[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Pelham Manor 2-24-1997. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Sexual harassment in the workplace is illegal
and all employees are forbidden from engaging in such activity in
any manner. The Village of Pelham Manor is committed to providing
a work environment free from all forms of sexual harassment or intimidation.
A.
This policy applies to all applicants and employees,
whether related to conduct engaged in by an employee or someone not
directly connected to the village (e.g., outside vendors, consultants,
customers).
B.
This sexual harassment policy includes, but is not limited to, inappropriate forms of behavior described below under § 50-2.
C.
To assure compliance with this policy, supervisors
and managerial personnel must take timely and appropriate corrective
action when instances of sexual harassment come to their attention.
D.
Appropriate disciplinary action, which may include
termination, will be taken against any individual who violates this
policy.
E.
All employees will be held responsible and accountable
for avoiding or eliminating prohibited conduct.
F.
Retaliation against any individual because he or she
has filed a sex discrimination or sexual harassment complaint is illegal
and will result in disciplinary action. Intimidation, coercion, threats,
reprisals or discrimination against any individual resulting from
the filing of a complaint under this policy are prohibited.
G.
Knowingly false complaints of sexual harassment, as
opposed to complaints which, even if erroneous, are made in good faith,
may be the subject of appropriate disciplinary action.
A.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
(1)
(2)
(3)
Definition.
Sexual advances that are not welcome, requests for sexual
favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute
sexual harassment when:
Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly
or implicitly a term of condition of an individual's employment;
Submission to or rejection of such conduct by
an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting
the individual, such as promotion, transfer or termination; 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.
B.
Sexual harassment refers to behavior that is not welcome;
that is, or would be, offensive to a person of reasonable sensitivity
and sensibilities; that fails to respect the rights of another; and
that, therefore, unreasonably interferes with an employee's work performance
and effectiveness, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive
working environment. It makes no difference if the harassment is "just
joking" or "teasing" or "playful." Such conduct may be just as offensive
as any other type of harassment. Specific forms of behavior that may
constitute sexual harassment include, but are not limited to, the
following:
(1)
Verbal:
(a)
Explicit or implicit threats of retribution, or promises
of benefits, in return for sexual favors.
(b)
Abusive language related to an employee's sex or sexual
preference, including sexual innuendos, slurs, suggestive, derogatory
or insulting comments or sounds, whistling, jokes of a sexual nature
or concerning gender-specific traits, sexual propositions and threats.
(c)
Use of demeaning of offensive words when referring
to a particular sex or sexual preference.
(d)
Demands for sexual favors or sexually oriented comments
about an employee's body or appearance, sexual habits, sexual preference
or sexual desirability that are unwelcome and unreasonably interfere
with an employee's work performance by creating an intimidating, hostile
or offensive working environment.
(2)
Sexual harassment is not limited to oral comments.
Abusive written language, showing or displaying pornographic or sexually
explicit objects or pictures, graphic commentaries or obscene gestures
in the workplace which unreasonably interferes with an employee's
work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive
working environment are also prohibited.
A.
Any person who feels that he or she has been the victim
of sexual harassment, or has witnessed such activity, is required
to immediately report the incident to their supervisor or any other
managerial employee.
B.
If an individual believes he/she has been sexually
harassed and would like to obtain guidance as to how to proceed in
filing a complaint, that individual should review the attached Complaint
Procedure.
C.
All complaints will be investigated in a timely manner.
D.
Confidentiality will be maintained to the maximum
extent possible, consistent with the village's obligation to conduct
a thorough investigation. All individuals who become involved in the
investigation are required and directed to treat the matter confidentially,
and a violation of this directive will, in itself, be grounds for
disciplinary action.
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 focus upon the nature of the behavior, the pattern of such
conduct, if any, and the context in which the incident(s) occurred.
F.
Individuals who believe they have been unjustly charged
with sexual harassment will be afforded every opportunity to offer
and present information in their defense.
G.
Anyone who participates in this procedure may do so
without fear of retaliation. Retaliation against anyone, because he
or she has filed a sex discrimination or sexual harassment complaint,
is illegal and grounds for disciplinary action.
H.
An individual who is found to have committed an act
of sexual harassment will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action,
up to and including termination.
Just as sexual harassment is strictly prohibited,
so is harassment on the basis of race, color, creed, ethnicity, disability,
religion, national origin, age, marital status, citizenship, veteran
status or any other category protected by law. Anyone who believes
that he or she is being harassed or discriminated against on the basis
of any of these factors should follow the same procedure outlined
above for complaints of sexual harassment.
