Boca Raton Police Services Department Harassment In The Workplace PDF

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Departmental Standards Directive 26.900 HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE Revised: May 27, 2021 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this departmental standards directive is to provide guidelines to employees and supervisors regarding the prevention of workplace harassment a...

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Departmental Standards Directive 26.900 HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE Revised: May 27, 2021 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this departmental standards directive is to provide guidelines to employees and supervisors regarding the prevention of workplace harassment and to provide procedures for reporting, investigating, and resolving complaints of workplace harassment and unlawful discrimination. II. POLICY: The Department is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free from discrimination, intimidation, humiliation, insults, physical/mental abuse, and retaliation towards employees who attempt to assert their rights guaranteed by statute and the Florida and U.S. Constitutions III. DEFINITIONS: Harassment: Intentional verbal, written or physical conduct, which could include displaying offensive material in the workplace, which is sufficiently severe and pervasive to affect terms and conditions of employment and that denigrates or shows hostility toward an individual or group for reasons which constitute unlawful discrimination. Harassment may include, but is not limited to, derogatory statements, epithets, threats, and other hostile acts that have the effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment based on unlawful discrimination. Offensive Material: Any offensive, degrading written or graphic material displayed within the workplace that shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group because of unlawful discrimination. Retaliation: Intentional adverse treatment of an employee who asserts his/her rights regarding employment discrimination by: 1. Opposing discriminatory or harassing practices in the workplace, 2. Complaining about prohibited conduct, or 3. Participating in any way in the complaint, investigation, or reasonable accommodation processes. It is also a violation of this policy to retaliate against or harass someone because of his/her association with such an individual. Behaviors which may be considered retaliatory include, but are not limited to threats, reprimands, negative evaluations, harassment, refusal to hire, denial of promotion or job benefits, demotion, suspension, discharge, negative references to prospective employers, or other actions affecting the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. Effective: June 1, 1991 Revised: May 27, 2021 Harassment in the Workplace Directive No. 26.900 Page 1 of 6 Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is a form of employment discrimination which is prohibited by law. The federal government has created guidelines which define sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when: 1. Submission to the 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 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. Sexual harassment may involve individuals of the same or different gender(s). A broad range of behaviors may be considered sexual harassment, including sexually suggestive remarks, pictures or gestures, verbal abuse, or harassment of a sexual nature, subtle or direct propositions for sexual favors, and any unnecessary or unwelcome contact. Sexual harassment under this policy includes, insulting, or sexually degrading remarks or conduct; and threatening, intimidating, hostile acts based upon gender. Display in the workplace of sexually offensive material can also constitute sexual harassment. Sexually offensive material means written or graphic material that is sexually obscene, degrading, or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group because of gender. Display of sexually offensive material in the workplace is prohibited. Unlawful Discrimination: Intentionally taking an adverse employment action against an employee including, but not limited to, suspension without pay, demotion, dismissal from employment, failure to promote a qualified applicant, and/or failure to provide other related employment opportunities on the basis of an employee's race, color, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity or expression or any other protected classification as defined by applicable law. IV. PROCEDURES: A. PROHIBITED ACTIVITY: 7.07 1. No employee shall either explicitly or implicitly ridicule, mock, deride, or belittle any person. 2. Employees shall not make offensive or derogatory comments, either directly or indirectly, based on an individual’s race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or status as a member in any other group protected by state law, county ordinance, or federal law to another person. This type of conduct is a prohibited form of discrimination under state and federal employment law and is considered misconduct subject to disciplinary action by the Department. 3. All employees are prohibited from creating, speaking, engaging in, or proliferating: a. Epithets, slurs, negative stereotyping, or threatening, intimidating, or hostile acts that relate to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital Effective: June 1, 1991 Revised: May 27, 2021 Harassment in the Workplace Directive No. 26.900 Page 2 of 6 status, disability, sexual orientation, or status as a member in any other group protected by state law, county ordinance, or federal law b. Written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility toward an individual or group because of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or status as a member of any group protected by state law, county ordinance, or federal law, and that is placed on walls, bulletin boards, or elsewhere on the City’s premises, or circulated in the workplace. 4. Employees shall not engage in any activity that would constitute harassment, sexual harassment, unlawful discrimination, or retaliation as defined above or produce, distribute, or otherwise publish to any person anything that would be considered offensive material. B. SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES: 1. Supervisors shall be responsible for the prevention of acts of harassment, retaliation, and unlawful discrimination by proactive intervention that includes, but is not limited to: a. Monitor the work environment in each unit daily for indications of harassment. b. Counsel all employees regarding types of prohibited behavior and Department procedures for reporting and resolving complaints of harassment. c. Stop any acts that may be considered harassment by taking appropriate steps to intervene, whether or not the employees involved are within his/her line of supervision. d. Take immediate action to limit the contact at work between two employees following a complaint of harassment and pending investigation. e. Assist any Department employee, when approached by the employee with a complaint of harassment by documenting and filing a complaint with the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB). 2. Supervisors are responsible for taking the following additional steps to prevent harassment: a. Ensure that all subordinates and new hires have received a copy of the City’s general complaint policy and have verified the receipt of the policy. b. Discuss this policy with employees and ensuring that they are aware that they are entitled to work in a harassment free environment. c. Assure employees that they are not required to endure degrading, denigrating, or hostile treatment. Effective: June 1, 1991 Revised: May 27, 2021 Harassment in the Workplace Directive No. 26.900 Page 3 of 6 d. Inform all employees of the harassment complaint process, including the employees’ right to bypass an offending staff member and report the harassment directly to the Chief of Police or the City’s Human Resources Director. e. Immediately report any complaints, observations, or concerns of unlawful harassment. 3. When receiving a complaint of harassment, supervisors shall instruct the employee initiating the complaint that anything he/she says will be reported to the City’s Human Resources Director or authorized representative if the complaint cannot be resolved within the Department. 4. Failure to implement any of the foregoing actions may be grounds for discipline against the supervisor. C. EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES: 1. Each employee is responsible to assist in eliminating all forms of prohibited conduct, unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Therefore, when any incident of this type occurs, any employee having knowledge of the incident is to immediately report the event to a supervisor of the employee's choosing without regard to whether the supervisor/manager is in the employee’s regular chain of command. Each employee must: a. Refrain from participation in, or encouragement of, actions that could be perceived as harassment, retaliation, or unlawful discrimination. b. Report acts of harassment to a supervisor as soon as it comes to his or her attention. c. Encourage any employee, who confides that he/she is being harassed, to report the incident(s) to a supervisor. 2. Failure to take action to stop a known act of harassment shall be grounds for discipline. D. COMPLAINT PROCEDURES: 1. While not required, employees who encounter harassment, retaliation or unlawful discrimination are encouraged to inform the person involved that his/her actions are unwelcome and offensive. 7.07 2. The employee shall document all incidents of harassment, retaliation, or unlawful discrimination to provide the basis for a full and complete investigation. 7.07 3. Any employee, who believes that he/she is being harassed, discriminated against or is the victim of retaliation shall report the incident(s) to his/her supervisor as soon as possible so that the necessary steps may be taken to protect the employee from further harassment, and appropriate investigative and disciplinary measures may be initiated. 7.07 Effective: June 1, 1991 Revised: May 27, 2021 Harassment in the Workplace Directive No. 26.900 Page 4 of 6 4. If reporting the offending conduct to an employee’s supervisor is not practical or possible, e.g., if the supervisor is the alleged harasser, the employee may file a complaint with another supervisor, with the PSB, the chief of police or with the Human Resources Director. 7.07 5. Should an employee, who is subjected to offending conduct, want to file a complaint after hours/holiday and wants an immediate response, he/she should notify the PSB commander. 7.07 6. If the employee has a complaint of harassment, retaliation, or unlawful discrimination wherein the chief of police is the subject of the complaint, it is permissible to proceed directly to the City Manager, who will cause an investigation to be conducted using the necessary employee or resources that he/she may have at his/her disposal. 7.07 7. The supervisor or other person to whom the employee forwards the complaint shall meet with the employee and document the nature of the complaint, the person(s) performing or participating in the harassment, and the dates of the occurrence(s). 8. The employee receiving the complaint shall expeditiously deliver the information regarding the incident(s) to the PSB. 9. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines require that supervisors and representatives of the employer take immediate and appropriate action in response to a complaint of any offending conduct covered in this written directive. 10. All supervisors and command staff are responsible to direct an immediate end of the offensive behavior, as well as to take other actions within the authority of his/her rank and position. 11. The PSB or the Human Resources Department shall be responsible for the investigation of any complaints of alleged harassment. 12. The PSB shall immediately notify the chief of police of all alleged harassment complaints. 13. The PSB shall also notify the Office of the State Attorney if the complaint contains evidence of criminal activity. 14. The PSB shall inform the parties involved, as well as the chief of police, regarding the outcome of the investigation. 15. The PSB shall maintain harassment complaints in a secure location within the Internal Affairs office. 16. To encourage the reporting of incidents of harassment and protect the reputation of the subject of the complaint who may wrongfully be accused of harassment, information concerning the complaint of harassment shall not be released by any person in the Department, except as provided in established rules and state statutes governing internal affairs investigations with regard to the release of information. Effective: June 1, 1991 Revised: May 27, 2021 Harassment in the Workplace Directive No. 26.900 Page 5 of 6 17. All employees are requested to reconcile differences of opinion at the lowest possible level of rank. 18. If the employees are not able to reconcile their differences for any reason, and a supervisor, through his/her action or inaction, has failed to respond to a complaint in a manner consistent with this policy, the supervisor concerned may be subject to disciplinary action. 19. Retaliation against any employee for filing a harassment complaint, or assisting, testifying, or participating in the investigation of such a complaint is strictly prohibited, will not be tolerated, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken. 20. This written directive does not preclude an employee from filing a harassment complaint directly with the EEOC or the City’s Human Resources Department. 21. An employee will not be denigrated in any manner for filing a harassment complaint. 22. Complainants or employees accused of harassment may file a grievance or appeal in accordance with established Department written directives when the parties involved disagree with the investigation or disposition of a harassment claim. V. REFERENCES: A. City Personnel Policy and Procedure Memorandum V-7, General Complaint. B. City Personnel Policy and Procedure Memorandum V-2, Sexual Harassment Approved: Michele Miuccio Chief of Police Effective: June 1, 1991 Revised: May 27, 2021 Date: Harassment in the Workplace Directive No. 26.900 Page 6 of 6