Understanding Illinois Workplace Bullying Laws: A Guide for IT Recruiters

IT and startup companies bring a different kind of challenge to the illinois workplace bullying law than other sectors. In order to keep up with the needs of its employees and contractors, an IT company must move fast. Any tool that can streamline the hiring process will be useful. However, there are potential risks anytime a company hires a contractor. Both the company’s and the contractor’s actions present risks, and startups that bear down on one to the exclusion of the other are asking for trouble.

So, how can IT companies use the speed of services like Bench Direct when hiring contractors and still comply with the Illinois workplace bullying law and other workplace laws? What are the risks of not complying with those laws? Read on to learn more.

The Illinois workplace bullying law is important to understand for more reasons than that it’s a new law. The law lays out what constitutes bullying and why it’s a problem. The penalties for breaking the law are lenient, with only one year in jail and a fine of $2500 or less. Regardless, IT companies can’t afford to be on the wrong side of the law. This article outlines what you need to know.

These days, IT companies hire hundreds, if not thousands of contractors a year through platforms like Bench Direct. While online hiring platforms make it easier to bring people on-board, they come with their own risks. Since consultants are hired directly by the company, whether they’re a long-term employee or a contracted consultant doesn’t really matter-both have access to the same workplace. And if they collide-well, read on.

Most startups aren’t aware that bullying has produced real-life consequences to some of the largest companies in the U.S. Google, for example, had to settle a class-action lawsuit over workplace harassment lawsuit. It had to pay $11 million in legal fees, lost business, and other costs. More recently, Uber had to pay $20 million to settle sexual harassment claims. And sexual harassment isn’t the only incident that has plagued the tech industry. Over the years, Backflip Studios, Apple, League of Legends, and many others have faced accusations of harassment or bullying from employees. It’s a challenge the entire tech industry struggles with.

Why does it take so long to be compliant? Well, it doesn’t have to. To avoid the disruption of unexpected spending, IT companies need to incorporate anti-bullying, anti-harassment, and anti-discrimination training into the hiring process. Startups that fail to do this can run the risk of falling victim to a bullying or harassment incident and the resulting fallout. These issues often lead to heightened insurance premiums, an increased risk of lost or reduced business, and the potential for lawsuits and settlements that are expensive.

Discrimination training, bullying and harassment training, onboarding, and compliance with the law all work together to create a comprehensive preventative strategy. One strategy that many IT companies are using is to hire for attitude and train for skill. They recognize that bullied and harassed employees don’t function well, and often affect the productivity and morale of the entire company. So, they target people who have a proven excellent attitude “on paper” in order to build a team of great co-workers. That results in lower mortality, less time spent in HR, and enhances teamwork. It’s a win-win.

A smart way to protect your startup is to utilize a resource like Bench Direct. The founders of this online contractor hiring solution sought to address the unique challenges of tech and startups. They built a platform that’s simple to use, and includes features for invoicing, auditing, and instant notifications that keep track of every detail. It’s a great way to keep your company compliant with both employment and workplace laws.

Part of what makes Bench Direct so effective is that it takes care of compliance, audits, invoicing and record keeping so companies don’t have to. This gives companies the chance to move quickly-bringing in a new contractor when they need to without fuss, while knowing they’re protected when it comes to common mistakes that most companies don’t even know they’re making. How can you tell if you’re making mistakes? Work with a consultant or reach out to Bench Direct to learn more about your options for getting protected.

This may seem like a lot to keep track of, but protecting your business from liability is important, and the right combination of HR solutions can help you get there. For example, you can get a customized onboarding process, clear communication, record keeping, time tracking, employee data tracking, customizable templates, invoicing, and much more-all without doing any extra work.

For more information on workplace bullying laws, you can visit Wikipedia.