[HISTORY: Adopted by the Malone Village Board 8-12-2013.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This policy superseded former Ch. 80,
Sexual Harassment Policy, adopted 2-6-1995.
The Village of Malone believes in the dignity of the individual
and recognizes the rights of all people to equal employment opportunities
in the workplace. In this regard, the Village of Malone is committed
to a policy of protecting and safeguarding the rights and opportunities
of all people to seek, obtain and hold employment without subjugation
to harassment or discrimination in the workplace. It is Village of
Malone's policy to provide an employment environment free from
harassment and discrimination based on sex.
A.
Scope of policy. This policy applies to all Village employees and
all personnel in a contractual or other business relationship with
the Village of Malone including, for example, applicants, temporary
or leased employees, independent contractors, vendors, consultants,
volunteers and visitors. Depending on the extent of the Village of
Malone's exercise of control, this policy may be applied to the
conduct of non-employees with respect to unlawful harassment and/or
discrimination of Village employees in the workplace. This policy
applies with equal force on Village of Malone's property as it
does at Municipal-sponsored events, programs, and activities that
take place off Municipal premises.
B.
Policy objectives. By adopting and publishing this policy, it is
the intention of the Village of Malone's Board of Trustees to:
(1)
Notify employees about the types of conduct that constitute sexual
harassment and discrimination prohibited by this policy;
(2)
Inform employees about the complaint procedures established by the
Village of Malone that enable any employee who believes (s)he is the
victim of harassment or discrimination to submit a complaint which
will be investigated by the Village of Malone;
(3)
Clearly advise all supervisory staff, administrators, and employees
that sexual harassment and discrimination is strictly prohibited and
no such person possesses the authority to harass or discriminate;
and
(4)
Notify all employees that the Village of Malone has appointed a Compliance
Officer who is specifically designated to receive complaints and ensure
compliance with this policy. (NOTE: The names and office location
of each Compliance Officer designated to receive and investigate complaints
are listed below at the end of this policy.)
Prohibited discrimination of employees can take the form
of any negative treatment of an employee, by either a Village of Malone
employee or official, or a third party engaged in activities sponsored
by the Village of Malone, which (a) negatively impacts an employee's
employment opportunities and/or employment benefits; and (b) is based
upon the employee's sex. Prohibited discrimination of employees
can also take the form of harassment even where there is no tangible
impact upon the employee's employment opportunities and/or employment
benefits. The phrase "prohibited discrimination" as used in this policy
includes all forms of prohibited sex discrimination, and "sexual harassment"
as defined below.
Sexual harassment is prohibited, including, but not limited
to, inappropriate forms of behavior described by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission as follows:
Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly
a term or condition of an individual's employment;
Submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual
is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual
(e.g., promotion, transfer, demotion, termination); or
Such gender-based conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably
interfering with an individual's work performance, or of creating
an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
Specific forms of behavior the Village of Malone considers sexual
harassment are set forth below. Every conceivable example cannot be
delineated herein, and thus the descriptions below should not be interpreted
in any way as being all-inclusive.
VERBALAbusive verbal language including jokes, comments, teasing or threats related to an employee's sex, sexual activity and/or body parts whether or not said in that person's presence, including, but not limited to, sexual innuendos; slurs; suggestive, derogatory, or insulting comments or sounds; whistling; jokes of a sexual nature; sexual propositions; threats; comments on a person's appearance that make the person feel uncomfortable because of his or her sex; continuing to ask someone for dates or to meet after work after the person has made it clear that he or she does not want to go; sexually oriented comments about an employee's anatomy that are unwelcome, unreasonably interfere with an employee's work performance, or create an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment; and unwelcome sexual advances or demands for sexual favors.
NONVERBALAbusive written language showing or displaying pornographic or sexually explicit objects or pictures; graphic commentaries; luring or obscene gestures in the workplace; staring at a person's body in a sexually suggestive manner; sexually related gestures or motions; sending sexually graphic material through the Village of Malone e-mail system or other electronic communication devices (e.g., voice mail) or using the Village of Malone's mail or computers to view such material.
PHYSICALUnwelcome physical conduct, including, but not limited to, petting, pinching, grabbing, holding, hugging, kissing, tickling, massaging, displaying private body parts, coerced sexual intercourse, assault, persistent brushing up against a person's body, unnecessary touching and flashing or other unwelcome physical conduct.
While a single incident of these types of behavior may not create
a hostile learning environment, if such behavior is severe, persistent
or pervasive, or if submission to such conduct is made either explicitly
or implicitly a term or condition of employment or receipt of employment
benefits, such conduct constitutes prohibited sexual harassment.
A.
The Village of Malone prohibits harassment and discrimination based
sex and will not tolerate any form of unlawful discrimination or harassment.
The Village of Malone will take all steps necessary to prevent and
stop the occurrence of unlawful discrimination and/or harassment in
the workplace.
B.
All employees, including, but not limited to, Village of Malone's officials and supervisory personnel, are responsible for ensuring a work environment free from prohibited harassment and discrimination. All employees will be held responsible and accountable for avoiding or eliminating inappropriate conduct that may give rise to a claim of sexual harassment or sex discrimination. Employees are encouraged to report violations to one of the Compliance Officers listed in § 80-10 of this policy in accordance with the complaint procedure set forth in this policy. Officials and supervisors must take immediate and appropriate corrective action when instances of prohibited harassment and/or discrimination come to their attention to assure compliance with this policy.
A.
Complaint procedure for employees.
(1)
Notification procedure. Prompt reporting of complaints or concerns is required so that timely and constructive action can be taken before relationships become strained. Reporting of all perceived incidents of prohibited discrimination and/or harassment is essential, regardless of the offender's identity or position. An employee or other individual who feels aggrieved because of harassment or discrimination shall first contact his or her supervisor or a Compliance Officer listed in § 80-10 of this policy, or another administrator.
(2)
Making a complaint. If the complainant prefers, s/he may report the
matter directly to her/his supervisor. If the complainant feels uncomfortable
reporting the harassment to her/his supervisor, s/he should immediately
report the matter to any other member of management. Village of Malone
will not tolerate violations of this policy and strongly encourages
victims of sexual harassment to report such harassment as soon as
it occurs.
(3)
Complainants are expected to cooperate with the Village of Malone's
investigation procedures by providing all relevant information relating
to the complaint, as are other supervisory and nonsupervisory employees
having relevant or related knowledge or information.
B.
Time for reporting a complaint. Prompt reporting of all complaints
is strongly encouraged. All employees should be aware that appropriate
resolution of complaints and effective remedial action oftentimes
is possible only when complaints are promptly filed. Furthermore,
complaining parties should be aware that statutes of limitations may
constrain the time period for instituting legal actions outside of
this policy.
C.
Confidentiality and privacy. In recognition of the personal nature
of discrimination and/or harassment complaints and the emotional impact
of the alleged acts, the Village of Malone shall keep complaints as
confidential as is consistent with a thorough investigation, applicable
collective bargaining agreements, and other laws and regulations regarding
employees. For the protection of all individuals who make complaints
or are accused of prohibited harassment and/or discrimination, every
witness interviewed during an investigation under this policy will
be advised of the confidentiality requirement and instructed not to
discuss the complaint, the investigation, or the persons involved.
To the extent complaints made under this policy implicate criminal
conduct, the Village of Malone may be required by law to contact and
cooperate with the appropriate law enforcement authorities.
The Village of Malone will investigate all allegations of discrimination
and harassment prohibited by this policy as promptly as possible.
A.
Retaliation is strictly prohibited by this policy and by law against
anyone who in good faith reports a suspected violation of this policy,
who assists in making such a complaint, or who cooperates in a harassment
or discrimination investigation. Retaliation means taking any adverse
action in response to a complaint being made.
B.
Complaints of retaliation should be brought directly to a Compliance
Officer, or another administrator. Such complaints will be promptly
investigated. If retaliation is found, the person retaliating will
be subject to corrective action up to and including termination from
employment, or in the case of a nonemployee, an appropriate remedy
up to and including termination of the business relationship.
A.
Any complainant or accused party who wishes to appeal the procedures
which the Village of Malone followed in investigating a written complaint
filed under this policy may do so within 10 days of receipt of the
appellant's notification of the investigation outcome. Untimely
submissions shall not receive consideration. Such appeal must be made
in writing to the Village of Malone. The appellant shall be entitled
to present evidence as to why the investigation procedures were flawed,
improper, or otherwise not in compliance with this policy. The Village
of Malone's consideration and review of any such appeal shall
be conducted confidentially in executive session. Following a review
of that evidence, as well as the information obtained in the investigation
process and conclusions derived therefrom, the Village of Malone,
or its designee, shall render a decision. The Village of Malone's
decision shall be final. The appellant shall be notified of the decision
in writing.
B.
Nothing set forth in the appeal process above shall be construed
to in any way confer upon either the complainant(s) or the person(s)
accused of violating this policy any right to appeal the Village of
Malone's determination as to appropriate disciplinary and/or
corrective action to be taken on meritorious complaints. In this regard,
the Village of Malone at all times retains sole discretion to determine
the appropriate disciplinary and/or corrective action to be taken
with regard to a meritorious complaint.
A.
The Village of Malone shall maintain a written record of all complaints
of sex discrimination and/or sexual harassment for a period of at
least six years. The Village of Malone shall also document the steps
taken with regard to investigations, as well as conclusions reached
and remedial action taken, if any. The Village of Malone shall also
maintain these documents for, at a minimum, six years.
B.
The Village of Malone records regarding alleged discrimination shall
be maintained separate and apart from personnel records.
Any questions by employees of the Village of Malone about this policy or potential harassment or discrimination should be brought to the attention of one of the Village of Malone's Compliance Officers or the chief elected official, HR Manager or municipal manager. The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the Village of Malone's Compliance Officers are listed in § 80-10 of this policy.
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Todd M. LePine, Mayor
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Joseph Riccio, Deputy Mayor
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14 Elm Street
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14 Elm Street
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Malone, NY 12953
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Malone, NY 12953
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518-483-2414
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518-483-2414
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Cheryl Douglas, Village Clerk
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14 Elm Street
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Malone, NY 12953
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518-483-4570
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A.
The effective date of this policy shall be August 12, 2013. The Chief
Municipal Officer shall ensure that this policy is adequately disseminated
and made available to all employees of the Village of Malone. This
policy shall be distributed at the beginning of each year. In addition,
copies of this policy and complaint form shall be maintained in the
office of each Compliance Officer; the Village Clerk's office
as well as the Village of Malone's Policy Book that is available
at the Village Clerk's office located at 14 Elm Street.
B.
Upon the effective date of this policy, the provisions of this policy
shall supersede and replace all prior municipal policies and regulations
regarding employee discrimination and harassment, and related complaint
procedures with the exception of the "Village of Malone's Policy
Against Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment."
