RIVERSIDE, C.A.– Citing the seriousness of harassment in the workplace, City Manager John A. Russo has directed that all anti-harassment training for City employees be conducted in a live classroom setting instead of in a combination of live and online training.

Russo issued the directive this week, saying that all employees whose training has or will expire by Dec. 31 must attend a live training session. Employees are required to attend the training every other year. In the past, some have taken the training live, while others have completed online training.

“Harassment can have a poisonous effect in the workplace, so it is imperative that we are certain that all of our employees are receiving this training as active listeners,” Russo said. “Our employees have a lot of demands on them, and after the training module is launched, it is easy to get distracted by phone calls or other pressing issues. Conducting all training live will eliminate that possibility.”

The live classes will begin Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015. Managers and supervisors will attend a two-hour sexual harassment prevention training session. All other employees will attend one-hour training session on maintaining a harassment-free workplace.

All of the training sessions should be completed by the end of September, Human Resources Director Brenda Diederichs said. In the past, managers typically have received the training live while other employees, including employees who may have missed an earlier-scheduled training, have taken online training.

“Unfortunately, harassment remains a serious issue in the workplace, so it behooves all organizations to ensure their employees are receiving the proper training,” Diederichs said. “Switching to a system where all training is provided by a live instructor will leave no doubt that our employees have been properly trained.”