The Louisiana Legislature has passed a law entitled Prevention of Sexual Harassment, which becomes effective on January 1, 2019. Although the effective date is in January, agency heads are required to take all actions necessary to bring the agency in compliance with the provisions of R.S. 42:342 and 343 as enacted by Section 1 of the Act as soon as possible. 

While many entities may have a foundation of policies and procedures in place, adhering to the details of the new law are likely to be time-intensive and complex. Agency and department heads should begin planning now for development, approval, implementation, record management, training and use of new policies, if they have not yet done so. 

Who is impacted? 

All public officers and employees, departments, offices, divisions, agencies, commissions, boards, committees, and other organizational units of the State of Louisiana or political subdivision. 

What are the requirements? 

 In order to comply with the Act, three main requirements must be met:

1. Policy Development and Implementation- specific language and processes must be incorporated into sexual harassment policies and posted prominently on the agency website or in a conspicuous location in the office.
2. Training Implementation and Recordkeeping- provide training annually on sexual harassment for all employees that meet the minimum-hours requirement with additional training for those accepting or investigating complaints of sexual harassment in the agency and maintain training records.
3. Reporting- submit a report annually each February that tracks various metrics related to sexual harassment beginning in 2020 for data captured in 2019.

To read the act in its entirety, visit the website of the Louisiana State Legislature. 

Need Help? 

With a combined 40+ years of human resources knowledge and hands-on practice, P&N’s HR Consulting team holds the highest certifications from the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and is experienced in policy development, implementation, training and recordkeeping. Contact P&N for assistance in getting your agency ready to comply with the requirements of the new state law.