they are being disproportionately punished and are looking for ways around the new law. "Everyone is looking to see if there's something we can do," said Connecticut Department of Revenue Services Com- missioner Kevin Sullivan. Sullivan said Connecticut is consid- ering a proposal New York and other states are weighing, to replace their income tax with payroll taxes paid by employers, like the current Social Security and unemployment insurance taxes that businesses now pay. The way it would work is this: Com- panies would reduce workers' pay by the amount of their state tax liability and the employer, not the individual, would pay it to the state. Since companies are not limited like individual taxpayers by the new federal tax code's cap on the deductibility of state and local income taxes, the com- panies would not lose any money under this arrangement. Meanwhile, because the worker never received the money, he or she would not have to pay taxes on it. "The primary [proposal] we're looking at is the wage withholding change," Sul- livan said. "We're trying to find out how it's workable and if it's workable." Sullivan said a possible problem with the plan is that those who don't receive paychecks and have other forms of income would not be able to benefit. And, Sullivan said, if "blue" states are successful in finding ways to keep the so-called SALT taxes deductible, the federal government would face an unexpected shortfall in revenue and "come sweeping down" to challenge those states. "But my position is 'they did not care about us, and I don't care about them,'" Sullivan said.