COACH's Pop Quiz!

Q: Your office has been shorthanded for a while, but you’ve just hired a new employee to answer phones in the leasing office. Even though he’s got previous experience working at another community, you should make sure that he learns the basics about fair housing law even before allowing him to answer the phones. True or false?

A: True. Despite his previous work experience, you shouldn’t let the new employee answer the phones without at least some training in how your community complies with fair housing law. In fact, it’s a good idea to include fair housing basics as part of the orientation process for all employees, regardless of where they work in your community.

In September, the Coach’s lesson offers fair housing basic training for anyone newly hired to work at your community. It’s simple to say that fair housing law bans housing discrimination, but there are pitfalls that sometimes lead even seasoned professionals into fair housing trouble. This lesson reviews the basics so that everyone working at your community—regardless of his or her job—understands what’s okay—and not okay—to do or say when interacting with applicants, residents, and guests at your community.

To learn more, see the September 2019 lesson, “Fair Housing Boot Camp: Basic Training for New Hires,” available to subscribers here.