(a) It is the City of Olmsted Falls' policy to investigate thoroughly and remedy any known incidents of harassment. In order to accomplish this, however, harassment must be brought to the-attention of management. Accordingly, employees who feel aggrieved because of harassment have an obligation to communicate their problem immediately. The following steps should be followed by an employee who has a complaint of harassment:
(1) An employee who feels comfortable doing so should directly inform the person engaging in the harassing conduct that such conduct is offensive and must stop.
(2) An employee who believes he or she has been harassed shall report the incident (in writing) either to his or her supervisor, the harasser's supervisor, or the department head.
(3) An employee who feels he or she has been harassed by any person with supervisory authority, or any employee who feels that his or her complaints of harassment have not been remedied, shall contact the Mayor.
(4) If the complaint cannot be forwarded to any of the persons set forth above, then it may be forwarded to the Director of Law or to the Council President.
(b) Interviews and/or hearings into the alleged misconduct will be conducted. A full report of findings will be given to the Mayor for final determination. If the Mayor is accused of harassment, the report will be given to the Law Director or the Council President. A thorough investigation can take several weeks, in some cases. An employee may at any time ask the person to whom he or she reported the incident to about the status of the investigation. Regardless of the method selected for resolving the problems, the initiation of a complaint of harassment will not cause any reflection on the complaining employee, nor will it affect that employee's employment, evaluation, wages, advancement, assigned duties, shifts, or any other condition of employment or career development.
(c) If it is determined that harassment has occurred, appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including discharge, will be taken.
To the extent possible, every reasonable attempt will be made to maintain confidentiality during the course of an investigation into a charge of harassment.
If an employee has any questions about this policy he or she should contact the Mayor for additional information. If the employee has other questions or concerns about discrimination or harassment, the employee may contact the local office of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Information obtained during the investigation will be kept as confidential as practicable, although confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. If the investigation reveals the complaint is valid, prompt attention and disciplinary action designed to stop the harassment and prevent its recurrence will be taken.
All employees are required to cooperate in any investigation of a harassment complaint.
(Ord. 109-98. Passed 1-26-99.)