[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Deposit 5-10-1994; amended in its entirety 11-21-2022. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
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.
A. 
It is Village of Deposit (the "Village") policy that all employees have a right to work in an environment which is free of sexual harassment.
B. 
Sexual harassment is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it is against the policies of the Village for any employee to sexually harass another employee by:
(1) 
Making unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature a term or condition of an individual's employment; or
(2) 
Making submission to or rejections of such conduct the basis for employment decisions affecting the employee; or
(3) 
Creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment by such conduct.
C. 
Sexual harassment does not refer to behavior or occasional compliments of a social nature. It refers to behavior that is not welcome, that is personally offensive, that fails to respect the rights of others, or that lowers morale and/or interferes with work effectiveness. Sexual harassment may take different forms. One specific form is the demand for sexual favors. Other forms of harassment include but are not limited to the following list. The list is not meant to be exhaustive but to serve as examples of sexual harassment.
(1) 
Verbal. Sexual innuendoes, suggestive comments, jokes of a sexual nature, sexual propositions, sexually degrading words to describe an individual, graphic verbal commentary about an individual's body, and threats.
(2) 
Nonverbal. Displaying in the workplace sexually suggestive objects or pictures, graphic commentaries, leering whistling and obscene gestures.
(3) 
Physical. Unwanted physical contact, including touching, pinching, brushing the body and any other type of coerced sexual activity.
D. 
Any employee who believes they have been the subject of sexual harassment is responsible to report the alleged act to the Village Attorney. There will be no discrimination or recrimination against any employee for making a report of sexual harassment. The following steps will be completed in the investigation.
The Village Attorney will separately interview complainant and accused and document the interviews. In addition, the Village Attorney will review appropriate files, hold discussions with eyewitnesses and conduct other fact-finding activities deemed necessary. Resulting recommendations will be made to the Employees Committee of the Village Board for comment and concurrence.
All complaints will be handled in a timely and confidential manner. During the internal investigation, information concerning a complaint will not be released by the Village to third parties, or to anyone within the Village who is not involved with the investigation, nor will anyone involved be permitted to discuss the subject outside the investigation. The purpose of this provision is to protect the confidentiality of the employee who files a complaint, to encourage the reporting of any incidents of sexual harassment, and to protect the reputation of any employee wrongfully charged with sexual harassment.
A. 
If the investigation reveals that the complaint is valid, prompt attention and disciplinary action to stop the harassment immediately and to prevent its recurrence will be taken. The disciplinary action taken with respect to each violation of this policy will be determined in conjunction with the seriousness of the particular offense and may range from written warnings, suspensions, demotion, discharge, or a combination of actions.
B. 
The Village recognizes that the question of whether a particular course of conduct constitutes sexual harassment requires a factual determination. The Village recognizes also that false accusations of sexual harassment can have serious effects on innocent persons. It is a violation of this policy for anyone to knowingly make false accusations of sexual harassment. Failure to prove a claim of sexual harassment is not equivalent to a false accusation. If an investigation results in a finding that a person who has accused another of sexual harassment has knowingly or recklessly made false accusations, the accuser will be subjected to appropriate sanctions, which may range from written warnings to suspension, demotion or discharge or a combination of actions.
In the event that a thorough investigation of an alleged incident of sexual harassment reveals that an employee has not engaged in any actions or conduct constituting sexual harassment, the Employees Committee will inform both the employee and the complaining party that a thorough investigation has been conducted and there exists no grounds or basis to substantiate the alleged sexual harassment.
Should either the complainant or alleged offender be dissatisfied with the findings or actions resulting from an allegation of sexual harassment, that individual may further discuss the issues with the Employees Committee of the Village Board who may reconsider the situation and render a final decision in light of the appeal.