March 19, 2019 (New York) – International law firm Proskauer has released its third Value Insights survey. This survey focuses on Workplace Complaints in the #MeToo Era.
The current landscape has heightened the need for leaders at every business organization to ensure that sound and strategically aligned practices for preventing, receiving, and responding to harassment, discrimination and other workplace related claims are in place. Proskauer surveyed a number of companies to better understand how they were responding to these issues.
"There is no question that companies are feeling pressure to be able to respond both quickly, but also effectively and that all steps taken when investigating misconduct will potentially be scrutinized," said Elise M. Bloom, partner in the Firm's Labor & Employment Department and co-head of the Class & Collective Actions Group. "Our goal was to provide insight and offer some of the optimal methods to help navigate and respond to complaints effectively."
Key findings from the Workplace Complaints in the #MeToo Era survey include:
Impact
Harassment complaints have increased, but so have all other types of workplace complaints.
Among survey respondents:
- 42% reported an increase in harassment complaints
- 23% reported an increase in discrimination complaints
- 35% reported an increase in other workplace complaints, such as retaliation
Challenges
Organizations are facing three major challenges in the wake of the #MeToo movement:
- Keeping Up With the Proliferation of New State and Local Laws
- Calibrating Training for the #Me Too Era
- Choosing the Right Resource When Faced With a Complaint
Best Practices
Five major best practices emerged from our research:
- Demonstrating Leadership Buy-In
- Maximizing The Value of Training
- Amplifying Policies
- Optimizing Outside Counsel
- Keeping an Eye on Developing Trends
The initial web-based survey included more than 50 high-level legal decision makers responsible for employment issues within their organizations. Proskauer supplemented its survey results through Proskauer Peer Perspectives events, where they presented their findings to a select group of in-house counsel and solicited their feedback. In-depth interviews with several Proskauer partners who are experts in the area of workplace complaints were also conducted.
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