Sexual Harassment Training for Illinois Structural and Professional Engineers: 2023 thru 2024 Renewal Cycle

In Sexual Harassment Training for Illinois Structural and Professional Engineers: 2023 thru 2024 Renewal Cycle, you'll learn ...

• What is sexual harassment, including its forms and types
• What you should do if you experience or witness unwelcome sexual contact
• How to report sexual harassment to your employer, as well as to outside entities, such as the Illinois Department of Human Rights
• Protections against retaliation for sexual harassment complaints under the Illinois Whistleblower Act

Overview

Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.

Credit: 1 PDH

Length: 13 pages

This online course meets the requirements of Section 1130.400 of the Illinois Administrative Code, which requires all structural engineers and professional engineers to complete a 1 PDH course in sexual harassment training for license renewals occurring on or after January 1, 2020. Licensees may count this 1 PDH course towards the 30 PDH biennial requirement.

The Illinois General Assembly defines sexual harassment as any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature when:

• (i) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment;
• (ii) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or
• (iii) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

In this course, you’ll learn what sexual harassment is, as well as the different types of sexual harassment. You’ll see some examples of specific behavior that may constitute sexual harassment. You’ll likely recognize some of the behaviours as obvious sexual harassment. Others may surprise you.

You’ll learn about effective methods for confronting and stopping sexual harassment. You’ll also learn about important elements of an effective employer complaint procedure, as well as remedies available outside of the company, including the employee’s right to contact the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about filing a formal complaint.

Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. You’ll learn the steps that employers need to take to stop sexual harassment from happening in the first place. You’ll discover the importance of employers implementing a prompt, thorough, and impartial sexual harassment investigation process, as evidenced by some recent court cases. You’ll also learn about protections against retaliation for sexual harassment complaints under the Illinois Whistleblower Act, as well as some limitations of the Act.

Finally, the course presents a model sexual harassment policy developed by the Illinois Department of Human Rights, which provides valuable information on types of sexual harassment, the responsibility of individual employees, the responsibility of supervisors and how to file a sexual harassment complaint.

Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

• What is the single defining characteristic of sexual harassment?
• The differences between general harassment, sexual coercion and seductive behavior
• When can complementing a woman’s dress be considered sexual harassment?
• Can leering, hooting or wolf whistles be considered sexual harassment?
• Potential psychological and physical reactions to being harassed
• Should you confront a harasser or immediately file an IDHR complaint?
• Features and limitations of the Illinois Whistleblower Act
• What constitutes retaliation under the Illinois Whistleblower Act
• Whether the merit of a whistleblower complaint is dependent on the final judgment in the harassment case
• Prevention steps that employers need to take to stop sexual harassment from happening in the first place
• Recent court cases which demonstrate the importance of employers implementing a prompt, thorough, and impartial sexual harassment investigation process
• A model sexual harassment policy developed by the Illinois Department of Human Rights

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 10 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.