(a) An employee who either observes sexual harassment or believes herself/himself to be the object of sexual harassment should deal with the incident(s) as directly and firmly as possible by clearly communicating her/his position to the offending employee, and her/his immediate supervisor. It is not necessary for sexual harassment to be directed at the person making the report.
(b) Any employee may report conduct which is believed to be sexual harassment, including the following:
(1) Electronic/direct communication. If there is sexual harassment behavior in the workplace, the harassed employee should directly and clearly express her/his objection that the conduct is unwelcome and request that the offending behavior stop. The initial message may be verbal. If subsequent messages are needed, they should be put in writing in a note or a memo.
(2) Contact with supervisory personnel.
A. At the same time direct communication is undertaken, or in the event the employee feels threatened or intimidated by the situation, the problem must be promptly reported to the immediate supervisor of the person making the report, a department head, a director of human resources, an ethics officer, the city manager or administrator or the chief elected official of the municipality.
B. The employee experiencing what she/he believes to be sexual harassment must not assume that the employer is aware of the conduct. If there are no witnesses and the victim fails to notify a supervisor or other responsible officer, the municipality will not be presumed to have knowledge of the harassment.
(3) Resolution outside municipality. The purpose of this policy is to establish prompt, thorough and effective procedures for responding to every report and incident so that problems can be identified and remedied by the municipality. However, all municipal employees have the right to contact the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for information regarding filing a formal complaint with those entities. An IDHR complaint must be filed within 300 days of the alleged incident(s) unless it is a continuing offense. A complaint with the EEOC must also be filed within 300 days.
(4) Allegations of sexual harassment made against an elected official of the governmental unit by another elected official of a governmental unit. In addition to the methods of reporting included above, an elected official may request an independent review of a complaint of sexual harassment by another elected official. The request shall be made to the human resources director, the city manager or administrator or the chief elected official of the municipality. The official receiving the request shall take immediate action in keeping with the procurement process of the municipality to retain a qualified individual or entity for the independent review of the allegations of sexual harassment in violation of this policy. The outcome of the independent review shall be reported to the corporate authorities.
(c) Documentation of any incident may be submitted with any report (what was said or done, the date, the time and the location), including, but not limited to, written records such as letters, notes, memos and telephone messages.
(d) All allegations, including anonymous reports, will be accepted and investigated regardless of how the matter comes to the attention of the municipality. However, because of the serious implications of sexual harassment charges and the difficulties associated with their investigation and the questions of credibility involved, the claimant's willing cooperation is a vital component of an effective inquiry and an appropriate outcome.
(Ord. 2018-1-2. Passed 1-10-18; Ord. 2018-12-2. Passed 12-12-18; Ord. 2020-5-1. Passed 5- 27-20; Ord. 2021-11-1. Passed 11-10-21.)