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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESOLUTION - 34-97 - 7/22/1997 - AMEND PERSONNEL RULES & REGSRESOLUTION NO. 34-97 A RESOLUTION AMENDING ARTICLE IX DISCIPLINE, RULES AND EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION PROCEDURES, SECTION 9.18 SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF THE PERSONNEL RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE VILLAGE OF ELK GROVE VILLAGE NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Elk Grove Village, Counties of Cook and DuPage, State of Illinois: Section 1: That the President and Board of Trustees do hereby authorize an amendment to Article IX, Discipline, Rules and Employee Communication Procedures, Section 9.18 Sexual Harassment of the Personnel Rules and Regulations of the Village of Elk Grove Village, a copy of the amendment being attached hereto and made a part hereof as if fully set forth. Section 2: That this Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval according to law. VOTE: AYES: 6 NAYS: Q ABSENT: Q PASSED this 22nd day of July , 1997. APPROVED this 22nd day of July , 1997. Craig B. Johnson Village President ATTEST: Patricia S. Smith Village clerk VILLAGE OF ELK GROVE PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to establish the Village's commitment to provide a work environment free from harassment, to define discriminatory harassment, and to set forth a procedure to investigate and resolve internal complaints of harassment. Because it is important to keep the workplace free from any form of harassment, this policy shall be reviewed by management personnel with their employees on a semi-annual basis as part of the semi-annual performance evaluation process. It is critical that all employees treat each other with dignity and respect. It is the responsibility of each employee to make sure there is no inappropriate behavior in the workplace. INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR WHICH OCCURS IN THE WORKPLACE, IMPACTS THE WORKPLACE AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATEDI This policy applies to all employees, represented or not represented, and applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to hiring, placement, promotion, disciplinary action, layoff, reinstatement, transfer, leave of absence, compensation and training. POLICY: Harassment of an employee by another employee, on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, gender, or age is in VIOLATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAW AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED BY THE VILLAGE RESPONSIBILITIES: Management is responsible to develop this policy, keep it up-to-date, and to ensure that any violation of this policy brought to their attention is dealt with fairly, quickly, and impartially. All management personnel are also required to set the proper example at all times. Management personnel are further responsible to enforce the policy, to make a semi- annual review with each employee to ensure they know the policy, and to check the workplace to make sure the policy is being followed. When a deviation from this policy is noted or reported, supervisors shall bring this information to management immediately. Employees: It is the responsibility of each and every employee to know the policy and to follow the policy. It is imperative that every employee treat every other employee with dignity and respect to facilitate a professional work environment. DEFINITIONS For purposes of clarification, harassment includes but is not limited to the following behaviors: 1. Verbal Harassment Epithets, derogatory comments, slurs, propositioning, or otherwise offensive words or comments on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, gender or age, whether made in general, directed to an individual, or to a group of people regardless of whether the behavior was intended to harass. This includes but is not limited to inappropriate sexually oriented comments on appearance, including dress or physical features, sexual rumors, code words, and race oriented stories. 2. Physical Harassment Assault, impeding or blocking movement, leering, or the physical interference with normal work, privacy or movement when directed at an individual on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, gender or age. This includes pinching, patting, grabbing, inappropriate behavior in or near bathrooms, sleeping facilities and eating areas, or making explicit or implied threats or promises in return for submission to physical acts. 3. Visual Forms�f Harassment Derogatory, prejudicial, stereotypical or otherwise offensive posters, photographs, cartoons, notes, bulletins, drawings or pictures on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, gender or age. This applies to both posted material or material maintained in or on Village equipment or personal property in the workplace. 4. Sexual Harassment Any act which is sexual in nature and is made explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment, is used as the basis of an employment decision, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. Mal) I._' 1, ' The First Amendment allows anyone to associate with anyone else they desire. It is natural for people who meet in the workplace to sometimes become romantically involved, and it is not the Village's intent to interfere with any dating relationship. Any involvement between employees must be voluntary and desired by both parties. However, problems have developed due to dating relationships which can interfere with our goal of having a professional work environment. It is permissible for an employee to ask a co-worker out on a date. However, if you do not want to go out with another employee, it is imperative that your response to the request is firm and definite. After this firm, definite response has been made, it is inappropriate for the requesting party to make any further attempt to initiate a dating relationship. Repeated requests for a dating relationship constitute Sexual Harassment. It is also inappropriate for any relationship to interfere with normal work operations in any manner. Personnel who desire to become involved with someone in the workplace must be aware of the following guidelines: There shall be no dating activities on Village time or property. 2. There shall be no use of Village property to arrange dating activities. All behavior between employees shall be behavior conducive to a professional work environment at all times when on Village property or on Village time. Hand holding, kissing, hugging, sexual comments and other behavior generally associated with a dating relationship are inappropriate while on Village time or property. 4. Any relationship involving personnel at different levels on the chain of command (or where one party has functional supervision over another) shall be reported by the person of higher rank to his/her supervisor immediately. Failure to report this relationship is a violation of this policy. The Supervisor receiving this information shall immediately contact Human Resources and inform them of the relationship. Human Resources shall advise the Village Manager and make recommendations in concert with the Department Head to ensure that this relationship will not detract from a sound professional work environment. Such recommendations may include the transfer of either employee. Confrontation If any person feels they are the victim of any form of harassment, they should inform the person(s) participating in this behavior that he/she finds it offensive. This one-on-one confrontation has been demonstrated to be an effective way to end harassing behaviors. If the inappropriate behavior does not stop, the offended employee can initiate either an informal or formal complaint as described below. Because confrontation is difficult for some people and because of the complex nature of harassment, employees are not required to confront an offending party prior to initiating this complaint procedure. Informal Complaint Any employee who believes he or she is a victim of discriminatory workplace harassment should make a complaint orally or in writing to their immediate supervisor or the next level supervisor if applicable. Any Supervisor, or Department Head who observes inappropriate behavior or receives a harassment complaint shall notify the Human Resources Officer immediately. Any informal resolution will be attempted whenever appropriate. If the informal resolution process is unsuccessful, the complainant may direct a formal complaint. Formal Complaints SLeILI Filling of a Preliminary Complaint Any employee who alleges to be a victim of discriminatory workplace harassment should, within 30 calendar days of the alleged incident, contact his/her Supervisor or the next level Supervisor if applicable. This preliminary complaint can be verbal or written. Time Extension The time requirements set forth in this procedure may be extended when it is determined to be in the best interest of fairness and justice to the parties involved. Review of Preliminary Complaint Upon notification of a harassment complaint, the Supervisor, Department Head and the Human Resources Officer shall conduct an initial investigation to make a preliminary determination as to whether there is any merit to the complaint. If no merit is found, the Supervisor and the Human Resources Officer may still meet with the parties involved to attempt to conciliate the complaint or conflict between the parties, including the offer of mediation. Formal Complaint If after an initial investigation is conducted, there is no resolution and/or no conciliation of the preliminary complaint, a formal written complaint can be filed by the complainant. Upon receipt of the formal written complaint, the Department Head will contact the alleged harasser(s) who will be informed of the basis of the complaint. A copy of the complaint will be provided and the alleged harasser(s) will be given an opportunity to respond. The response shall be in writing, addressed to the Department Head and received within ten (10) calendar days after being notified of the complaint. Concurrently, a formal investigation of the complaint may be commenced. Review of Response and Findings Upon receipt of the response, the Department Head and the Human Resources Officer, may further investigate the formal complaint. Such investigation may include interviews with the complainant, the accused harasser(s), and any other persons determined to have relevant knowledge concerning the complaint. This may include victims of similar conduct. Factual information gathered through the investigation will be reviewed to determine whether the alleged conduct constitutes harassment, giving consideration to all factual information, the totality of the circumstances including the nature of the verbal, physical, visual or sexual conduct and the context in which the alleged incident(s) occurred. The results of the investigation and the determination as to whether harassment occurred will be reported to the Village Manager and all affected parties including the complainant, the alleged harasser(s), the Supervisor and the Department Head within twenty (20) calendar days from the receipt of the response, At any time during this process, professional mediation may be instituted by the Village Manager based on recommendations from the Department Head and the Human Resources Officer. All parties associated with the complaint are required to cooperate. DISCIPLINARY ACTION If harassment is determined to have occurred, the Department Head and the Human Resources Officer will make a recommendation to the Village Manager. The action will be commensurate with the severity of the offense, up to and including termination from employment. If discipline is imposed, the nature and extent of the discipline will not be divulged to the complainant. , e. Retaliation in any manner against a person for filing a harassment charge or initiating a harassment complaint, testifying in an investigation, providing information or assisting in an investigation is expressly prohibited and subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. Management will take reasonable steps to protect the victim and other potential victims from further harassment, and to protect the victim from any retaliation as a result of communicating the complaint_ CONFIDENTIALITY Confidentiality will be maintained to the fullest extent possible in accordance with applicable Federal, State and local law. FALSE COMPLAINTS Any complaint made by an employee regarding Job Based Harassment which is conclusively proven to be false, shall result in discipline. This discipline may include dismissal from employment. This section is not intended to discourage employees from making complaints regarding Job Based Harassment. However, false complaints adversely impact the workplace and the career of the accused, even when disproved, and will not be tolerated. LIMITATIONS The use of this procedure is limited to complaints related to discriminatory workplace harassment on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, gender or age. DISTRIBUTION This policy shall be disseminated to all employees, supervisors and managers of the Village. Any questions, concerns or comments related to this policy should be directed to the Human Resources Officer.