2011-035 RES ADOPTION AND APPROVAL OF NEW SECTION 2 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & HARASSMENT POLICY TO THE CITY OF PARIS' PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUALRESOLUTION N0. 2011-035
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS,
ADOPTING AND APPROVING A NEW SECTION 2- EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
& HARASSMENT POLICY TO THE CITY OF PARIS' PERSONNEL POLICIES
AND PROCEDURES MANUAL TO ADDRESS ALL FORMS OF UNLAWFUL
HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE AND TO ADOPT PROCEDURES TO
IMPLEMENT THIS POLICY; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS
RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Paris is an equal opportunity employer; and
WHEREAS, employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, age, disability or any other legally protected characteristic is prohibited;
and
WHEREAS, city employees are entitled to a workplace free of unlawful harassment
and harassment of any nature when based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age
disability or any other legally protected characteristic should not be tolerated; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Paris, Texas hereby finds that it is in the
best interest of the City of Paris, it's employees and its citizens to adopt new policies and
procedures for addressing all forms of unlawful harassment in the work place; and
WHEREAS, the City Council hereby authorizes and directs the City Manager to
amend Section 2-Equal Opportunity of the City's Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual
to incorporate the new policies and procedures regarding unlawful harassment in the
workplace as set forth in Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PARIS, TEXAS, THAT:
Section 1. That the findings set out in the preamble to this resolution are hereby in
all things approved.
Section 2. That the City Council does hereby approve and adopt the new policies
and procedures addressing unlawful harassment in the workplace as set out in the revised
Section 2- Equal Opportunity & Harassment to the City of Paris' Personnel Policies and
Procedures Manual, attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit "A."
Section 3. This resolution shall be effective July 1, 2011.
PASSED AND APPROVED this 11th day of April, 2011.
Joe McCarthy, Mayor Pro
ATTEST:
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ice Ellis, City Clerk
APPROVEll AS TO FORM:
W. Kent McI y r, C' Attorney
SECTION 2- EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & HARASSMENT
SECTION 2.01 - Equal Opportunitv Emplover
In coinpliance with the state and federal laws including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
and the American with Disabilities Act of 1991, the City is an equal opportunity employer. No
person shall be discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sex, age national origin,
disability or any other characteristic protected by law. Disqualification on the basis of physical
requirements is prohibited unless such disgualification constitutes a bona fide occupational
qualification or essential function necessary to proper and efficient administration of a job.
Employees or applicants, who need reasonable accoininodations due to a disability or feel they
have been the subject of discrimination, should discuss these circumstances with their
Department Head and/or the Human Resources Officer.
SECTION 2.02 - Illep-al Harassment
All city etnployees are entitled to a workplace free of unlawful harassment by management,
supervisors, co-workers, citizens and vendors. City employees are also prohibited from
discriminating against or harassing citizens., vendors, and other third parties. Harassment of any
nature, when based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability or any other
characteristic protected by law will not be talerated.
SECTION 2.021- Sexual Harassment
The City of Paris is committed to maintaining a work environment free froin sexual harassment
for all employees. Business decisions regarding employment, transfers, promotions, diseipline
or terminations based on an employee's submission or refusal of sexual advances will not be
tolerated.
SECTION 2.022 - Definition
Sexual harassment is a form of gender-based discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. Sexual harassment is, as defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity
Gommission, "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal ar
physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission to the conduct enters into employment
decisions and/or the conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or
creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment."
The two most common fonns of sexual harassment are "quid pro quo" and "hostile work
environment." Quid pro quo harassment forces an employee to choose between the job and the
demands being made by the harasser. Hostile work environment harassment occurs when there
is a repeated pattern of verbally abusive, threatening, crude, impolite or various other types of
unprofessional conduct that impairs an employee's ability to perform a job.
Examples of behavior that may be considered sexual harassment are: e-mails or text messages
that contain sexually explicit or vulgar demeaning information based on gender, telling sexual
EXHIBIT "A"
jokes or stories, making sexual innuendos, spreading rumors about a person's sex life,
continuous staring at someone, obscene gestures, blocking a person's path, invading a person's
body space, brushing up against a person, and massaging a person's neck, or other similar
activity.
SECTION 2.023 Racial Harassment and Other Illegal Harassment
In addition to the City's prohibition against sexual harassment, harassment on the basis of any
other legally protected characteristic is also strictly prohibited. This means that verbal or
physical conduct that singles out, denigrates, or shows hostility or aversion toward someone
because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic
protected by law is also prohibited. Prohibited conduct includes, but is not limited to, epithets,
slurs and negative stereotyping; threatening, intimidating, or hostile conduct; denigrating jokes
and cominents; and writings or pictures, that singles out, denigrates, or shows hostility or
aversion toward someone on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability,
or any other characteristic protected by law. Conduct, eomments, or innuendoes that may be
perceived by others as offensive are wholly inappropriate and are strictly prohibited. This policy
also prohibits sending, showing, sharing, or distributing in any form, inappropriate jokes,
pictures, cotnics, stories, etc., including but not limited to via electronic or digital communication
such as cell phone, instant messaging, text, tweets, e-mail, social networking sites and other
Internet transmissions.
SECTION 2.024 - Responsibilitv of Department Heads/Managers/Supervisors
All department heads, managers and supervisors are expected to address and correct unlawful
harassment in the workplace. Any employee with supervisory or managerial responsibility who
becomes aware of unlawful harassment in the workplace must take corrective steps whether or
not a formal complaint has been filed and must report all incidents of unlawful harassment to the
Human Resources Officer. Managers who fail to properly address unlawful harassment in the
workplace may be disciplined up to and including termination of employment. lt is the ongoing
responsibility of department heads, managers and supervisors to monitor work areas for unlawful
harassment and to timely implement the City's policy against unlawful harassment.
SECTION 2.025 Responsibilitv of Emplovees; Disciqline for Violation of this Polic_y
The City does not tolerate any form of unlawful harassment. Einployees are to refrain from
engaging in any form of unlawful harassment with co-workers, subordinates, citizens,
contractors, vendors or any other third-party that they come into contact with as part of their
employment with the City of Paris. Employees who are found to have engaged in unlawful
harassment will be disciplined. For a first verified violation of this Policy, the offending
employee wil] be suspended without pay for a minimum of three days. The minimum
punishment does not preclude the Department Head and/or City Manager from imposing
stronger disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment for a first offense, if
the offense merits stronger disciplinary action. A second verified violation of the City's anti-
harassment policy by the same employee will result in termination of employment.
Employees who feel they are being unlawfully harassed should contact the Huinan Resources
Officer immediately or as soon as possible. An emplovee shall roort a claim of unlawful
harassment to the CitX's Human Resources Officer as soon as nossible but in no event later than
180 davs following the date of incident. Complaints of unlawful harassment received by a
supervisor at any ]evel should be forwarded to the Human Resources Officer or designee as soon
as possible but in no event later than three (3) business days of the complaint being filed. It is not
required that the employee follow the chain of command in issues related to illegal harassment.
City management will investigate all claitns of harassment with a goal of completing the
investigation in thirty (30) days or less. Provided however should the investigation take longer
than thirty (30) days to complete the City ManaizLer shall notifv the Citv Council of the reasons
for needing additional time to complete said investigation.
SECTION 2.03 - Complaint Process
The City requires that employees report all incidents of discrimination, harassment and
retaliation, regardless of the offender's identity or position. While not all incidents of harassment
violate the law, the City's policy is to discourage and correct harassment and other inappropriate
conduct long before it gets to that point. Any employee who observes or otherwise learns of
possible harassment in the workplace or who feels that he or she has been subjected to conduct
prohibited by this policy must report it immediately to their Department Direetor, the Human
Resources Officer and/or the City Manager.
Employees who desire to file a written complaint should complete a Grievance/Complaint fonn
and submit same to the Human Resources Officer or designee (See Attachment 5 of the
Personnel Policy book).
Investigation. All reports of conduct in violation of the City's anti-harassment policy will
be investigated proinptly by the Human Resources Officer. The investigation may include
individual interviews with the parties involved and, where necessary, with individuals who may
have other relevant knowledge. All employees are required to cooperate with the investigation.
The investigation of the alleged harassment will be treated as confidential to the extent permitted
by law.
Retaliation Prohibited. Retaliation against employees because they made a good faith charge
or report of prohibited conduct or because they assisted in a complaint investigation is
prohibited.
Responsive Action. The City takes violations of its harassment policy very seriously.
Misconduct will be dealt with appropriately. Diseipline, up to and including termination of
employrnent will be imposed upon any employee who is found to have violated this policy.
Likewise, disciplinary action will be imposed in situations where claims of prohibited conduct
were fabricated or exaggerated or where an employee does not cooperate in an investigation.
Grievance/Complaint Form
Name of Complainant:
Classification:
Hire Date:
Basis of Complaint:
Date of Incident:
Name of Respondent:
(Person who is being complained
against)
Provide details of your complaint:
Remedial action sought:
Signature of Complainant Date
Signature of HR Director or Designee
Date Received