Company S Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention & Investigation Policy

[Company’s] Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention & Investigation Policy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Complaint Procedure
Investigation Process
Remedial Actions
No Retaliation

[Company’s] Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention & Investigation Policy

We prohibit harassment and discrimination based on or because of any personal characteristic that is protected by law as outlined below.

We also prohibit retaliation for protesting illegal discrimination or harassment related to one of these categories, or for making a complaint and/or participating in an investigation to resolve a harassment or discrimination complaint.

California and many other state laws specifically provide protection from harassment or discrimination in employment because of:

●Age (40 and over)

●Ancestry

●Color

●Religious Creed (including religious dress and grooming practices)

●Denial of Family and Medical Care Leave

●Disability (mental and physical) including HIV and AIDS

●Marital Status

●Medical Condition (cancer and genetic characteristics)

●Genetic Information

●Military and Veteran Status

●National Origin (including language use restrictions)

●Race

●Sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding)

●Gender, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression

●Sexual Orientation

Our policy applies to all persons at our workplace and/or involved in our operations and prohibits unlawful harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation towards any employee, intern (paid or unpaid), volunteer or applicant of our organization by any employee, coworker, supervisor and/or by any third party who is regularly involved in our operations and/or who is authorized to be in our workplace or on our work site such as a customer, client, vendor, subcontractor, volunteer, etc.

Prohibited conduct under this Policy includes but is not limited to:

Verbal conduct such as epithets, derogatory jokes or comments, slurs or unwanted sexual advances, invitations or comments;
Physical conduct such as assault, unwanted touching, impeding or blocking normal movement or any physical interference with normal work or movement, when directed at an individual because of sex, gender or any other legally protected characteristic;
Visual conduct such as derogatory and/or sexually oriented posters, photography, cartoons, drawings, e-mail or other electronic or digital communications;
Threats and demands to submit to sexual requests as a condition of continued employment, or to avoid some other loss, and offers of employment benefits in return for sexual favors; and
Retaliation for having reported or threatened to report harassment.

Please note that within the workplace, our right to free speech is necessarily subject to our legal duty to create and foster a workplace free of harassment or discrimination.

Finally, each one of us, regardless of whether we are an individual contributor/employee or a supervisor/manager is legally responsible for our own behavior if and when our actions are determined to be harassing. What does that mean? That means that in addition to the disciplinary consequences for violating this Policy, which may include termination, people who harass others in the workplace may also be sued personally by their coworkers depending on the state in which they work, and therefore responsible for defending themselves in a lawsuit.

Complaint Procedure

If you believe you have experienced unlawful harassment, discrimination or retaliation, we need you to tell us so we can address and remedy the situation as appropriate.

In an effort to make it easy for you to submit a complaint regarding conduct you believe is prohibited under this Policy, we provide several methods to submit your complaint. These are:

1.Submit a written or verbal complaint to [office or staff person]; and/or

2.Submit a written or verbal complaint to your direct manager or, if you are not comfortable making a complaint to your direct manager, you may submit a complaint to any other manager in your direct manager’s chain of command; and/or

3.Submit a written or verbal complaint to our employee hotline [if relevant].

In an effort to help us investigate the situation, your complaint should include details of the incident or incidents, names of the individuals involved and names of any witnesses.

Managers and/or supervisors who observe or have knowledge of conduct they believe could potentially be harassing have a mandatory duty to report the conduct or situation to [designate department of name of office].

Investigation Process

Upon receipt of a complaint, [Company] will undertake a thorough, objective and good-faith investigation of the harassment or discrimination allegations by a qualified and trained investigator. The investigator may be either an internal [Company] staff member or an external consultant based on the nature of the allegations and specific details of the situation. While [Company] and its investigator will make every effort to keep the details of the allegations and the investigation itself confidential, the Company cannot guarantee confidentiality as it’s necessary to reveal some facts and/or allegations in order to pursue a thorough investigation.

Any investigation authorized by [Company] will be an objective, good faith investigation based on witness interviews and workplace evidence and providing due process for all relevant parties.

[Company] will initiate an investigation in a timely fashion after receipt of a complaint. [Company] will document and track its receipt of a complaint of a violation of this Policy; its initiation of a responsive investigation; and its findings upon conclusion of the investigation for purposes of documenting the entire process to ensure a timely and responsive complaint procedure, including a timely closure to the investigation, as well as to provide visibility and insight to [Company] of trending problems within the workforce and/or problems with specific employees.

Given the sensitive nature of any and all investigation and/or investigation tracking records, [Company] will maintain any and all such records as privileged and confidential. Without waiving [Company’s] privilege and its right to keep the investigation records confidential, [Company] will provide complainant a timely response regarding the findings of the investigation.

Remedial Actions

In the event [Company] determines a violation of this Policy and/or that harassment has occurred then effective remedial action will be taken appropriate to and/or proportionate with the nature and severity of the conduct. Depending on the nature of the complained of conduct as well as the workplace situation,[Company] may solicit complainant’s preference regarding the options for remedial actions and outcomes. Any employee determined by [Company] to be responsible for harassment will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

No Retaliation

No one will be retaliated against for filing a complaint and/or assisting in a complaint or investigation process. Further, we will not tolerate or permit retaliation by supervisors or coworkers against any complainant or anyone assisting in a harassment investigation.

We encourage all employees to report any incidents of harassment forbidden by this Policy immediately so the complaints can be quickly and fairly resolved.

You also should be aware that the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and state fair employment agencies, also investigate and prosecute complaints of prohibited harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation in employment. If you think you have experienced harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation and you have submitted your complaint to [Company] but do not believe you have received a timely response and/or a fair resolution, you may also submit your complaint to either the federal or state agency.

DISCLAIMER: No Attorney-Client Relationship Created by Use of this Website or Document. We cannot provide legal advice.

This document is for informational purposes only and is not intended, and should not be taken, as legal advice. You should consult with a lawyer if you need specific legal help.

Harassment Policy Template - Page 1