[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of New
Hyde Park 3-4-1997. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Village of New Hyde Park believes in the dignity of the individual
and recognizes the right of any person to equal opportunities. In this regard,
the village has had a long-standing practice of protecting and safeguarding
the rights and opportunities of any person who might seek or obtain employment
without being subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace.
As with discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age,
disability and national origin, the Village of New Hyde Park also prohibits
sexual harassment of its employees or officers in any form. The village will
take all steps necessary to prevent and stop the occurrence of sexual harassment
in the workplace.
A.
This policy applies to all village officers and employees
and all individuals who serve as contractors to the village. Depending on
the extent of the exercise of control, this policy may be applied to the conduct
of those who are not officers or employees or contractors of the village with
respect to the sexual harassment of village officers or employees in the workplace.
B.
This sexual harassment policy prohibits conduct including but not limited to the inappropriate forms of behavior described in this policy under § 33-3, Definitions.
C.
Department heads and supervisory personnel are responsible
for ensuring a work environment free from unsolicited, unwelcome and intimidating
sexual overtures. These individuals must take immediate and appropriate corrective
action when allegations of sexual harassment come to their attention to assure
compliance with this policy.
D.
A person who is found to have committed an act of sexual
harassment may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the provisions
of a negotiated labor agreement or state law, as may be appropriate. Additionally,
retaliation against someone who has filed a sexual harassment complaint is
prohibited and may result in disciplinary action against the retaliator if
that person is an officer or employee of the village. Intimidation, coercion,
threats, reprisals or discrimination against any person for complaining about
harassment, as described in this policy, is prohibited.
E.
All village officers and employees will be held responsible
and accountable for avoiding or eliminating the conduct prohibited by this
policy. Village employees are encouraged to report violations of this policy
to their supervisor or to a member of the Sexual Harassment Committee. This
Committee shall consist of two members of the Village Board, to be appointed
annually by the Mayor.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Sexual advances that are not welcome, requests for sexual favors and
other verbal or physical conduct with sexual overtones constitute sexual harassment
when:
Submission to such conduct is made, either explicitly or implicitly,
a term or condition of an individual's employment; or
Submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual is used
as the basis for employment decisions such as promotion, transfer or termination
affecting such individual; or
Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with
an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile
or offensive working environment.
Sexual harassment refers to behavior that an individual does not welcome;
that is personally offensive; that fails to respect the rights of others;
that lowers morale and that, therefore, interferes with an individual's
work performance and effectiveness; or that creates an intimidating, hostile
or offensive working environment.
Specific forms of behavior that the village would consider sexual harassment
include, but are not limited to, the following:
Verbal harassment. Abusive verbal language related to a person's
sex, including sexual innuendos, slurs, suggestive, derogatory or insulting
comments or sounds, whistling, jokes of a sexual nature, sexual propositions
and threats. Included would be any sexual advance that is unwelcome or any
demand for sexual favors.
Nonverbal harassment. Abusive written language, showing or displaying
pornographic or sexually explicit objects or pictures, graphic commentaries,
leering or obscene gestures in the workplace such that it unreasonably interferes
with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile
or offensive working environment.
Physical harassment. Any physical contact which is not welcome, including
touching, petting, pinching, coerced sexual intercourse, assault or persistent
brushing up against a person's body.
A.
Any village officer or employee is encouraged to report
an incident of sexual harassment to a department head or to the Sexual Harassment
Committee as soon as possible after an alleged incident. However, should the
person's department head be involved in the incident, the report should
be made directly to any member of the Sexual Harassment Committee.
B.
Should an officer or employee believe that he or she
has been sexually harassed and would like guidance as to how to proceed in
filing a complaint, that individual should review the village's sexual
harassment complaint procedure[1] or contact any member of the Sexual Harassment Committee.
[1]
Editor's Note: The sexual harassment complaint procedure is included
at the end of this chapter.
C.
Should an individual file a complaint, the procedures
of the Sexual Harassment Committee must be followed, including the time limit
of 180 days. The procedure describes the steps to be taken when an employee
has filed a complaint, details the responsibilities of all involved parties
and provides the time frames for actions to be taken.
D.
All complaints will be handled in a timely and confidential
manner. In no event will information concerning a complaint be released by
the village to any third party or to anyone within village employment who
is not directly involved in the investigation.
E.
Investigation of a complaint will normally include conferring
with the parties involved and any named or apparent witnesses. The particular
facts of the allegation will be examined individually, with a review of the
nature of the behavior and the context in which the incident or incidents
occurred. Confidentiality will be maintained throughout the investigatory
process. The Sexual Harassment Committee will also investigate cases in which
a supervisor requests or requires assistance.
F.
An individual who believes that he or she has been unjustly
charged with sexual harassment will be afforded every opportunity to offer
and present information in defense of the complaint. Any information will
be confidential.
G.
A person who participates in this procedure may do so
without fear of retaliation. Retaliation against anyone who has filed a sexual
harassment complaint may well be a violation of federal law and may result
in disciplinary action by the village.
H.
A person who is found to have committed an act of sexual
harassment may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the provisions
of a negotiated labor agreement or state law, as may be appropriate.
I.
Nothing in this policy should be construed
to limit an individual's existing right to file a complaint with the
New York State Division of Human Rights or the United States Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission or to take any legal action which he or she may deem
advisable.
