Updated February 2021
Most organizations periodically train their personnel to recognize, avoid and report workplace discrimination, including harassment and both intentional and unintentional bias. To ensure that CSG-qualified public media stations consistently follow this practice, CPB requires annual harassment and bias prevention training for all officers (examples: President and CEO, Vice President, COO, CFO and General Manager), employees (full-time and part-time who are paid a salary or hourly wage), and interns (paid and unpaid) as a condition of the Grantee’s eligibility for a radio or television Community Service Grant (CSG). Stations can use a harassment and bias prevention training program of their choice or, starting May 1, 2021, they can use a program that CPB will offer at no charge to stations that covers:
- What constitutes acceptable and unacceptable workplace behavior;
- How to recognize harassment and bias when it occurs; and
- How to report and respond to violations.
Because CPB’s primary objective is creating a safe environment at your station, this no-cost training is also available for stations that wish to train personnel who are not officers, employees, or interns. This may include volunteers, contractors, board members and others that the station selects because of the frequency of their presence in the workplace.
Grantees may satisfy the Harassment and Bias Prevention Requirement through either of the following training options:
- A harassment and bias prevention training program of your choice. For this option, you must keep records of all personnel who were trained each year as proof of compliance. Your program will satisfy the requirement if it instructs your personnel, either in person or online, on the three topics listed above.
OR
- CPB’s interactive online harassment and bias prevention training service, available May 1, 2021. Updates will be provided here shortly on how to register for the new training.
Grantees will have until October 1, 2021, to complete their training to qualify for their FY2022 CSG.
Head of Grantees and Licensee Officials must certify their station’s compliance with this requirement in the FY2022 CSG Agreement and Certification of Eligibility which is scheduled to be released in CPB’s Integrated Station Information System in early November 2021.
We know you share our commitment to maintaining a work environment that promotes inclusion and is free from all forms of discrimination, harassment, and bias. CPB appreciates your cooperation with this requirement. For additional information, please see the FAQs below. If you still have questions, please contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are stations obligated to conduct HPBT for contractors or temp employees hired by an outside agency?
No, you do not have to train personnel who have left the organization.However, you must ensure that all personnel with the station, as of October 1, 2021, have taken either a training of your choice or the CPB provided training prior to submitting your CSG Agreement and Certification of Eligibility for FY2022.
- What constitutes acceptable and unacceptable workplace behavior;
- How to recognize harassment and bias when it occurs; and
-
How to report and respond to violations.
The training was created to train personnel individually. However, any alternative training that you decide to use can be done in a group setting.