[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Blairstown as Ch. XXIII (Ord. No. 93-06) of the 1977 Revised General
Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following words
shall have these specific definitions:
Any person, including a Township employee against whom a
charge of sexual harassment is filed.
Any Township employee who brings or files a charge of sexual
harassment.
A factual finding by the hearing administrator that a charged
party has committed an offense or offenses rising to the level of
sexual harassment, to wit: through severe and pervasive verbal and/or
physical conduct of a patently offensive nature not welcomed by the
complainant not only created a work environment that would interfere
with the performance and psychological well-being of a reasonable
person of the same sex but also specifically offended and injured
the complainant; said harassment being considered a type of sexual
harassment.
The person supervising or administering the investigation
regarding a sexual harassment complaint or complaints. Normally, this
shall be the Township Clerk, unless circumstances dictate otherwise.
Factual finding by the hearing administrator that a charged
party has committed an offense or offenses rising to the level of
sexual harassment, to wit: made unwelcome sexual advances motivated
by sexual desires upon a complainant, where the reaction of the complainant
to the advance affected a tangible aspect of the terms of their employment
with the Township. Said harassment being considered a type of sexual
harassment.
Any act of any Township official taken to punish, discourage
or intimidate those persons who have or may either become a complainant
or assist in the investigation of a legitimate sexual harassment complaint.
Includes the following:
Any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for
sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature
when:
Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly
or implicitly a term or condition of a person's employment: or
Submission to or rejection of such conduct by
a person is used as a basis for employment decisions affecting that
person: or
Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably
interfering with a person's work performance; or
Hostile work environment harassment; and
Quid pro quo sexual harassment.
A.
Any Township employee who feels that they have been
the victim of sexual harassment, or who witnessed acts of sexual harassment
against a fellow employee of the Township and has the consent of that
employee, may file a complaint of sexual harassment with the following
persons, but solely in the specific order listed below:
B.
Any filing of a complaint to a person other than the
complainant's direct supervisor must be accompanied by a statement
that the persons to whom the complaint should otherwise be addressed,
pursuant to the list above, cannot, in the mind of the complainant,
be objective about the sexual harassment charge the complainant wishes
to file.
A.
The complaint filed must include the following information:
(1)
The name, department and position or title of the
complainant;
(2)
The name, department and position or title of the
charged party;
(3)
The nature and circumstances, in detail, of the alleged
sexual harassment, including but not limited to, the injuries or consequences
suffered by the complainant, the names of any witnesses to such actions
and the duration of the actions questioned; and
(4)
Whether such harassment has been previously reported
to the supervisor or other person, and if so, when and to whom.
B.
Nothing in this section shall prevent the complainant
from providing other information or documents he/she or she believes
are essential to the fair adjudication of their case.
C.
The filing may be made orally or in writing. If same
is made orally, the person receiving the complaint shall reduce same
to a writing, which shall, if it is deemed accurate, be signed by
the complainant.
A complaint of sexual harassment shall be investigated
pursuant to the following regulations:
A.
The Township Clerk, or her/his appointed designee (if the complainant by his choice of filing pursuant to § 46-2, or because the claim involves the administrator, has declared apparent nonobjectivity of the administrator), shall be responsible for the prompt and thorough investigation of each claim.
B.
The investigation shall be begun and completed within three business days of the receipt of the complaint by the Clerk or her/his appointed designee, and the result of the investigation forwarded to the Hearing Board, as defined in § 46-5 within seven days of the completion of the investigation.
C.
It shall be the duty of the person responsible for
the investigation to:
(1)
Interview the complainant in detail;
(2)
Interview all potential witnesses, including those
who may have knowledge of similar incidents;
(3)
Interview the charged party in detail;
(4)
Review municipal files for similar incidents involving
the complainant and the charged party; and
(5)
Assess the presence or absence of corroborative evidence
for either party.
A.
There shall be created for the Township a Sexual Harassment
Hearing Board (the "Hearing Board"), which shall consist of three
members, one member to be chosen by the Mayor, one member to be chosen
by the Township Committee and one member to be chosen by the nonmanagement
employees of the Township from among those employees by secret ballot.
The Mayor shall not be permitted to choose himself or herself, nor
may the Committee choose any person holding a Committee seat. The
person chosen to serve on the Hearing Board by the nonmanagement employees
shall chair the Hearing Board and shall organize and lead all meetings
of that body.
There shall be an administrative hearing of
the complaint, pursuant to the following rules:
A.
Within 20 days of the completion of the investigation
by the Township Clerk or her/his appointed designee, the Chair of
the Hearing Board shall convene that Board to hold a hearing in reference
to that sexual harassment allegation.
B.
The hearing shall be tape recorded, and upon written
request the Township Clerk shall provide a transcript to any parties
to the proceedings requesting same at a nominal expense to the party
requesting said transcript.
C.
The charged party shall be notified, in writing, of
the hearing date at least 10 days before the hearing and provided
with a copy of the complaint filed against them.
D.
The charged party shall be entitled to request and
receive one postponement in order to obtain legal counsel, but in
no event shall the hearing occur more than 35 days after the completion
of the investigation described above.
E.
The hearing shall be deemed a quasi-judicial procedure
and the charged party shall be entitled to state all defenses, enter
relevant evidence, call witnesses on his or her behalf and confront
all witnesses against him/her or her, including the complainant. Should
the complainant fail to appear at the hearing, the charged party shall
be entitled to have the complaint against him/her or her dismissed.
F.
The hearing shall occur only in the presence of the
Township Attorney, or other designated legal counsel, who shall participate
in such hearings in order to assure confidentiality, resolve disputes
concerning the introduction of evidence and prepare a complete and
accurate record.
G.
The Hearing Board shall determine, and so declare
in writing, within five business days the guilt or innocence of the
charged party, and if it finds the charged party guilty of the offense
of sexual harassment, it shall recommend an appropriate remedial action
to be imposed upon the charged party.
H.
Where the charged party is cleared of the charges
alleged against him/her or her, or the evidence presented is inconclusive
as to whether acts of sexual harassment occurred, the Hearing Board
shall notify all parties that it has reached such a decision.
I.
The Hearing Board shall maintain a complete file of
all documents received in reference to any complaint for a period
of not less than five years from the date of its final decision.
The Hearing Board shall determine that a charged
party is not guilty of the offense of sexual harassment unless it
finds, based upon the testimony provided to it by the investigation
and hearing, that substantial, credible evidence supports the conclusion
that:
A.
A complainant or charged party who desires to appeal
the decision of the Hearing Board may appeal to the Township Committee.
The appealing party must appeal in writing to the Township Clerk within
10 days of the date of the written decision of the Hearing Board,
informing the Township Clerk of his or her desire to appeal and stating
why the decision of the Hearing Board should be overturned.
B.
The party not appealing shall also have the option
of submitting, within 20 days subsequent to the written decision of
the Hearing Board, a writing stating why the Hearing Board decision
should be affirmed.
C.
The appealing party shall provide, at his or her own
expense a copy of the transcript prepared from the tape recording
of the hearing before the Hearing Board for each member of the Committee.
D.
The Committee will not hear witnesses, take testimony
or accept additional documentation in reference to the appeal.
E.
The Committee must issue a written decision affirming
or rejecting the decision of the Hearing Board not less than 25 days
after the Township Clerk receives notice of the appeal.
A.
The Township Clerk, or such person as is authorized
by the Township to make so-called personnel decisions, shall be permitted,
pursuant to the written recommendation of the Hearing Board required
by § 46-5G to impose the following penalties or conditions
of employment upon a Township employee found to have committed the
offense of sexual harassment. These remedies are listed are not to
be considered cumulative in any manner:
(1)
Discharge or demote the guilty employee;
(2)
Issue a written reprimand which shall become part
of the guilty employee's permanent employment file;
(3)
Transfer either of the parties involved so as to minimize
contact between them;
(4)
Require the guilty employee to undergo psychological
therapy at his/her own expense; and
(5)
Reissue to the guilty employee the policy statement
of the Township against sexual harassment.
B.
The Township hereby makes it its official policy to
encourage all of its employees to use the procedures detailed herein
when they witness conduct against other Township employees with the
consent of said employee which might constitute the offense of sexual
harassment.
The Township Clerk shall be obligated to undertake
the following steps:
A.
Post in at least two or more prominent locations within the municipal building the one page document entitled "Sexual Harassment Policy for the Township of Blairstown";[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Sexual Harassment Policy for the Township of Blairstown is included at the end of this chapter.
B.
Provide to all current employees of the Township a
true and complete copy of this chapter within 30 days of its effective
date;
C.
Provide to all persons hired as employees of the Township
subsequent to the effective date of this chapter a true and complete
copy of this chapter within 30 days of their hire date;
D.
Issue a memorandum to all Township employees on or
about October 1, 1993, and each October 1 thereafter concerning the
policy of this Township against sexual harassment; and
E.
Discuss the policy against sexual harassment during
any new employee orientation meetings, seminars or training sessions
held subsequent to the effective date of this chapter.
A.
All management and supervisory employees of the Township
as well as all elected officials of the Township shall undergo training,
in one or more sessions, with a person trained to lead or implement
such training, said training to include a detailed discussion of the
following:
(1)
The procedures for the filing of the sexual harassment
charges as outlined in this chapter;
(2)
The specifics of quid pro quo harassment and hostile
environment harassment and the differences between the two types;
(3)
What constitutes unwelcome conduct;
(4)
The manner of investigation which assures complete
and prompt investigations;
(5)
Management's obligations regarding harassment of which
it is aware, or alternatively, should be aware;
(6)
Procedures to be installed to insure the confidential
nature of information gathered during an investigation;
(7)
The manner in which the interest of both the charged
party and the complainant can be balanced; and
(8)
Recordkeeping requirements.
B.
The above described personnel shall be required to
undergo this training on or before October 1, 1993, and every three
years thereafter.
C.
All other employees of the Township shall undergo
training led by a person trained to lead such sessions, to raise their
awareness and understanding of the consequences of their behavior
and to reduce confusion about which actions or conduct is acceptable
and which is not. These employees shall be required to undergo this
training on or before October 1, 1993, and every two years thereafter.
Nonemployees of the Township, including but
not limited to those interacting with Township employees as vendors
of goods and services, independent contractors, substitute or temporary
workers or fill-ins, shall also be subject to each and every term
of this chapter should it be alleged by a complainant that they committed
an act or conducted themselves in such a way as to commit an offense
of sexual harassment.
The Township shall not take any retaliation
against any employee who files a complaint or assists in the investigation
of such a complaint.
A.
Since a charge of sexual harassment is a grave and
serious one, false accusations of sexual harassment are, and will
be treated as, a disciplinary offense and will result in a level of
punishment appropriate for a person actually engaging in such behavior.
B.
A person who knowingly and/or recklessly fails to
give truthful testimony to the investigator or the Hearing Board,
as same are established by this chapter, shall also be guilty of having
made false accusations.