The Metro Nashville Government will now reportedly require private companies who contract with the city to have sexual harassment training for its employees.
This, according to a new story on Nashville Public Radio.
“While city employees and elected officials already go through harassment training, some on the Metro Council were bothered to learn that contractors — some whom represent the city or work closely alongside Metro employees — weren’t being held to the same standard,” according to the station.
“The final straw for Councilwoman Angie Henderson was a case in which the city investigated behavior by a man employed by a prominent contractor.”
Henderson was unavailable to talk Monday to The Tennessee Star. She told Nashville Public Radio, however, she was frustrated that the incident in question happened in the first place.
“What was recommended for this person, who was alleged to have harassed a Metro employee, was that he go through sexual harassment training,” Henderson told the news agency.
“That frustrated me. … It seemed like at a minimum, that was something we could require so hopefully something like this would not happen again in the future.”
Henderson, the station went on to say, helped pass the new requirement this month.
The new rules apply to companies that have contracts with the city at least $500,000 or that hold for a minimum of a year. Employees in need of training are those who have direct contact with Metro employees or who interact with the public “in a way that represents Metro” or work on Metro property, the station said.
The station did not know how many workers this win include as no estimates are available yet.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
