It is illegal and against COS policy for any employee, male or female, to harass another employee in the following manner:
1. Make unwelcome sexual advances, favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature a condition of any employee's employment;
2. Use an employee's submission to or rejection of such harassing conduct as the basis for or as a factor in any employment decision affecting the individual;
3. Make offensive or inappropriate comments or engage in other harassing conduct due to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, or veteran status; or
4. Otherwise create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment by engaging in harassing conduct.
Inappropriate conduct in the workplace that may rise to the level of sexual, illegal or discriminatory harassment includes, but is not limited to, the following:
• Demanding sexual favors in exchange for favorable treatment, assignments, promotions, continued employment, or promises of the same.
• Verbal: Repeated sexual innuendo, sexual epithets, name calling, degrading vulgar words or slurs, off-color jokes, advances or propositions, flirtations, threats, whistling, or suggestive insulting sounds.
• Graphic verbal commentary about an individual's body, sexual prowess, or the lack thereof.
• Visual: Suggestive objects or pictures, adult gag gifts, sexual posters, drawings, displays of graffiti, obscene letters, notes, photographs, cartoons, articles, or other pictorial materials of a sexual nature, graphic commentaries, leering, or obscene gestures.
• Physical: Unwanted physical contact, including touching, brushing the body, rubbing, grabbing, pinching, caressing, coerced interference with an individual's normal work movement, or assault.
• Threats or Retaliation: Making or threatening reprisals as a result of a negative response to harassment.
• Using company computers, cell phones, facsimiles, e-mail, or any other electronic equipment for the viewing or sending of any type of sexually explicit or offensive material.
COS will not condone nor permit any illegal harassment of its employees. All employees, supervisors, and managers will be subject to severe discipline, up to and including discharge, for any act of illegal harassment they commit.
Employees must not allow an inappropriate situation to continue without reporting it, regardless of who is creating the situation. No employee is exempt from this policy. Any employee that is being illegally harassed must immediately tell the harasser to stop such conduct.
An employee that believes he or she has been subjected to objectionable conduct must report the matter immediately and in writing to the HR Manager for investigation. If an employee is not comfortable reporting the matter to the HR Manager, then the matter should be reported in writing to the Mayor. COS will take appropriate corrective action where necessary.
Each member of management is responsible for creating an atmosphere free of discrimination and illegal harassment, sexual or otherwise. No employee will be subjected to any form of retaliation or discipline for pursuing a legitimate illegal harassment complaint or participating in the investigation of the same. However, if after investigating any complaint of illegal harassment or unlawful discrimination, it is determined that the complaint was not filed in good faith or that an employee has provided false information during the investigation of a complaint, disciplinary action may be taken against that employee, up to and including termination from employment.