The Village of Northport 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 longstanding
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 Northport 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.
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.
This sexual harassment policy prohibits conduct including but not limited to the inappropriate forms of behavior described in §
65-8, in the definition of "sexual harassment."
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.
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.
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:
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.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
A.
Sexual advances that are not welcome, requests
for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct with sexual
overtones constitute sexual harassment when:
(1)
Submission to such conduct is made, either explicitly
or implicitly, a term or condition of an individual's employment;
(2)
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
(3)
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 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.