High-Risk Critical Task/Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, Misconduct
It is the policy of this agency to prohibit Sexual Harassment or Sexual Discrimination in any form and to provide employees with a mechanism for reporting and resolving allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination.
Sexual Harassment includes any unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct when:
- Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly as 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, or
- Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Examples include pressure for dates, sexual jokes, teasing, requests for sexual favors, touching, pinching, blocking/cornering, sending materials of sexual nature, and sexual assault.
Supervisors and all employees have an obligation to provide a work environment free of harassment. This includes taking steps to ensure that the agency is able to prevent prohibited harassment whether it is done by supervisors, co-workers, or non-employees (such as vendors working with the agency or supplying services). All employees within the agency have an obligation to promptly report violations of this policy. This would include sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, or indicators of a hostile, offensive work environment that the employee experiences, witnesses, or otherwise has knowledge of.
Law enforcement officers are empowered with authority by their government to protect the public from criminal activity. When a law enforcement or corrections officer abuses their authority for sexual purposes, and violates another person, they not only commit a crime against the victim but they damage the credibility and public’s trust of the entire law enforcement and corrections community. All employees are cautioned that any violation of the public trust involving sexual misconduct will result in severe consequences including prosecution to the fullest extent possible.
Question: According to agency policy, who has an obligation to report sexual harassment/discrimination/misconduct?
- Command Staff
- Unit Supervisors
- Victims
- All Employees
Answer: D. All employees within the agency have an obligation to promptly report violations of the policy. This would include sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, sexual misconduct, or indicators of a hostile, offensive work environment that the employee experiences, witnesses, or otherwise has knowledge of.
