Sexual Harassment Prevention Training for TCOE Employees

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Sexual Harassment Prevention Training for TCOE
Employees

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Goals of Training

• Define Sexual Harassment
• Criteria for Sexual Harassment
• Types of Prohibited Behaviors/Conduct
• TCOE Policy
• What To Do If You Are Being Sexually Harassed

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What is Sexual Harassment?

• Sexual harassment is a form of gender
  discrimination

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Conduct Constituting Sexual Harassment Can Be

• Male to female
• Female to male
• Male to male
• Female to female
• Supervisor to employee
• Employee to supervisor
• Employee to employee

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Title VII

• Prohibits discrimination in employment

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Education Code 212.5 defines Sexual Harassment
as.

• Unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors,
  and other verbal, visual or physical conduct of a
  sexual nature, made by someone from or in the
  work or educational setting under the following
  conditions
• Submission to the conduct is explicitly or
  implicitly made a term or condition of an
  individuals employment status or progress

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Education Code 212.5 Continued

• Submission to, or rejection of, the conduct by
  the individual is used as a basis for employment
  or academic decisions affecting the individual.
• The conduct has the purpose of, or effect of,
  having a negative impact upon the individuals
  work or of creating an intimidating, hostile or
  offensive work environment.

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Two Types of Sexual Harassment

• Quid Pro Quo
• Occurs when an employee is subjected to unwelcome
  sexual advances or requests for sexual favors by
  the supervisor as a condition for hiring,
  promotion, or continued employment.

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Two Types of Sexual Harassment

• Hostile Work Environment
• Conduct or a sexually oriented environment which
  is offensive to a reasonable person of the same
  gender as the individual subjected to the
  harassing conduct.

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Hostile Work Environment is the most prevalent
form of Sexual Harassment

• Conduct reasonably interferes with work
  performance
• Generally involves a course of conduct rather
  than a single incident

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An isolated incident does not usually create a
hostile environment.

• The conduct must be severe, persistent, or
  pervasive to constitute a hostile environment.
• The impact of the conduct and how it is perceived
  by the person receiving the conduct is also
  important.

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Welcomeness

• Mere acquiescence or failure to complain does not
  mean the conduct was welcome.
• The victim defines what is welcome.

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What Factors Contribute to a Sexually Hostile
Environment?

• The frequency of the unwelcome conduct
• The severity of the conduct
• Whether the conduct was physically threatening or
  humiliating, or a mere utterance that was
  offensive
• Whether the conduct unreasonably interfered with
  work performance

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What Factors Contribute to a Sexually Hostile
Environment?

• The effect on the employees psychological
  well-being and
• Whether the harasser was a supervisor.

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Types of Sexual Harassment

• Sex-Based Harassment
• Allegations that an employee has been harassed
  because of his/her sex even though the harassing
  conduct is not sexual in nature.
• Example Female employee physically threatened
  by male employee. This may include physical
  conduct such as touching, assault, and impeding
  or blocking movement.
• Example Gay bashing

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Types of Sexual Harassment

• Bystander Harassment
• A bystander witnesses the sexual harassment and
  becomes fearful or intimidated.

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What Are Behaviors that Are Considered Forms of
Harassment?

• Unwanted Sexual Advances
• Continuing to express sexual interest after being
  informed or otherwise made aware that the
  interest is unwelcome.
• Favors
• Offering favors or employment benefits, such as
  promotions, favorable performance evaluations,
  favorable assigned duties, recommendations,
  reclassifications, etc., in exchange for sexual
  favors.

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Other Prohibited Behaviors

• Reprisals
• Making reprisals, threats of reprisals, or
  implied threats of reprisals following a negative
  response to sexual advances.
• For example either threatening to withhold or
  actually withholding support for an appointment,
  promotion, or change of assignment, or suggesting
  that a poor performance appraisal will be given

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Other Prohibited Behavior

• Visual Conduct
• Leering, sexual gestures, display of sexually
  suggestive objects or pictures, cartoons,
  posters, drawings or graffiti, magazines, sexual
  toys or objects or other material, sending
  sexually explicit email messages.

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Other Prohibited Behavior

• Verbal or Written Abuse
• Making or using derogatory comments, slurs, jokes
  or epithets, sexual innuendos, comments about
  appearance or body, personal questions (e.g.
  about sex life), persistent invitations or verbal
  sexual advances or propositions.

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Other Prohibited Behaviors

• Physical Contact
• Any offensive or uninvited touching, brushing
  against, or impeding or blocking movement.

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Employees May be Held Personally Liable for Their
Own Action or Inaction.

• Failure to Report Harassment
• Retaliation by Harasser
• Discipline up to termination if found guilty of
  harassment
• If the harasser is sued by the employee, the
  harasser could be held liable for economic
  and non-economic damages to the person who was
  harassed

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Is it Really Sexual Harassment?

• Is this verbal or physical behavior of a sexual
  nature?
• Is this conduct offensive to the person(s) who
  witnessed it?
• Is this behavior being initiated by only one of
  the parties that has power over the other?
• Does the employee have to tolerate the conduct in
  order to keep his/her job?
• Does the conduct make the employees job
  unpleasant?

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Behaviors that Contribute to a Hostile Environment

• Unfulfilled threats to impose a sexual quid pro
  quo
• Discussing sexual activities
• Telling off-color jokes of a sexual nature
• Unnecessary touching
• Commenting on physical attributes
• Using demeaning or inappropriate terms, such as
  babe, stud, honey, sweetheart, etc.

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Behaviors that Contribute to a Hostile Environment

• Displaying sexually suggestive pictures
• Using indecent gestures
• Engaging in physical contact
• Granting job favors to those who participate in
  consensual sexual activity
• Using crude and offensive language.

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The Office is Deemed to Know About Harassment
if

• An employee files a complaint.
• An employee witnesses the harassment.
• It is important that a witness tell their
  supervisor immediately about what they have
  observed.
• The Office would have found out about the
  harassment through reasonable diligent inquiry,
  or where it is widespread, openly practiced, or
  well-known to staff.

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The Office Takes the Following Steps to Protect
Our Employees from Sexual Harassment

• Written Policies that prohibit harassment and
  outline a prompt, responsive complaint procedure.
• Training provided for staff.
• Prompt and thorough investigations.
• Appropriate consequences if allegations of
  harassment are substantiated.

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What do I do if I experience sexual harassment?

• Identify the behavior or environmental factor
  which is unwelcome/unwanted.
• Report the harassment to your supervisor, or if
  the harasser is your supervisor, to the Assistant
  Superintendent, Human Resources.

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What will Happen after I Report the Harassment?

• The Office will conduct a thorough investigation.
  The victim, alleged harasser and any witnesses
  will be interviewed.
• The Office will determine whether sexual
  harassment has taken place. If it is determined
  sexual harassment has taken place, the employee
  will be disciplined, up to and including
  termination, if warranted.

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What will Happen after I Report the Harassment?

• The harassing behavior will stop.
• If it does not stop, inform your supervisor or
  the Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources.
• Retaliation for reporting harassment is against
  the law. You should not experience any
  retaliatory behavior. If you do, immediately
  inform your supervisor or the Assistant
  Superintendent, Human Resources.

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If the Harassing Behavior Persists, What Should I
Do?

• Immediately report that the conduct is continuing
  to your supervisor and the Assistant
  Superintendent, Human Resources.

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What to Do If I Observe a Prohibited Behavior as
a Witness?

• Ask the victim if he/she felt harassed (remember
  it is how the victim perceived the behavior).
• If you know the person who exhibited the
  prohibited behavior advise him/her of your
  observation.
• Assist the victim in reporting the situation, if
  necessary. If the victim does not want to report
  the incident, you report what you saw to your
  supervisor.
• Document the situation in case of future
  investigation.

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If You Are the Alleged Harasser

• The act of harassment, by itself, is an unlawful
  act.
• The harasser can be held personally liable for
  damages.
• A victim may be entitled to damages even though
  no employment opportunity has been denied and
  there is no actual loss of pay or benefits.
• Take the complaint seriously.
• In all cases, STOP THE OFFENDING BEHAVIOR
  IMMEDIATELY.
• Be aware that sexual harassment may result in
  disciplinary actions, up to and including
  termination.

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Use This Form to Report Sexual Harassment
Use This Form to Report Sexual Harassment
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TCOE will take all reasonable steps to prevent
harassment from occurring.
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If an employee experiences harassment, TCOE will

• Fully inform a complainant of his/her rights to
  secure those rights.
• Fully and effectively investigate the complaint.
• Take steps to prevent further harassment or
  retaliation for making a complaint.

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Superintendent Policies and Administrative
Regulations
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Questions?