(A) Commitment. Woodford County is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free of discrimination and harassment. In keeping with this commitment, the county will not tolerate harassing conduct that affects tangible job benefits, that interferes with an individual’s work performance, or that creates an intimidating, hostile, offensive working environment by anyone, including any supervisor, coworker, vendor, client or citizen.
(B) Definition.
(1) Harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability constitutes discrimination in the terms, conditions and privileges of employment. Harassment is verbal, physical or visual conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of his or her race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability, or that of his or her relatives, friends or associates, and that:
(a) Has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment;
(b) Has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance; or
(c) Otherwise adversely affects an individual’s employment opportunities.
(2) Harassing conduct includes but is not limited to the following:
(a) Epithets, slurs, negative stereotyping, or threatening, intimidating or hostile acts, which relate to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability; and
(b) Written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group because of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability and that is placed on walls, bulletin boards or elsewhere on the employer’s premises, or circulated in the workplace.
(C) Complaint procedures. Employees encountering harassment should tell the offending person that his or her actions are inappropriate and offensive. The employee shall document all incidents of harassment in order to provide the fullest basis for investigation. In addition, the employee shall notify his or her supervisor of the harassment, as soon as possible, so that steps may be taken to protect the employee from further harassment, and appropriate investigative and disciplinary measures may be initiated.
(Order 10, passed 5-27-1998)