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| Policy and Procedure Manual | |
| Section 201 - Harassment Policy | |
| Applies to: Employees | |
| Purpose | |
| To reaffirm NDSCS's policy prohibiting all workplace harassment; to clarify conduct that constitutes workplace harassment. | |
| Policy | |
| It is the policy of North Dakota State College of Science that all employees, students, customers, contractors, and visitors to our campus enjoy a positive, respectful and productive work environment free from behavior, actions or language constituting workplace harassment. | |
| Engaging in workplace harassment is unacceptable conduct which will not be tolerated. Any employee found to have engaged in workplace harassment will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. Managers and supervisors who know or should have known of workplace harassment and fail to report such behavior, or fail to take immediate, appropriate action, will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. | |
| This policy recognizes NDSCS's commitment to the understanding that the maintenance of ethical standards and the concerns for academic freedom prohibit the exploitation of employees and students. NDSCS is required by law and SBHE Policy to take all steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment. These steps include informing individuals of their rights and responsibilities, developing educational programs to sensitize the campus community to the issue, and developing sanctions against harassment. Employees may be held personally liable for acts of discrimination or sexual harassment. Because the filing of a complaint is serious, an individual found to have filed false charges, will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. | |
| Guidelines | |
| 1. Workplace harassment is a form of offensive treatment or behavior, which to a reasonable person creates an intimidating, hostile or abusive work environment. It may be sexual, racial, based on gender, national origin, age, disability, religion or a person's sexual orientation. It may also encompass other forms of hostile, intimidating, threatening, humiliating or violent behavior, which are not necessarily illegal discrimination, but are nonetheless prohibited by this policy. | |
| 2. It is misconduct for an employee to direct the subject behavior at another employee of whatever stature, or to customers, contractors, visitors or students. | |
| 3. It is misconduct for managers or supervisors who know or should have known of workplace harassment to fail to report such behavior, or to fail to take immediate, appropriate, corrective action. | |
| 4. Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when | |
| • Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment or is used as a basis for any employment decision (granting leave, promotion, favorable performance appraisal, etc); or | |
| • Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment | |
| 5. Illegal harassment may consist of verbal or physical behavior which relates to an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age and/or disability when such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. | |
| 6. Workplace harassment can also be verbal or physical behavior which is derogatory, abusive, disparaging, "bullying," threatening or disrespectful, even if unrelated to a legally protected status. | |
| 7. To aid employees in identifying prohibited behavior, the following specific examples of workplace harassment are provided (these examples are not meant to be all inclusive): | |
| • Unwelcome touching of a personal nature, which can encompass leaning over, cornering or pinching; sexual innuendos, teasing and other sexual talk such as jokes, personal inquiries, persistent unwanted courting and sexist put-downs; | |
| • Slurs and jokes about a class of persons, such as persons who are disabled, homosexual or a racial minority; | |
| • Display of explicit or offensive calendars, posters, pictures, drawings or cartoons which reflect disparagingly upon a class of persons or a particular person; | |
| • Derogatory remarks about a person's national origin, race, language, accent; | |
| • Disparaging or disrespectful comments even if unrelated to a person's race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation; or | |
| • Loud, angry outbursts or obscenities directed toward another employee, student, customer, contractor, or visitor in the workplace. | |
| Harassment Complaint Procedure (link) | |
| References | |
| ND SBHE POLICY 603.1 | |
| Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 | |
| Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 | |
| History: April 1994; Amended June 1998, March 2001(Amended), April 2004 (Amended) | |
