I'm Alexandra Ragi. For today's Trace Compliance Minute, Misty Mukergy of Extentio Law will address the compliance implications of the Me Too movement. Over to you, Misty.

Thank you, Alexandra. Two years ago, the hashtag Me Too sparked an unprecedented national conversation about workplace harassment.

Today's employees are more informed and empowered

to speak up about their right to work in a fair, equitable, and inclusive environment.

Employers are also evolving, first to prevent, and then to decisively respond to harassment and

discrimination issues, thereby improving their workplace and mitigating

significant reputational and economic damage. An open and fair complaint process is critical

to enable a private response to employee concerns. Employers should seize the opportunity to

ensure that their complaint processes are complete, up-to-date, resourced, and monitored.

Every harassment complaint should receive prompt, corrective, remedial action.

Lawyers are eager to take on cases of workplace harassment, where the employer did nothing to respond.

And social media has become a very powerful tool for creating a one-sided

narrative when an employer fails to act. On the other hand, employers who listen and who respond

with integrity have an incredible opportunity to inspire confidence and understand their

organization's weaknesses. Traditional sexual harassment training has evolved into leadership

development and training is now integrated, interactive, and tied to key business objectives.

Leaders are being held accountable by their stakeholders for the manner in which they respond

to concerns, how they message their commitment to ethics and integrity, and what they do

to remediate issues that come to their

attention. Employers in the Me Too environment have to prioritize new competencies, including the right

kind of training, the right response process, the right cultural messaging, and most importantly,

values-based leadership, management, and accountability.

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