(A) It is the policy of the County Fiscal Court that sexual harassment of employees is prohibited. The County Fiscal Court believes that every employee has the right to a work environment free from sexual harassment. Any employee found to have acted in violation of this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, which may include termination.
(B) SEXUAL HARASSMENT includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated physical contact, or other verbal or physical conduct or communication of a sexual nature when:
(1) Submission to that conduct or communication is made a term or condition, either explicitly or implicitly, of an individual’s employment;
(2) Submission to or rejection of that conduct or communication by an individual is used as a factor in decisions affecting that individual’s employment;
(3) Conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s employment or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment, and the employer knows or should know of the existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and appropriate action; or
(4) Such conduct is based on sex and would have not occurred but for the sex of the victim even though it is not clearly sexual in nature or an explicit sexual advance.
(C) (1) Any claims of sexual harassment should be reported to the employee’s supervisor, the County Judge/Executive, or anyone else in a position of authority at the County Fiscal Court. Any claims of sexual harassment or violations of the sexual harassment policy will be reported to and investigated by the County Judge/Executive, or his or her designee.
(2) If the facts appear to support the allegations of sexual harassment or violation of this policy, disciplinary action, up to and including termination, may result. All reports of harassment will be handled as confidentially as possible by the County Fiscal Court.
(3) This policy applies to all county personnel while performing their duties as employees within or outside the workplace.
(Ord. 313, passed 4-6-1999)