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HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE POLICY
Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that is prohibited
by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Many churches are
not subject to Title VII
because they are not engaged in an industry affecting commerce or because they
do not have at least fifteen employees. However, St. Paul’s Evangelical
Lutheran Church opts to establish a sexual harassment policy to protect their
employees from such discrimination.
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) guidelines define sexual
harassment as
a. Unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors as sexual
harassment. The definition also includes other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature.
Jokes, sexually oriented comments, innuendo, gestures, drawings, and notes may
constitute sexual harassment.
b. Sexual harassment occurs when sexually oriented conduct is made explicitly
or implicitly a term of employment.
c. Sexual harassment occurs when submission or rejection of sexually oriented
conduct is used as basis for employment decisions. These decisions could involve
raises, promotions, or job assignments.
d. Sexual harassment includes conduct that has "the purpose or effect
of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating
an
intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
Victims of sexual harassment may be female or male. It may also occur
between employees of the same sex. The sex of the harasser and the
victim are not important;
the key is whether one person, regardless of that person's sex, is the target
of unwelcome sexually oriented conduct.
St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church will not tolerate any harassment
of its employees. A valid complaint of sexual harassment may lead to appropriate
and strict disciplinary action, including termination. Sexual harassment includes
involvement in any of the above actions as stated in Section a-d above. Sexual
harassment from supervisors, co-workers, members, or others who visit the church
should be reported to the Senior Pastor or the Congregation Council President.
Procedure for Responding to Sexual Harassment Complaints:
1. Employee files a complaint with the following information:
a. What happened?
b. When did it happen?
c. Where did it happen?
d. Were there any witnesses to the incident?
e. How did you respond?
f. Has the person ever done this to you before or done something else
to you
which you considered sexual harassment?
g. Did you tell anyone else about this incident?
h. Do you know of anyone else this person may have treated similarly?
2. Each employee who files a complaint should be informed that an
investigation will be made promptly and every effort will be made
to treat the situation confidentially.
3. People who are accused of sexual harassment have rights too, which should
not be violated. Therefore, it is important to verify the complaint with another
person if at all possible. If there are witnesses, they will also need to be
interviewed.
4. Every step of the investigation should be documented in writing, including
meetings with the accuser, the accused, and other employees. Employees may be
interviewed without telling them specifics of the case, and must be cautioned
to treat the investigation as confidential.
5. After interviewing other employees, those conducting the interview should
meet with the alleged harasser with any other witnesses to get the other side
of the story.
6. Depending on the nature of the conduct, most employees should not be terminated
for a first offense of sexual harassment. Instead, they should be counseled about
the serious nature of the complaint and reminded that similar conduct will not
be tolerated. The Staff Support Committee as a whole should deliver this warning.
The meeting should be documented in writing. In most cases, the accused should
sign a statement indicating that he or she understands that future incidents
could lead to termination.
7. If an accused person denies sexually harassing the person who complained and
if there is no further evidence to support the complaint, the Staff Support Committee,
under the direction of the Church Council, may need to seek legal advice.
8. The accused person will be warned against any retaliation against the accuser.
Retaliation will be treated as seriously as accusations of harassment.
9. The Staff Support Committee should periodically conduct a follow-up of the
case.
Like other employers, churches may not be able to avoid occasional incidents
of sexual harassment. By educating employees and by being prepared to deal with
complaints of sexual harassment, however, we expect to be better able to avert
costly litigation and defend our employees and ourselves more successfully against
harassment and litigation.
[This statement is based on information in The Church Guide to Employment Law,
published by Church Law & Tax Report. (http://www.churchlawtoday.com/)] |