[HISTORY: Adopted by the President and Board of Trustees
of the Village of Sidney 1-2-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-01. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Language in the Village ordinances notwithstanding, all prior
existing sexual harassment policies and/or provisions shall be superseded
by this policy prohibiting sexual harassment.
It is unlawful to harass a person because of that person's
sex. The courts have determined that sexual harassment is a form of
discrimination under Title VII of the United States Civil Rights Act
of 1964, as amended in 1991. All persons have a right to work in an
environment free from sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is unacceptable
misconduct which affects individuals of all genders and sexual orientations.
It is a policy of the Village of Sidney to prohibit harassment of
any person by any municipal officials, municipal agents, municipal
employees and municipal agencies or offices, which are prohibited
from sexually harassing any person, regardless of any employment relationship
or lack thereof.
A.
This policy adopts the definition of sexual harassment as stated
in the Illinois Human Rights Act, which currently defines sexual harassment
as: Any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or
any conduct of a sexual nature 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 substantially interfering
with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating,
hostile or offensive working environment.
B.
Conduct which may constitute sexual harassment includes:
(1)
Verbal: sexual innuendos, suggestive comments, insults, humor, and
jokes about sex, anatomy or gender-specific traits, sexual propositions,
threats, repeated requests for dates, or statements about other employees,
even outside of their presence, of a sexual nature.
(2)
Nonverbal: suggestive or insulting sounds (whistling), leering, obscene
gestures, sexually suggestive bodily gestures, "catcalls," "smacking"
or "kissing" noises.
(3)
Visual: posters, signs, pin-ups or slogans of a sexual nature, viewing
pornographic material or websites.
(4)
Physical: touching, unwelcome hugging or kissing, pinching, brushing
the body, any coerced sexual act or actual assault.
(5)
Textual/Electronic: "sexting" (electronically sending messages with
sexual content, including pictures and video), the use of sexually
explicit language, harassment, cyber stalking and threats via all
forms of electronic communication (e-mail, text/picture/video messages,
intranet/on-line postings, blogs, instant messages and social network
websites like Facebook and Twitter).
C.
The most severe and overt forms of sexual harassment are easier to
determine. On the other end of the spectrum, some sexual harassment
is more subtle and depends, to some extent, on individual perception
and interpretation. The courts will assess sexual harassment by a
standard of what would offend a "reasonable person."
A.
An employee who either observes sexual harassment or believes herself/himself
to be the object of sexual harassment should deal with the incident(s)
as directly and firmly as possible by clearly communicating her/his
position to the offending employee and her/his immediate supervisor.
It is not necessary for sexual harassment to be directed at the person
making the report.
B.
Any employee may report conduct which is believed to be sexual harassment,
including the following:
(1)
Electronic/Direct communication. If there is sexually harassing behavior
in the workplace, the harassed employee should directly and clearly
express her/his objection that the conduct is unwelcome and request
that the offending behavior stop. The initial message may be verbal.
If subsequent messages are needed, they should be put in writing in
a note or a memo.
(2)
Contact with supervisory personnel. At the same time direct communication
is undertaken, or in the event the employee feels threatened or intimidated
by the situation, the problem must be promptly reported to the immediate
supervisor of the person making the report, a department head, a director
of human resources, an ethics officer, the Village Manager or Administrator,
or the chief executive officer of the municipality. The employee experiencing
what he or she believes to be sexual harassment must not assume that
the employer is aware of the conduct. If there are no witnesses and
the victim fails to notify a supervisor or other responsible officer,
the municipality will not be presumed to have knowledge of the harassment.
(3)
Resolution outside municipality. The purpose of this policy is to
establish prompt, thorough and effective procedures for responding
to every report and incident so that problems can be identified and
remedied by the municipality. However, all municipal employees have
the right to contact the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR)
or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for information
regarding filing a formal complaint with those entities. An IDHR complaint
must be filed within 180 days of the alleged incident(s) unless it
is a continuing offense. A complaint with the EEOC must be filed within
300 days.
C.
Documentation of any incident may be submitted with any report (what
was said or done, the date, the time and the place), including, but
not limited to, written records such as letters, notes, memos and
telephone messages. All allegations, including anonymous reports,
will be accepted and investigated regardless of how the matter comes
to the attention of the municipality. However, because of the serious
implications of sexual harassment charges and the difficulties associated
with their investigation and the questions of credibility involved,
the claimant's willing cooperation is a vital component of an
effective inquiry and an appropriate outcome.
A.
No municipal official, municipal agency, municipal employee or municipal
office shall take any retaliatory action against any municipal employee
due to a municipal employee's:
(1)
Disclosure or threatened disclosure of any violation of this policy;
(2)
Providing information related to or testimony before any public body
conducting an investigation, hearing or inquiry into any violation
of this policy; or
(3)
Assistance or participation in a proceeding to enforce the provisions
of this policy.
B.
For the purposes of this policy, "retaliatory action" means the reprimand,
discharge, suspension, demotion, denial of promotion or transfer,
or change in the terms or conditions of employment of any municipal
employee that is taken in retaliation for a municipal employee's
involvement in protected activity pursuant to this policy.
C.
No individual making a report will be retaliated against even if
a report made in good faith is not substantiated. In addition, any
witness will be protected from retaliation.
D.
Similar to the prohibition against retaliation contained herein,
the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act (5 ILCS 430/15-10) provides
whistleblower protection from retaliatory action such as reprimand,
discharge, suspension, demotion, or denial of promotion or transfer
that occurs in retaliation for an employee who does any of the following:
(1)
Discloses or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or to a public
body an activity, policy, or practice of any officer, member, state
agency, or other state employee that the state employee reasonably
believes is in violation of a law, rule, or regulation;
(2)
Provides information to or testifies before any public body conducting
an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into any violation of a law,
rule, or regulation by any officer, member, state agency or other
state employee; or
(3)
Assists or participates in a proceeding to enforce the provisions
of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.
E.
Pursuant to the Whistleblower Act [740 ILCS 174/15(a)], an employer
may not retaliate against an employee who discloses information in
a court, an administrative hearing, or before a legislative commission
or committee, or in any other proceeding, where the employee has reasonable
cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of a state
or federal law, rule, or regulation. In addition, an employer may
not retaliate against an employee for disclosing information to a
government or law enforcement agency, where the employee has reasonable
cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of a state
or federal law, rule, or regulation. [740 ILCS 174/15(b)]
F.
According to the Illinois Human Rights Act (775 ILCS 5/6-101), it
is a civil rights violation for a person, or for two or more people,
to conspire, to retaliate against a person because he/she has opposed
that which he/she reasonably and in good faith believes to be sexual
harassment in employment, because he/she has made a charge, filed
a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in an investigation,
proceeding, or hearing under the Illinois Human Rights Act.
G.
An employee who is suddenly transferred to a lower-paying job or
passed over for a promotion after filing a complaint with IDHR or
EEOC may file a retaliation charge, which is due within 300 days (IDHR)
or 300 days (EEOC) of the alleged retaliation.
[Amended 12-3-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
In addition to any and all other discipline that may be applicable
pursuant to municipal policies, employment agreements, procedures,
employee handbooks and/or collective bargaining agreements, any person
who violates this policy or the prohibition on sexual harassment contained
in 5 ILCS 430/5-65 may be subject to a fine of up to $5,000 per offense,
applicable discipline or discharge by the municipality and any applicable
fines and penalties established pursuant to local ordinance, state
law or federal law. Each violation may constitute a separate offense.
Any discipline imposed by the municipality shall be separate and distinct
from any penalty imposed by an ethics commission and any fines or
penalties imposed by a court of law or a state or federal agency.
A.
A false report is a report of sexual harassment made by an accuser
using the sexual harassment report to accomplish some end other than
stopping sexual harassment or retaliation for reporting sexual harassment.
A false report is not a report made in good faith which cannot be
proven. Given the seriousness of the consequences for the accused,
a false or frivolous report is a severe offense that can itself result
in disciplinary action. Any person who intentionally makes a false
report alleging a violation of any provision of this policy shall
be subject to discipline or discharge pursuant to applicable municipal
policies, employment agreements, procedures, employee handbooks and/or
collective bargaining agreements.
B.
In addition, any person who intentionally makes a false report alleging
a violation of any provision of the State Officials and Employees
Ethics Act to an ethics commission, an inspector general, the State
Police, a State's Attorney, the Attorney General, or any other
law enforcement official is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. An ethics
commission may levy an administrative fine of up to $5,000 against
any person who intentionally makes a false, frivolous or bad faith
allegation.