Hi there,

This is your monthly roundup of Spot product updates and DEI-related content.

Coming Soon

  • Bystander intervention training will be available at the end of August! Please let us know if you’re interested in this 1-hour training. (See the Compliance Alert below on Chicago’s new law requiring this training as part of harassment prevention regulations.)

Compliance Alert

The city of Chicago, Illinois, has introduced new requirements for sexual harassment prevention, including additional training and policy obligations. Employers must provide a comprehensive written policy and mandate the following training annually:
1. One hour of sexual harassment prevention training for everyone
2. One additional hour of harassment prevention training for managers
3. One hour of bystander training for everyone

Spot’s sexual harassment prevention training already covers the first two requirements, and a new supplemental 1-hour bystander training will be available from Spot at the end of August.

New from Spot


  • Add new report via PDF: You can now add a new report to the Spot dashboard by uploading a PDF. Use this feature to upload a file on an incident that was not documented with Spot. A new report will appear in your Inbox with the PDF attached.

This Bears Repeating

  • On-demand HR coaching: Spot subscribers can get on-demand, hourly HR coaching with experts from HRuprise! Contact us to discuss the discounted rate and booking process.

In the Spotlight

Many of you have let us know you would like additional trainings and training features from Spot. This feedback led us to prototype something new: Spotlight, a microtraining + survey feature. The purpose is to explain more about DEI concepts in a fresh way, get high-level feedback about DEI issues, and make sure people know where to find Spot should they need to raise an issue.

The first Spotlight covers unconscious bias in the hiring process. You can try the feature here: https://app.talktospot.com/micro

Keep in mind that this is a prototype. If you’d like to pilot this feature with your employees, let us know. Feedback is also always appreciated!

Links Roundup

Speaking of bias in hiring, a New York bakery is paying $850,000 to settle allegations that its word-of-mouth hiring practice discriminated against female, Black, and Asian jobseekers. (HR Dive)

Who knew? The United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO), based in Geneva, released a report linking higher workplace productivity, better employee retention, greater employee well-being, and higher levels of innovation and performance to—wait for it—higher degrees of diversity and inclusion. The report also said that too little is being done by organizations to foster diversity. (Newsweek)

Not OK. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s decision dismissing the claim of a hostile work environment based on a supervisor referring to their employee as the N-word in front of other workers. The reversal says that single use of such an offensive epithet can in fact lead to viable claim of a hostile work environment under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits harassment and discrimination on the basis of race. (SHRM)