The following grievance procedure is established to investigate, hear and resolve the complaints of City employees in regard to sexual harassment.
(a) 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 Director of Human Resources and shall include the date, time and a description of the alleged harassment.
(b) If it is inappropriate for the complainant to address the complaint to Director of Human Resources where the accused and the department head are the same, then the complaint shall be addressed directly to the Director of Public Service and Safety.
(c) Within five working days of receipt of the written complaint and upon proper notification to all parties, the Director of Human Resources or the Director of Public Service and Safety, whichever is appropriate per the procedure, shall arrange for an administrative hearing on the complaint. The complainant, the accused, the administrative head and the Director of Human Resources shall attend the hearing. Any and all parties may be represented by legal counsel.
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.
(d) In determining whether the alleged conduct constitutes sexual harassment, the Director of Human Resources and respective administrative head shall 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 determination of the legality of a particular action shall be made from the specific facts on a case-by-case basis.
(e) The Mayor shall be made aware of the decision determined by the appropriate administrative head before it is rendered. The Mayor shall maintain the right to change and/or modify that decision. The final decision shall be rendered by the appropriate administrative head within five working days of the hearing based upon the complaint and all other resources available.
(f) If the Mayor is the person against whom the complaint is filed the complainant shall then present such written complaint directly to the Law Director for proper investigation and action.
(g) The Human Resources Department shall report to Council annually a monitoring report regarding the effectiveness of the sexual harassment procedure.
(h) All written material regarding the hearing including the signed written complaint and written response shall be kept on file in the complainant's personnel file in the Human Resources Department.
Each department head shall advise and review with each employee in the particular department the adoption of this policy and complaint procedure.
(Ord. 10475/93. Passed 1-27-93.)