Hospice of Rutherford County

Category: Human Resources Code: HR032

HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

All employees have the right to work in an environment free from all forms of unlawful employment discrimination, including sexual harassment and harassment based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, nationality, citizenship, religion, age, disability or any other characteristic protected by law. It is, therefore, the policy of Hospice of Rutherford County (the “Agency”) that unlawful employment discrimination, including harassment in all of these forms, of employees by Management, Supervisors or co-workers, is strictly prohibited. The Agency also strictly prohibits its employees from engaging in such conduct against the employees of the Agency’s vendors, customers, patients, volunteers or others with whom it does business. Any such discriminatory or harassing conduct is not and will not be tolerated and should be promptly reported as outlined in this policy.

• Conduct

Employees at all levels of the organization are expected to conduct themselves in a business-like and professional manner at all times and to refrain from sexual harassment and other harassment. For purposes of this policy, sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:

• Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment; or

• submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting the individual; or

• 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.

Some examples of what may constitute sexual harassment are: threatening or taking adverse employment actions if sexual favors are not granted; demands for sexual favors in exchange for favorable or preferential treatment; unwelcome flirtations, propositions, or advances; unwelcome physical contact; whistling, leering, improper gestures or offensive remarks, including unwelcome comments about appearance; sexual jokes or other inappropriate use of sexually explicit or offensive language; the display in the workplace of sexually suggestive objects or pictures, using any media, including telecommunications or computer systems, to send, receive, or exhibit oral, written, or graphic material which constitute unwelcome discriminatory and/or sexual displays, etc. The above list is not intended to be all-inclusive. Even one instance of such conduct, if severe enough, may constitute sexual harassment.

For purposes of this policy, other harassment is defined as verbal or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of his or her race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, ancestry, nationality, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law, or that of his or her relatives, friends, or associates, and that:

• has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment; or

• has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance; or

• otherwise adversely affects an individual’s employment opportunities.

Some examples of such harassment are: using epithets, slurs, negative stereotypes; threatening, intimidating, or engaging in hostile acts that relate to a protected characteristic; purported jokes or pranks; placing on wall, bulletin boards, or elsewhere on Agency premises, or circulating in the workplace via any media, oral, written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward a person or group because of a protected characteristic.

• Complaints of Harassment

While Management and Supervisors are responsible for enforcing the policies against harassment, including sexual harassment, all employees, at all levels of the organization, are responsible for helping to assure that harassment does not occur by conducting themselves in an appropriate manner in accordance with this policy and by reporting harassment that they observe. The Agency treats all claims very seriously, and notification of any problems is essential to maintaining a respectful and harassment-free workplace. It is very important for any employee who feels he or she has a complaint under this policy to utilize the complaint procedure specified below. There will be no retaliation against an employee for making a complaint.

If an individual has a complaint or concern regarding harassment, he or she should report the incident to his or her Supervisor. If the employee is not comfortable taking the complaint or concern to his or her Supervisor, or if complaints to those individuals are not addressed to the employee’s satisfaction, the employee should take his or her complaint or concern to the Executive Director.

The complaint or concern will be investigated as promptly as is warranted under all of the circumstances. The steps to be taken during the investigation cannot be fixed in advance, but will vary depending upon the nature of the allegations. The matter will be kept as confidential as possible, consistent with the need to undertake a full investigation. All employees are expected to be truthful and cooperative in connection with any complaint and investigation.

Individuals found to have engaged in harassment in violation of this policy will be disciplined, up to and potentially including discharge. Discipline may include, but is not limited to, any one or more of the following: counseling, written warning, demotion, withholding of a promotion, reassignment, temporary suspension without pay, reduction in pay or discharge.

Retaliation of any kind against any employee who complains about harassment or assists or participates in any manner in an investigation of harassment is absolutely forbidden. Retaliation is a serious violation of this policy and should be reported immediately. Any person found to have retaliated against an individual for reporting harassment or participating in an investigation will be subject to appropriate disciplinary procedures as described above.