Preventing Discrimination and Harassment Web-Based Training

Welcome to the Preventing Discrimination and Harassment web-based training.  As we begin this training, you may ask yourself, “Why is this training important for me?”  You are one of many commonwealth employees.  As a public employee, you and more than 75,000 of your coworkers contribute to the quality of life for over 12 million Pennsylvania citizens.  However, each of us are unique individuals coming together daily, creating this huge workforce of people.  We vary in many different ways, such as: ancestry, race, age, gender, religion and more.  Discrimination occurs when individuals are treated differently because of specific protected classes, rather than on non-discriminatory factors such as performance, merit, etc.  These classes are identified and protected under commonwealth policies.  The protected classes include: race, color, religious creed, ancestry, union membership, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, AIDS or HIV status or disability.  Let’s review discrimination in more detail and learn what we can do to prevent discrimination in the workplace.  There are four main pieces to this course: First, we’ll examine the laws and policies that protect us from discrimination at work.  Second, we’ll find out what behaviors are prohibited.  Then, we will explore what state employees can do to prevent and report discrimination.  Finally, we will briefly review the course content during the summary.  Let’s begin by reviewing the following laws and policies that protect employees from discrimination: Federal Law; State Law; and Commonwealth Policy.  First, let’s review federal law.  The most frequently referenced federal law is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin or sex.  The Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits discrimination based on age (over 40).  The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination based on disability.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces Federal Discrimination Laws.  You can visit the EEOC website at www.eeoc.gov to find out more.  Now that we have learned about federal law, we will move on to state law and learn about the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act which protects people based on: race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age, sex, national origin, possessing a GED instead of a high school diploma, or non-job related handicap or disability or the use of a guide or support animal because of blindness, deafness or physical handicap.  The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) enforces this act.  You can visit the PHRC website at www.phrc.pa.gov for more information.  Now that we have covered federal and state laws, let’s continue by learning about commonwealth discrimination policies.  The commonwealth makes the following commitment: You and all of your coworkers are entitled to a workplace free from discrimination, including harassment.  You are encouraged to report situations that may violate discrimination policies.  You can expect effective action to correct discriminatory behavior.  You can be assured that the commonwealth will not tolerate retaliation against any individual who lodges a complaint or who cooperates in an investigation of a complaint of discrimination.  As an employer, the commonwealth has established and enforces policies prohibiting discrimination in the workplace.  Executive Order 2016-04 covers the following protected classes: race, color, religious creed, ancestry, union membership, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, AIDS or HIV status and disability.  It is important to note, commonwealth discrimination policies include more protected classes than federal and state laws.  As an employer, the commonwealth strongly enforces its discrimination policies through the following Executive Orders and Management Directives: Executive Order 2016-04 (Equal Employment Opportunity), Executive Order 2002-04 (Prohibition of Sexual Harassment in the Commonwealth) and Management Directive 505.30 (Prohibition of Sexual Harassment in Commonwealth Work Settings).  These three commonwealth policies protect your rights as an employee.  All employees share the responsibility for ensuring a workplace free from discrimination.  Commonwealth policy encourages the reporting of discrimination.  Failing to report it, allows the behavior to continue.  Now that we have learned about the laws and policies pertaining to discrimination, let’s talk about the next piece of this training regarding what behaviors may violate commonwealth policy and are therefore prohibited.  Discrimination is treating an individual differently on the basis of his or her protected classes.  A supervisor in Agency A who supervises both male and female auditors, only allows male auditors to attend training regarding the submission and reimbursement of travel expenses.  When female auditors ask to attend the training, the supervisor denies their requests saying that the training is not necessary for them to perform their jobs.  Both male and female auditors perform the same job duties, for which they travel and submit travel expenses for reimbursement.  In this instance, it appears that the supervisor is treating individuals differently based on their protected class, sex.  Treating individuals differently based on a protected class is a violation of federal and state law and commonwealth policy.  Harassment is a form of discrimination.  It is defined as unwelcome verbal or physical conduct based on one or more of an individual’s protected classes.  Harassment is a violation of commonwealth policy.  Harassment can be visual, verbal, physical and written.  Harassment occurs when the unwelcomed conduct is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of an individual’s employment.  Let’s explore one specific type of harassment in more detail.  Sexual harassment.  Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and/or other verbal, visual or physical conduct.  Here are some examples of sexual harassment: Harassment by a male supervisor of a female subordinate; Harassment by a female supervisor of a male subordinate; Harassment by a supervisor of the same sex as the subordinate; Harassment by coworkers based on a “hostile work environment”; Harassment of employees by non-employees (such as clients, contractors, vendors, etc.); Harassment based on a supervisor’s consensual relationship with another employee.  Sexual harassment is divided into two types: “hostile work environment” and “quid pro quo.”  A hostile work environment creates an abusive, intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.  Quid pro quo is a Latin phrase, which means, "this for that” or “something for something.”  This type of harassment occurs when an employee’s submission to or rejection of unwelcome sexual advances or conduct is used as a basis for an employment decision affecting that employee.  Let’s examine harassment that creates a hostile work environment.  Employee #1: “Hey Veronica, I heard you handled that IT problem the other day.  I didn’t know you had the equipment to handle a problem like that.”  Employee #2: “Oh, I think she has all the equipment she needs.”  Employee #1: “Yeah, maybe her equipment needs a little maintenance check, too.”  Employee #2: “Yeah, I think a little hands-on maintenance check is exactly what she needs.”  Veronica: “Please stop!  Your comments are offensive.”  This scenario depicts a hostile work environment.  The term “equipment” is suggestive of female body parts.  The statement “hands-on maintenance check” is suggestive of physical contact.  The recipient clearly views this as inappropriate and offensive.  We will be learning how to report incidents of harassment in the next section of this training.  In order for the conduct to be considered harassment under law or policy, it must be sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the individual’s work environment or create an abusive, intimidating, offensive or hostile working environment.  Let’s discuss what severe or pervasive means.  Does it mean that the offending behavior must happen more than once?  The answer is usually.  An isolated comment would generally not be considered severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile environment.  However, a single incident where an employee was sexually assaulted would be considered severe enough to rise to the level of harassment as defined by law and policy.  Keep in mind that the law does not prohibit ALL conduct.  Simple teasing, off-hand comments and isolated incidents (unless severe or pervasive), do not affect conditions of employment and are not considered harassment as defined by federal and state laws and commonwealth policy.  Quid pro quo is the second type of sexual harassment.  It occurs when an employee’s submission to or rejection of unwelcome sexual advances or conduct is used as the basis for an employment decision affecting that employee.  Following is an example of quid pro quo harassment.  Sally has been working for the same agency for two years.  She is a dependable, hard worker and proven project leader.  Her boss is Mr. Smith.  One day, Mr. Smith calls Sally into his office and says, “Sally, I notice promotion written all over you.  We could discuss it over dinner at my place and 'explore' your future.”  Mr. Smith has just introduced a type of sexual harassment known as “quid pro quo.”  In this case, he implies that Sally will receive a promotion in exchange for her willingness to enter into a personal relationship.  Now that we have explored sexual harassment, let's review a few examples of other types of harassment.  Benjamin Fisher has been with the agency for 40 years and he loves coming to work every day.  He doesn't want to retire yet.  Ben has earned the attention of several guys down in the mailroom.  They thought it would be fun to write little notes on his daily mail.  When Ben’s mail gets to him, it often has messages written on it, such as: “Move on, Old Timer!,” “AARP called” and “Over the Hill!!”  The notes indicated that, in their opinion, he was too old to work with them.  For Ben’s birthday, the same guys said they got him a gift to make amends.  However, when Ben opened the gift, it was a walker.  The “gift,” along with the notes, are examples of harassment based on age.  Harassment may also be verbal and come in the form of off-color or inappropriate jokes, such as in the following example.  Hap Harrison is the local Office Supply's outside salesman.  He makes regular stops at a commonwealth office as part of his company's service.  The commonwealth's policies prohibiting harassment apply to employees, applicants, or any persons receiving services or doing business with the commonwealth.  Hap is well-known for his tasteless and off-color jokes.  Even though he is not a commonwealth employee, Hap can still create a negative and hostile environment for other commonwealth employees.  Any commonwealth employee who engages in or knowingly condones sexual harassment related to commonwealth employment shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.  Now that we have learned about what behaviors are prohibited under commonwealth policy, we will learn what you can do to prevent, report and stop discrimination, including harassment.  First, let’s discuss how to prevent harassment.  It is important to remember that unwelcome conduct can be defined differently by different people.  What one person considers to be acceptable, another may consider unacceptable.  To avoid behavior that may be construed as discriminatory, know and follow the commonwealth’s policy; act professionally and treat co-workers with respect.  You may ask yourself, what is inappropriate and harassing behavior?  How do you know if your behavior is unwelcome?  When in doubt about the appropriateness of a particular behavior, ask yourself these three questions: Would I want my behavior as a report on the evening news?; Would I want to face a jury and describe my behavior?; Would I behave this way around a member of my family (particularly my parents or my child)?  If the answer to any of these questions is “No,” you should avoid the behavior.  Let’s move on and find out how to report discrimination, including harassment.  You do not have to accept behavior that you feel is discriminatory in nature.  You have a right to file a complaint.  Employees who believe they have been subjected to discrimination based on a protected class, may file a complaint.  There is no requirement that a complaint be in writing or conform to a specific format.  Now, let’s discuss the steps that you can take to report discrimination, including harassment: First, if you feel comfortable doing so, act immediately and tell the individual that his or her behavior is offensive and unwelcome and to stop now.  Many people do not feel comfortable confronting others about their behavior.  As such, this is not a mandatory requirement.  Second, document the incident.  Record the date, time and place of the incident.  Record the specific unwelcome behavior, your response, names of any witnesses and keep documentation such as notes, e-mails, etc.  Third, report the behavior.  Immediately report the behavior to your supervisor.  If you are uncomfortable reporting the behavior to your supervisor, you do have other options.  You can report the behavior to someone in your direct line of supervision or your agency EEO Officer, Human Resource Officer or other designated agency official.  Ensure that you are specific when reporting the unwanted behavior.  Fourth, know your rights.  You have a right to a workplace free from discrimination.  You have a right to object to offensive behavior, even if others find it acceptable.  You have a right to file a complaint with your agency EEO Officer.  You also have a right to file with the EEOC and/or PHRC.  Fifth, report retaliation.  If you believe that you have been retaliated against for opposing discrimination, immediately report this to your supervisor, someone in your direct line of supervision, your agency EEO Officer, Human Resource Officer or other designated agency official.  Retaliation against persons who have lodged a complaint, testified, assisted or participated in any proceeding, investigation or hearing regarding any allegation of discrimination is expressly prohibited.  What happens after you report the discrimination?  First, your complaint will be taken seriously and investigated promptly and thoroughly.  All discrimination complaints, including those alleging harassment will be investigated in accordance with Management Directives 505.30 (Prohibition of Sexual Harassment in Commonwealth Work Settings) and 410.10 (Guidelines for Investigating and Resolving Internal Discrimination Complaints).  Second, in accordance with federal and state laws as well as commonwealth policies, the commonwealth, as an employer, is obligated to ensure that all discrimination, including harassment, ceases.  Lastly, when appropriate, the commonwealth will take effective remedial action.  Any employee who is found to have engaged in discrimination, including harassment, in violation of commonwealth policy is subject to appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.  The commonwealth is committed to ensuring that every employee works in an environment free from all forms of discrimination, including harassment, but the simple fact is that discrimination will not stop on its own.  All commonwealth employees share responsibility for ensuring that our workplace is free from discrimination.  The first step in stopping discrimination is reporting it.  Do not be a complacent bystander.  If you witness another employee being discriminated against, you have an obligation to report the matter and you should follow the same reporting steps available to victims of discrimination.  Simply put; if you notice something, say something!!  Now that we have learned about what you can do to prevent, report and stop discrimination, let’s briefly review this course.  In summary, discrimination is prohibited by federal law, state law and commonwealth policy.  Every commonwealth employee shares responsibility for ensuring that the workplace is free from all forms of discrimination, including harassment.  If you believe that you are the victim of, or are aware of discrimination in the workplace, you should immediately report it to your supervisor, someone in your direct line of supervision or your agency Equal Opportunity Officer, Human Resources Officer or other designated official.  Your complaint will be taken seriously and will be investigated promptly and thoroughly.  When appropriate, the commonwealth will take effective remedial action.  Retaliation in any form against persons who have lodged a complaint, testified, assisted or participated in any proceeding, investigation or hearing regarding any allegation of discrimination is expressly prohibited and may be cause for appropriate disciplinary action.  For further information, please contact your agency EEO Officer, HR Officer or other designated official.  Thank you for completing the Preventing Discrimination and Harassment web-based training.  This version of the course is intended for individuals who require an accommodation for a disability.  Once you have fully reviewed the information in this training, contact your Human Resources Office to request credit for completing this course.  You will not receive credit for completing this course until you do so.