July 10, 2015
Equal Employment Opportunities
It is the policy of [*insert Company name*] to afford Equal Employment Opportunities regardless of race, age, religion, color, marital status, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, genetic conditions or predispositions, or certain military and veteran status. Further, all applicable
laws relating to disability discrimination will be strictly followed. This policy of Equal Employment applies to all aspects of the employment relationship.
Anti-Harassment/Discrimination/Sexual Harassment Policies-A Must!
A properly drafted and enforced sexual harassment policy may raise an affirmative defense to liability or damages. This is known as the Ellerth/Farragher defense. By having a sexual harassment (or any anti-discrimination) policy, an employer can show that it “exercised reasonable
care to prevent and correct promptly and sexually harassing behavior by an adopted and enforced policy. By having a clear complaint procedure that is known and made available to employees, an employer can show that the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of
any preventative or corrective opportunities provided by the employer to avoid unnecessary harm by failing to report the harassment.
Example Language:
It is the policy of [*insert Company name*] to maintain a work environment free of unlawful discrimination for all employees. Harassment or discrimination based on a person’s race, national origin, gender, age, marital status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic conditions
or predispositions, or certain military and veteran status will not be tolerated.
Harassment includes (but is not limited to) name-calling, letters, jokes, e-mail, cartoons, graffiti, pictures, posters, gestures, ethnic slurs, racial epithets, and other conduct, which is aimed at a particular employee or group of employees.
Sexual harassment is also unacceptable conduct, which violates this policy. Sexual harassment encompasses a wide range of unwanted, sexually directed behavior, and has been defined in the following manner: Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature 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 affecting such individual; or
3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonable interference with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating,
hostile or offensive working environment.
Harassment applies to the conduct of a supervisor toward a subordinate, an employee toward another employee, a non-employee toward an employee or an employee toward an applicant for employment. Harassment can apply to conduct outside the workplace as well as on the
work site. Unlawful discrimination can take many forms. Unlawful discrimination may occur when employees who are similarly situated (i.e. same job position, same department, same supervisor, etc…) are treated materially differently under similar circumstances due to one’s race,
national origin, gender, age, marital status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic conditions or predispositions, or certain military and veteran status.
COMPLAINT PROCEDURE: Employees who wish to register a complaint of sexual harassment (or any form of harassment based on their race, national origin, gender, age, marital status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or genetic information) may do so through the Personnel
Department [indicate specific individual – by title] or their supervisor or any appropriate member of management.
All allegations of harassment will be investigated thoroughly. The facts will determine the response of the Company to each allegation. Substantiated acts of harassment will be met with appropriate disciplinary action by the Company up to and including termination. All information
regarding any specific incident will be kept confidential within the necessary boundaries of the fact-finding process. No reprisal or retaliation against the employee reporting the allegation of harassment will be tolerated.