ATSSA Signal July/August 2020

The Signal | July/August 2020 41 Training ATSSA adds online training to address workplace issues New course launched early to address respiratory concerns Unclear about thedefinition of sexual harassment?Unsurehowto respond toa workplace injury or what todo if weather conditions get extreme? WorkplacesafetyisnoaccidentandATSSA’s newon-demand training curriculumhas the answers to these and other human resources and workplace safety issues. These timely offerings are in response to requests from ATSSA members and many are tailored for state-specific guide - lines. Some are offered in Spanish aswell as English. The self-paced courses were scheduled for an April 1 rollout, but with growing concerns about COVID-19 and tohelpour members deal with these issues, one of the courses was launched early. “Acute Respiratory Illness Pandemics: Prevention and Response” was made available for free tomembers starting in late March and will be free through the endof theyear. “Hundredsof peoplehave taken this course since then,” said Train- ing Development Manager Karen Jones. “We wanted to get this class out to our membersaspromptlyaspossiblebecause we knew they were concerned about protecting people in thewake of the coro- navirus,” said Vice President of Member ServicesDonnaClark. “We’vebeenpleased by the response to this course.” Courses are fully online, generally take 20–30minutes and canbe takenany time fromanywhere. Students receivea certifi - cateof completionviaemail after acourse is successfully finished. Workplacesafety topics complywithOccu- pational Safety and Health Administra- tion (OSHA) standards and include tips for avoiding injuries, identifying hazardous materials, working outdoors, and work- ing around heavy equipment. The curriculumalso includes timely topics such as what employees need to know about personal protective equipment and how to work safely in hot conditions, which is offered in Spanish and English. Human resource courses include sexual harassmentpreventionandresponse,how tohire legally, hours-of-service rules,work- ers’ compensation, andworkplaceprivacy. The curriculum includes state-specific courses, as appropriate, and are timely. (See list of state-specific requirements.) “Our members wanted to have their employees trained on these common workplace issues and we were happy to make this curriculum available,” Jones said. “These courses are short, can be taken conveniently, and the curriculum offers practical instruction on issues every workplace faces.”  For a full list of courses and registration, check ATSSA.com/WorkplaceTraining. Sexual harassment prevention training requirements for specific states The following states have requirements for sexual harassment prevention training. ATSSA’s fully online and self-paced workplace training, fulfills the requirements to deliver this training. California – Effective Jan. 1, 2020, employersmust provide sexual harassment prevention training to temporaryor seasonal employees within 30 calendar days after the hire. Connecticut – Employers with three or more employees must provide all existing employees with two hours of training by Oct. 1, 2020. Delaware – Employerswith50ormore employeesmust provide interactive training. Thiswas effective in January 2019, but the training for employees and supervisorsmust be repeated every two years, so re-training should be completed soon. Illinois – Effective Jan. 1, 2020, employers with 15 or more employees must provide this training at least once a year. Maine – Employers with 15 or more employees must have this training for all employees, including supervisors, within one year of their start date. New York – Every employer was required to provide employees with sexual harassment prevention training by Oct. 9, 2019 and annually thereafter.