157.33 SEXUAL HARASSMENT.
(a) Policy. In accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Sec. 703), it is the policy of the City of Bedford Heights that all employees should be allowed to work in an environment free from sexual harassment.
"Sexual harassment" is defined as any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
(1) Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment;
(2) Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; and
(3) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
Such conduct is a violation of an employee’s rights and is expressly forbidden here in the City of Bedford Heights.
(b) Grievance Procedure. The following Grievance Procedure is established to investigate, hear and resolve the complaints of City employees in regard to sexual harassment.
(1) Complaints of sexual harassment should be made in writing by the affected employee within fifteen working days of the incident which gave rise to the complaint. The complaint shall be made to the employee's Department Head and shall include the date, time and a description of the alleged harassment.
(2) If it shall be inappropriate for the complainant to address the complaint to his or her Department Head where the accused and the Department Head are the same, then the complaint shall be addressed directly to the Mayor.
(3) The Department Head shall be responsible for forwarding the complaint to the Mayor immediately upon receipt. Within five working days of receipt of the written complaint and upon notice to all parties, an administrative hearing will be held. The complainant, accused, Department Head and Mayor shall attend the hearing. Any and all parties may be represented by legal counsel.
(4) Violation of this policy may result in an oral reprimand, written reprimand, suspension from duty without pay for a special period of time or dismissal.
(5) In determining whether the alleged conduct constitutes sexual harassment, the Mayor will look at the record as a whole and the totality of the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. The determinations of the legality of a particular action will be made from the specific facts on a case-by-case basis.
(6) Each Department Head shall advise of and review with each employee in the particular department the adoption of this policy and complaint procedure.
(7) The Mayor shall render a decision within five working days of the hearing based upon the complaint and all other resources available.
(Ord. 2004-180. Passed 12-7-04.)