SAMPLE POLICY

Harassment, Including Sexual Harassment

_____________________________________________________ has a policy against unlawful and improper harassment by employees or other employees or supervisors, based upon gender, race, national origin, religion, age, disability or sexual preference.

_____________________________________________________ also prohibits retaliation against an employee who reports harassment. Allegations of harassment or retaliation will immediately be investigated and, if there is reasonable support for the charge, the offending employee will be subjected to disciplinary action, up to and including immediate termination, depending upon the seriousness of the offense.

AII employees are encouraged to make it clear when they have been offended by another employee's conduct so the other employee knows what effect his or her conduct has on others. Our experience is that most people do not intend to offend others and will stop if they understand that their conduct has been offensive. If it doesn't stop, let us know so we can do something about it, before it becomes a bigger problem. You can let us know by telling ____________________________________ or ________________________________________.

Communication is the key to creating a work atmosphere where everyone is comfortable and can do his/her best work. Management needs to know if you are experiencing any kind of harassing behavior. 

What Is Sexual Harassment?
The Equal Employment Opportunity commission (EEOC) defines Sexual Harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when submission to such conduct is made, whether explicitly or implicitly, 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, or when the conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

Sexual harassment can include a wide variety of behavior and occurs on various levels, ranging from:

ONE – occasional comments, jokes, touching or gestures that are generally not intended to cause offense, to

TWO – behavior such as that described in level one above that persists even after being issued a light, informal warning or an isolated behavior that is more severe to 

THREE – repeated or persistent offensive behavior even after being issued formal discipline, aggressive touching, or any behavior that is clearly intended to cause offense, even if isolated.

The company's response to any form of illegal harassment will vary depending on the level of offense. For first level offenses, an employee may feel comfortable issuing his/her own light, informal message designed to communicate that the behavior is offensive. However, if that is not a realistic option, and in cases of level two or three offenses, management should be informed, through the contacts chosen. It is essential that management be involved in all level two and three offenses. Certain management personnel have been trained to appropriately respond to and investigate complaints and issue discipline that is warranted, including reprimands, suspensions and terminations. Please help them help you make your work environment the best it can be.

Sample policy provided by Pencom International – www.pencominternational.com.

SAMPLE FORM

Policy Form for Individual Viewing

Use this form for individual viewing of the DVD or if you want a form to go in each employee’s file with an acknowledgment and agreement to abide by the policy.

On ________________________________________, I participated in a DVD training session on harassment/discrimination by viewing the video Harassment in Hospitality. I have also reviewed the company’s present policy on harassment and understand and agree that I have the responsibility to abide by the policy and communicate with appropriate members of management if I have any complaints, constructive feedback or suggestions on how to improve the policy. 

_________________________________________________
Signature

_________________________________________________
Print Name

Comments:

~ Sample form provided by Pencom International – www.pencominternational.com. ~

SAMPLE FORM

Policy Form for Group Presentations Viewing

The following people participated in harassment/discrimination awareness and prevention training on 

________________________________________.

List names here:

The training consisted of viewing the Harassment in Hospitality DVD and a follow-up discussion, review of the policy, and opportunity for suggestions and comments.

~ Sample form provided by Pencom International – www.pencominternational.com ~