DISCRIMINATION/HARASSMENT POLICY

Transcription

1 I. PURPOSE A. To ensure that all employees of Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital ( SVMH ) are treated fairly and equitably related to behavior in the workplace; to outline the definitions and descriptions of discrimination and harassment; and to explain the complaint procedure employees should follow when they believe they have been harassed or discriminated against in any manner. II. POLICY A. SVMH will not discriminate against or harass an applicant or employee on the basis of any protected class, namely, sex, race, color, age, religion, ancestry, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, medical condition, physical or mental disability, national origin, gender or political belief. B. Sexual harassment in the work environment is considered a form of unlawful discrimination and is prohibited under State and Federal law. C. SVMH does not discriminate against any person based on their status as a disabled veteran or a veteran of foreign wars. D. SVMHS will apply this policy to all personnel-related actions including, but not limited to, hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, layoff, discharge, training and discipline. E. In furtherance of our Nation s and State s commitment to end discrimination against qualified disabled individuals, and in accordance with the provisions of Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and Fair Employment and Housing Act and all regulations properly issued thereunder to protect the rights of qualified disabled persons, it is Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital s policy that: No program or activity administered by the employer shall exclude from participation, deny benefits to or subject to discrimination, any individual solely by reason of their disability. Equal employment opportunities will be extended to qualified disabled persons in all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, including recruitment, hiring, upgrading, training, promotion, demotion, transfer, discipline, layoff, recall, and termination. We further affirm that we will provide reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified disabled applicant or employee. III. DEFINITIONS A. Discrimination Discrimination occurs when an individual in a protected class is treated differently from others specifically because of that protected class status. Page 1 of 7

2 Examples of discrimination include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. Denying a job to a qualified person in a protected class while continuing to accept applications; 2. Refusing a promotion to a qualified person in a protected class while promoting a lesser qualified person not in that protected class; 3. Allowing non-protected individuals to participate in special training in order to advance themselves while not allowing individuals in a protected class to do the same. B. Harassment Harassment in the work environment is defined as persistent annoyance or discrimination directed at an employee or applicant on the basis of sex, race, color, age, religion, ancestry, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, medical condition, physical or mental disability, national origin, gender or political belief. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, the following: 1. Verbal harassment, such as epithets, derogatory comments or slurs concerning an individual's protected class. 2. Physical harassment, such as assault or physical interference with movement or work because of an individual's protected class. 3. Visual harassment, such as derogatory cartoons, drawings or posters concerning an individual's protected class. Personal Liability 1. Any employee, including supervisors or non-supervisory coworkers, can be held personally liable in a court of law for any type of harassment of an employee based upon an individual's protected class. Sexual Harassment 1. There are two main categories of sexual harassment, quid pro quo and hostile or offensive work environment: a. Quid pro quo harassment is when employment and/or other employment decisions for an employee are based on that employees acceptance or rejection of unwelcome sexual behavior. (i) Conduct constituting quid pro quo sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, physical or visual conduct of a sexual nature if: b. Submission to such conduct is made an explicit or implicit term or condition of employment: Page 2 of 7

3 c. Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for any employment decision affecting an individual. (i) Example: A supervisor promises an employee a raise if he/she will accept his/her sexual overtones; a management individual threatens to demote an employee if he/she won t have dinner with him/her. 2. Hostile or offensive work environment sexual harassment. No employment benefits need be lost or gained. This type of harassment is not limited to management or supervisor, but may involve co-workers or persons who are not employed by the employer. An offensive work environment is defined as one in which sexual jokes, suggestive remarks, cartoons or inappropriate access to computer files that may contain verbiage, jokes or pictures of a sexual or offensive nature exist, or one in which physical interference with movement such as blocking or following occurs, or sexual derogatory comments are made. a. Conduct will be considered hostile work environment sexual harassment if such conduct has the purpose or effect or either: b. Unreasonably interfering with an individual s work performance; or c. Creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. d. Hostile work environment sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, the following: e. Verbal harassment, such as assault or physical interference with movement; or f. Physical harassment, such as assault or physical interference with movement; g. Visual harassment, such as derogatory cartoons, drawings or posters IV. PROCEDURE A. Complaint Procedure If you believe that you have been discriminated against or harassed in any manner, you should proceed as follows: 1. Report the incident to your supervisor or, if the supervisor is the one you believe has discriminated against or harassed you, to the Senior Administrative Director of Human Resources. If you do not report the discrimination or harassment, it cannot be investigated. There will be no retaliation against you by management because you make a complaint of discrimination or harassment. Page 3 of 7

4 2. The person to whom you report the incident will investigate your allegations. The investigation will include, but not be limited to, interviewing the complaining party, supervisors and any other personnel who may have related information, to obtain sufficient facts upon which to make a determination. 3. If, at the conclusion of the investigation, it is found that discrimination or harassment of any kind has, in fact, occurred, the Senior Administrative Director of Human Resources/designee will report the finding along with a recommendation to the appropriate management representative. 4. The Executive Administrative Director of Human Resources/designee will advise the employee in the presence of his/her supervisor (unless that is whom the complaint is against) as to the final disposition of the complaint. 5. Every effort will be made to expedite resolution of each complaint. 6. Should you have any questions about this Discrimination/Harassment Policy or the procedure for filing a complaint (Reference, Discrimination/Harassment Investigation Complaint form on Page 7), please contact the Executive Administrative Director of Human Resources/designee at extension Legal Remedies and Complaint Process 1. In the event that you are dissatisfied with the action taken by the Hospital, you have the right to file a formal discrimination or harassment complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Those agencies may be reached as follows: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission San Jose Local Office 96 North 3rd Street, Suite 200 San Jose, CA Telephone: Department of Fair Employment and Housing 2570 North 1 st Street, Suite 480 San Jose, CA Telephone: Protection Against Retaliation 1. There will be no retaliation by management against anyone for filing a complaint with, or otherwise participating in an investigation, proceeding or hearing conducted by the Hospital or Federal or State agencies charged with investigating allegations of discrimination or harassment. Page 4 of 7

5 V. EDUCATION/TRAINING A. General Orientation B. The Human Resources and Education Departments coordinate training for the Discrimination/Harassment Policy. C. All directors, managers or supervisors shall attend two hours of sexual harassment training every two years. Newly hired or promoted directors, managers or supervisors shall attend two hours of sexual harassment training within six months of their date of hire or promotion and then every two years following the initial training. VI. DOCUMENTATION A. Discrimination/Harassment Complaint form - see page 7 VII. REFERENCES A. The Joint Commission - Section EC.2.10 B. Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Page 5 of 7

6 Signature on file 09/07/2011 Lowell Johnson Interim, President/CEO Signature on file 09/07/2011 Ann Kern Senior Administrative Director/Human Resources Author FORMULATION DATE: 3/91 REVISION DATES: 6/92, 11/92, 1/93, 8/94, 10/94, 2/98, 6/99, 1/01, 3/03, 6/05, 6/08 LEGAL REVIEW: 5/05, 6/08 Page 6 of 7

7 ATTACHMENT A DISCRIMINATION/HARASSMENT HARASSMENT COMPLAINT FORM Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital maintains a policy that all of its employees should be free from discrimination and harassment. As part of that policy, we are committed to investigating claims of such discrimination and harassment, and taking appropriate disciplinary or other actions when the facts show that discrimination or harassment has occurred. In order that we may conduct an investigation of your concerns, please complete the form below. Name (Please Print) I wish to complain about the following event(s): (Use additional sheets of paper as required) I understand that Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital will be conducting an investigation of my complaint. I authorize Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital to disclose to others portions of the information I have provided it and in the future may provide with respect to that complaint, insofar as Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital feels it must release that information in order to conduct a complete investigation. Should you NOT wish Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital to disclose certain information you have provided, please specify that information below. I acknowledge that I have read and understand the above statements. Signature of Employee Page 7 of 7