Our guest is Kathy Speaker MacNett, an attorney specializing in labor relations and employment law, with SkarlatosZonarich LLC in Harrisburg, PA. Kathy Speaker MacNett sat down with Bret Keisling of Captial Trustees, LLC in December 2017 to address the very topical issue of creating a healthy work environment. Content note: While this podcast is not explicit, it does address in general terms the existence of rape and sexual assault and the existence of LGBTQ+ and racial discrimination in the workplace.
Sexual harassment and assault in the workplace have been at the top of headlines recently, with several prominent cases highlighted by the #MeToo movement. Kathy Speaker MacNett encourages you to look at your employment policies and ensure you are addressing all forms of discrimination. While the desire to create a discrimination-free environment is not unique to ESOP companies, the importance of a healthy workplace culture is such a key component to the success of an employee-owned company that ESOPs are particularly well-positioned to face this issue directly. Prevention is the best policy. If an ESOP company does not have an anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy, they should stop listening to this podcast and talk to someone about writing a policy for them now.