November 16, 2021

With many employers stepping up hiring — retailers and delivery providers alone are scrambling to hire more than 700,000 seasonal employees — it’s important that compliance training doesn’t get lost in the holiday shuffle. Making essential workplace compliance training part of the onboarding process for seasonal employees sets expectations and guidelines for interacting with co-workers, customers and others, and it’s the law in several states.

In California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New York and Washington State seasonal hires must complete mandatory sexual harassment training and failure to properly train temporary employees can lead to steep fines for the employer. 

While seasonal jobs may be temporary to start with, they can lead to permanent positions, especially in this tight labor market. Investing in compliance training helps seasonal employees feel valued and part of the team and is an effective way to communicate and reinforce behavior expectations that apply to all employees.

5 Compliance Training Topics For Seasonal Employees And Supervisors

Preventing Discrimination & Harassment
As part of the onboarding process, sexual harassment prevention training communicates and reinforces an organization’s anti-harassment policies, raises awareness of laws regarding harassment and discrimination and explains the procedures for employees to report incidents.. 

Managers and supervisors, who play a pivotal role in fostering an inclusive, respectful work environment, should be trained on their specific responsibilities to recognize, respond to and resolve incidents — and prevent retaliation against anyone who reports discrimination, harassment or other misconduct.

Code of Conduct
Code of conduct training helps new employees start work with a clear understanding of an organization’s core values, principles, policies and standards for honest and ethical behavior. It’s also a good practice to pair seasonal workers with a designated, experienced employee they can consult with when they face workplace challenges or have questions about the organization’s operations and guidelines. 

Accommodating Employees with Disabilities
Supervisors and managers should know their responsibilities to make reasonable accommodations in the workplace for employees with disabilities, including seasonal workers. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies from the first day of employment and doesn’t require employees to work a minimum number of hours to be covered. 

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state laws require supervisors and managers to pay seasonal employees one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked in excess of 40 in a given workweek.

Accommodating Religious Practices
Seasonal and permanent employees may request time off to practice religious celebrations of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas Day. Managers should be trained on how to engage employees about religion, spirituality and beliefs to determine exactly what their religious requirements are and whether they can be accommodated.

Traliant Insight

Training seasonal employees and managers on workplace policies and essential compliance topics is an important step in ensuring a safe, productive holiday season for everyone. In addition to meeting holiday demand, organizations can identify potential top performers they may want to retain permanently.

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nicholas.casciani