Sexual Harassment

SILVERTON AREA SENIORS, INC. (SASI)

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Mission Statement

Our goal is to meet the social, recreational and educational needs of members in a fun, safe, inclusive and courteous environment.

This policy and intent of SASI is to provide equal employment opportunity and membership for all persons regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, political afflation, sexual orientation or gender identity, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sex, or age.

SASI, in accordance with Federal and State laws, will not tolerate, accept or condone harassment on the basis of sex.  Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:

1.      Submission to the conduct is in any ways deemed to be a term or condition of employment or membership.

2.     Submission to, or rejection of the conduct issued as a basis for employment, volunteer or membership related decisions.

3.     The conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance, or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or social environment.

Sexual harassment consists of unwanted conduct such as sexual jokes or innuendoes; nude, profane, or obscene cartoons, drawings, or photographs; transmission of email containing sexual content; staring; whistling; unwelcome touching, hugging or kissing.

SASI will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint or cooperating in an investigation and will not tolerate or permit retaliation by members.

Retaliation is broadly construed and includes conduct, such as giving a member the cold shoulder, changing their volunteer duties, treating a member rudely, etc.  Members should bring complaints of retaliation to the attention of the Executive Director or Board of Directors.  These types of complaints will also be promptly investigated and a member or employee found to have retaliated against a member will be subject to appropriate action, depending on the circumstances, up to and including loss of membership. 

Responsibilities:

Board of Directors: It is the responsibility of management to develop this policy, keep it up to date and to ensure that any violation of this policy brought to their attention is dealt with fairly, quickly and impartially.  All board members have the responsibility of setting the proper example.

Executive Director:  It is the responsibility of this person to enforce the policy, make an annual review to ensure everyone knows the policy, and regularly checks the workplace and environment to make sure the policy is being followed.

Members:  It is the responsibility of each and every member to know the policy and to follow the policy.  It is imperative that every member treat every other member with dignity and respect.

PROCEDURE

DO NOT IGNORE THE PROBLEM.  Sexual Harassment and/or Retaliation rarely go away on its own.  You have the responsibility to immediately report any actions or words by a supervisor, board member, co-member, vendor or any other person you believe has harassed or retaliated against you.  This complaint will be documented on an incident report.

It is suggested that you inform the other party by describing the incidents that caused you to feel harassed or retaliated against.  Tell them how you feel about it and offer a solution to the problem that would eliminate the problem for you.  If you are concerned or feel uncomfortable about the potential behavior of the other party, seek the support of an advocate, for example; a volunteer, family member, friend or the Executive Director.  

If no satisfactory resolution can be reached by addressing the situation with the other party directly, or if you do not feel comfortable doing so, you should submit a complaint to the Board of Directors or Executive Director.  The Board will cause the matter to be investigated and the findings will be reported to the participating parties.

Depending on the severity of the offense, the board may choose disciplinary action, up to and including loss of membership.

Reports will be held confidential to the fullest extent possible.

A record of all complaints, investigations, and resolutions will be kept in confidential files by the corporation.

10/23/2013