The Civil Rights Act of 1964, that gave us Title VII and our protected classes, was born out of social justice movements. Discussion around race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender/identity, sex/orientation, etc. often comes up at work. These discussions arise whether a necessary part of achieving your small non-profit’s community mission, or your large for-profit corporation’s DEI initiatives, or just in the course of employees discussing what they see happening in their communities, the media, and the world. In this session, we will discuss how to ensure these inevitable conversations don’t cross the lines of workplace harassment and discrimination.

Participants will learn

1. How to ensure workplace conversations around social justice and views don’t cross lines into what feels unsafe or harassing to some.

2. When discussing protected class and social justice issues is business-critical, or optional.

3. How to ensure that your well-intentioned DEI trainings and initiatives don’t inadvertently result in claims of discrimination and harassment.