Panel Discussion: Harassment, Offensive Behavior, and Discrimination in the Workplace

It feels like the first news of the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke years ago at this point, but in fact, it was only five months ago. Since Weinstein, we have seen an uptick in sexual harassment allegations in outstate Minnesota: a public official who has made female employees uncomfortable for years due to unnecessary touching during meetings, an employee who resigned and then reported that she had been engaging in, using her words, “nonconsensual sex” with a coworker for months and didn’t know how to stop it, a supervisor who frequently made comments at work using sexual innuendo, etc. The tolerance for any interplay between work and sex is at an all-time low. Employers need to take time now to audit their workplaces, policies, procedures, and practices in the post-Weinstein world. Harassment, Offensive Behavior, and Discrimination in the Workplace provides human resource professionals with the tools to recognize harassment and discrimination of all kinds, to implement appropriate policies and procedures, and to handle sensitive situations in a way that combats potential pockets of harassment hidden in any workplace. Registration and lunch begin at 11:30 a.m. and the program begins at 12:00 p.m. Presenters: Joshua M. Heggem | MSBA Labor and Employment Law Specialist Josh is a partner at Pemberton Law and a MSBA Certified Labor and Employment Law Specialist. He is a seasoned workplace investigator, and has a great deal of litigation experience representing both employers and employees in legal disputes. He works with public and private employers on many different types of employment matters. Josh grew up in Aitkin, Minnesota, and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Minnesota Law School. Nicole Hansen | Internal Services/Human Resources Director for Otter Tail County Nicole is the Internal Services/Human Resources Director for Otter Tail County, Minnesota. She manages over 400 employees who work within seven different divisions, including Administration, Assessor, Attorney, Auditor-Treasurer, Facilities Operations, Emergency Management, Highway, Human Resources, Human Services, Information Technology, Land & Resources, Probation, Public Health, Recorder, Solid Waste, Sheriff and Veterans Services. Nicole grew up in North Dakota, and graduated from the University of North Dakota and William Mitchell College of Law. Patti Fandrich, SPHR, SHRM SCP | Human Resources Director for PioneerCare in Fergus Falls, Minnesota Patti is the Human Resources Director for PioneerCare in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. She has previous experience working as the Director of Human Resources for Snappy, Human Resources Director for Prairie Ridge Hospital and Health Services, and Director of Human Resource/Safety for ShoreMaster. Patti grew up in Carrington, North Dakota, and graduated from Minnesota State Community and Technical College. CLE Credits: 1.0 Standard CLE Credit applied for | Event Code: 256577 1.0 Labor & Employment Specialist credit This program is valid 1.0 PDC for the SHRM-CPSM or SHRM-SCPSM. This program has been submitted to the HR Certification Institute for review. Cost: Free for all attendees




Any Questions feel free to contact Sarah Hanson at Pemberton Law 218-736-5493 or email s.hanson@pemlaw.com