Sexual Harassment in the Workplace focus of Business NH Magazine Interview with Attorney Terri Pastori

Business NH Magazine interviewed Attorney Terri L. Pastori for an article entitled, “Is Your Company Ready to Effectively Deal with Sexual Harassment?”  The article was part of a series on the timely topic of sexual harassment in the workplace, which was featured in Business NH Magazine’s January 2018 edition.  In the interview, Pastori noted that the EEOC conducted a study on the effectiveness of workplace training and the results were disappointing.  “Having people watch a video or sign off on a policy without reading it is not helpful.  It’s better if the tone is set from the top down at a company as to what expectations are as to how people should treat each other.  .  .  There’s a lot more to do in terms of adjusting the culture in our workplaces.”  “If you don’t have the tone from the top down,” she adds, “no training in the world is going to help the company.”  Pastori offered practical tips for when a company receives a harassment complaint.  “Investigate it and take it seriously.  Interview the person complaining.  Interview the person being accused.  Interview other witnesses and do a thorough job.  Collect documents and follow through and be reasonable in your scope and do it quickly so it’s not hanging out there for an unreasonable period of time.”  At the end of the investigation, if it is determined that sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior occurred, take prompt remedial action, including discipline that is designed to end the inappropriate conduct.”  Pastori also notes that interim measures to protect the complainant during the pendency of the investigation should be considered.Read the full article here.Terri Pastori is a founding partner at Pastori Krans, a Concord, New Hampshire law firm focused on litigation. Practice areas include employment law, family law, and business disputes. Pastori and partner Heather Krans each have nearly 20 years of litigation experience and lead a team that addresses a broad spectrum of problems that their clients face – from routine matters to complex, multi-party cases. Learn more about the firm here.