Harrassment Policy at the Gates Public Library
It is the policy of the Gates Public Library that all employees have the right to work in an environment free of all forms of harassment. The Library does not condone, and will not tolerate, any form of harassment. Therefore all supervising personnel shall take direct and immediate action to prevent such behavior, and to remedy all founded instances of harassment, sexual or otherwise.Prohibited Activities...
No
employee or member of the public shall either explicitly or implicitly ridicule,
mock, deride or belittle any other person, nor use profane language.
Neither
the public nor employees shall make offensive or derogatory comments based
on race, color, sex, religion or national origin either directly or indirectly
to another person. Such harassment is a prohibited form of discrimination
under state and federal law and is also considered misconduct subject to
disciplinary action for employees, or removal from the library for members
of the public.
It
is illegal for any person to...
- harass another person by making unwelcome sexual advances or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature or by creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment by such conduct.
- physically assault another person or to attempt to commit an assault.
- intentionally initiate physical conduct that is sexual in nature, including but not limited to, touching, pinching, patting, or brushing up against another person's body.
- make unwanted sexual advances, propositions, or sexual comments, including making sexual gestures, jokes, or comments made in the presence of any person who has indicated that such conduct in his or her presence is unwelcome.
- post or display pictures, posters, calendars, graffiti, objects, or other materials that are sexual in nature or pornographic.
Each supervisor or librarian on duty will be responsible for preventing acts of harassment. This responsibility includes...
- monitoring the library or their assigned work environment for signs that harassment may be occurring.
- advising all employees on the types of behavior prohibited, and the procedures for reporting and resolving complaints for harassment (use problem incident form G-140).
- stopping any observed acts that may be considered harassment, and taking appropriate steps to intervene, whether or not the involved persons are within his/her line of supervision.
- taking immediate action to limit the contact between two persons where there has been a complaint of harassment, pending investigation.
Each supervisor has the responsibility to assist any employee of the library who comes to that supervisor with a complaint of harassment, in documenting and filing such complaint
Each employee of the Library is responsible for assisting in the prevention of harassment through...
- refraining from participation in, or encouragement of, actions that could be perceived as harassment.
- reporting acts of harassment to a supervisor.
- encouraging any employee, who confides that he/she is being harassed, to report these acts to a supervisor.
Employees who feel victimized by harassment, sexual or otherwise, should report the harassment to their supervisor immediately. If the worker's immediate supervisor is the source of the alleged harassment, the employee should report the problem directly to the Library Director.
No employee will be subject to any form of retaliation or discipline for pursuing a harassment complaint.
