District Code: ___

Work Place Bullying Policy and Procedure

  1. PURPOSE:

The purpose of this policy is to develop a supportive workplace with policies and procedures that provide a clear statement of the District’s expectations of its staff in respect to conduct that may constitute workplace bullying.Rapid City Area Schools considers workplace bullying unacceptable and will not tolerate it under any circumstances.

  1. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY:
  1. The District is committed to providing a workplace that is free from bullying.

B.All staff have a right to be treated with dignity and respect and work in an environment free from bullying.

C. This policy applies to all employees of the District, regardless of his or her employment status (i.e., salaried, hourly, full or part-time employees, and independent contractors).

D.Any employee found to be in violation of this policy will be disciplined up to and including termination of employment. Independent contractors found to be in violation of this policy may be subject to contract cancellation.

E.All employeeshavethe right to use the procedures set forth in this policy to address complaints of bullying and shall be protected from retaliation.

F.Employees who file or pursue a complaint of bullying without a reasonable and legitimate basis are subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

  1. DEFINITIONS:

As used in this policy, the follow definitions apply:

  1. Bullying is defined as repeated, persistent, malicious, unwelcome, severe, and pervasive mistreatment; whetherphysical, verbal, non-verbal, written, electronic, or otherwise,that is objectively offensive andharms, intimidates, offends, degrades, or humiliates an employee that:
  1. Has the purpose of creating or resultingin an intimidating,hostile, or offensive work environment, or
  2. Has the purpose or effect of substantially or unreasonably interfering with the working environment.
  3. Examples of conduct that the District considers workplace bullying include the following:
  1. Staring, glaring, or other nonverbaldemonstrations of hostility;
  2. Exclusion or social isolation;
  3. Work-related harassment (work-overload, unrealistic deadlines, meaningless or degrading tasks);
  4. Consistent ignoring or interrupting of an employee in front of co-workers;
  5. Personal attacks (angry outbursts, excessive profanity, or name calling);
  6. Encouragement of others to turn against the targeted employee;
  7. Excessive monitoring or micro-managing;
  8. Sabotage of a co-worker’s work product or undermining of an employee’s work performance;
  9. Stalking;
  10. Unreasonable interference with an employee’s ability to do the work assigned;
  11. Repeated infliction of verbal abuse such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets;
  12. Conduct that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive, and unrelated to the legitimate educational interests of the District.
  1. Cyberbullying is defined as bullying online by sending or posting mean, hurtful, intimidating, terrorizing, malicious, or untruthful messages. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of emails, instant messages, text messages, Snapchat, Facebook, pictures or images, website postings, including blogs or other forms of electronic communications.
  1. Bullying includes actions or behaviors that intimidate, offend, degrade, or humiliate another person, or excluding someone from a group or purpose based upon an unlawful or other inappropriate basis.
  1. Reprisal is defined as an act of retaliation against an individual for filing a complaint of bullying or participating as a witness in a hearing process.
  1. REPORTING PROCEDURES:
  1. Employees who believe they have experienced conduct that they believe violates this policymust, within five (5) days, notify in writing their supervisor and the Public Complaint Coordinator (Director of Human Resources).
  1. Within five (5) business days of receipt of a written complaint, the Supervisor and/or the Director of Human Resources will commence an investigation and attempt to resolve the issue on an informal basis at the department level.
  1. In the event the complaint is not resolved in accordance with paragraph B, the Employee making a complaint of bullying against a supervisormust proceed to follow the Grievance Procedure as provided in the applicable Negotiated or Work Agreement between the District and its employee groups. Employees making a complaint of bullying against a co-worker must proceed to follow the procedures in the Public Complaint Policy and Procedure (District Policy KL). The written decision of the Board shall constitute the final decision of the District.
  1. All reasonable steps shall be taken to respect the confidentiality of all individuals involved in the complaint. It is the expectation of the District that all parties will respect the confidentiality of the matters involved. Because an individual’s right to confidentiality must be balanced with the District’s obligation to investigate complaints, participate in hearing or legal proceedings, or take appropriate disciplinary action, the District retains the right to disclose the identity of the parties and witnesses in appropriate circumstances.
  1. DISSEMINATION OF POLICY AND TRAINING:
  1. This policy shall be published annually on the District’s website.
  1. The District will develop a method to inform and train school personnel concerning this policy.

Legal References:RCAS Discrimination and Harassment Policy and Procedure,Policy AC

Public Complaint Policy and Procedure,Policy KL