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G.O. 14 LONGWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER NUMBER: GO - 14 SUBJECT: EMPLOYEE HARASSMENT POLICY EFFECTIVE: OCTOBER 1, 1995 REVISED: JULY 1, 2023 GENERAL ORDER EMPLOYEE HARASSMENT POLICY GO – 14 PAGE 1 OF 5 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to create a quality work environment for all employees of the Longwood Police Department. A quality work environment is one in which employees can perform their duty, free from intimidation, humiliation, insult, and without becoming subject to offensive physical or verbal abuse or actions of a sexual, ethnic, racial or religious nature. All forms of harassment in the workplace are prohibited, regardless of the source. II. SCOPE: Sexual, ethnic, racial, or religious harassment is always an offense against the Longwood Police Department and any specific employee or group of employees. Offenses refer to physical or verbal acts that have the purpose or effect of creating a hostile, offensive, or an intimidating working environment or have an ethnic, racial, religious or sexual nature. They may be characterized by sexual, racial, ethnic, or religious jokes, comments, insults, cartoons, innuendoes, or personal conduct or mannerisms that are defined by any employee as offensive or can be construed as offensive or intimidating by a reasonable and prudent person. III. GENERAL: A. It is the goal of the Longwood Police Department to prevent such unwanted conduct and behavior from occurring. Should such behavior occur, it shall be dealt with in a fair, impartial, and expeditious manner. All complaints, regardless of their nature or origin, will be investigated. Every investigation will be treated with the highest degree of confidentiality; and every employee who has knowledge or is suspected by management to have knowledge will be expected to give testimony. Should an employee fail or refuse to cooperate in such an investigation, they may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination for insubordination. GENERAL ORDER EMPLOYEE HARASSMENT POLICY GO – 14 PAGE 2 OF 5 B. All complaints or incidents of possible harassment will be investigated on a case- by-case basis. In those instances where a violation has been shown to occur, immediate action will be taken to remedy the situation and to prevent reoccurrences. All persons who violate this policy will receive disciplinary action up to and including termination. If criminal charges of assault and/or battery or constructive or coercive sexual battery are involved, the offender(s) will be subject to criminal prosecution and termination from employment. The elements of proof for criminal acts will be “beyond a reasonable doubt” while the standard of proof used to support discharge will be “substantial”. C. Supervisors are charged with the responsibility to prevent harassment from occurring. They are to take appropriate remedial action if it is observed or has been reported to them. Should any investigation reveal that a supervisor knew, or should have known, harassment was a liability, or liability for harassment was being created, and he/she failed to recognize it or failed to initiate proper procedures, that supervisor may be subjected to disciplinary action up to and including termination. D. It shall be each employee’s responsibility to help eliminate all forms of harassment and unwarranted conduct by controlling their own conduct and behavior and also reporting occurrences or actions that may lead to a charge of harassment. An employee may go directly to the lieutenant to report such incidents. Retaliation against any employee for filing a complaint or witnessing in an investigation will not be tolerated. E. Employees who witness or are victims of harassment will not be permitted to use the excuse they feared reprisal as a reason for not reporting harassment as defined in this policy. IV. COMMITTING OR CONDONING SEXUAL, RACIAL, RELIGIOUS, NATIONAL ORIGIN OR ETHNIC HARASSMENT: A. Sex, race, religion, national origin and ethnic background are prohibited as a basis for conduct, behavior or decisions affecting another employee’s terms or conditions of employment. Employees shall not use sex, race, religion, national origin or ethnic background in their words, actions, gestures, conduct or behavior that could reasonably be construed or perceived by another employee as being hostile, offensive or intimidating. B. Employees are responsible for making their objections to said conduct, behavior or decisions known to the offending party. C. Examples of Non-Violations: GENERAL ORDER EMPLOYEE HARASSMENT POLICY GO – 14 PAGE 3 OF 5 1. Jokes, comments or general conversation that does not have a sexual, ethnic background, racial, national origin or religious basis. 2. Language (not slang) in reports or other communications that provides standard descriptions of witnesses, suspects and others; for example, three black males, one masked, white male with gun. D. Examples of Violations: 1. Telling sexual, racial, ethnic, national origin or religious jokes. 2. Making slurs based on sex, race, religion, national origin or ethnic background to or about others. 3. Continually asking an employee for dates once that employee has expressed no interest in starting or continuing a personal relationship. 4. Posting derogatory graffiti, cartoons or script on bulletin boards, chalkboards, walls, locker rooms or vehicles, or failing to remove such items. 5. A supervisor giving an atypical amount of preferential job assignments or favorable considerations to an employee with whom he/she currently has or has had a personal relationship when no documented job performance differences exist to justify the discriminatory behavior. 6. A supervisor denying an employee, with whom he/she currently has or has had a personal relationship, an atypical amount of preferential job assignments or work conditions when no documented job performance differences exist to justify the discriminatory behavior. 7. An employee observing or condoning, through actions or inactions, prohibited harassment by failing to properly report it to designated management authorities. This is particularly serious if a supervisor is found in violation. 8. Inability to get along with an employee of another race, sex, religion or national origin, or refusing to work with such persons. V. PROCEDURE FOR FILING COMPLAINTS: A. No employee of the Longwood Police Department should be discouraged from making a complaint if he/she feels that they have been the victim of harassment by another employee. These issues are often time sensitive in nature and may cause reluctance on the part of the complainant to come forward. Therefore, a GENERAL ORDER EMPLOYEE HARASSMENT POLICY GO – 14 PAGE 4 OF 5 procedure shall be established to initiate a complaint by any employee who believes that they are a victim of harassment, as defined above. The complainant may file a complaint with their immediate supervisor or with any lieutenant. B. The initial complaint shall be in the form of a verbal statement of the facts believed by the complainant to constitute harassment. The complainant will be advised of options available through department procedures and will determine whether the complainant wishes to resolve the complaint informally, or formally through a written complaint. C. Informal Review and Resolution Procedure: If the complainant elects to have the complaint and its disposition handled informally, the following procedures shall apply: 1. The investigating supervisor shall make the accused aware of the specific nature of the complaint, interview the accused, and interview any other persons the accused may suggest to obtain a fuller exposition of the facts surrounding the complaint. 2. The investigating supervisor may also inquire of the complainant and the accused as to any mutual resolution of the problem, which may be acceptable between the parties at that point. If the parties agree upon an acceptable resolution of the complaint, the matter shall be closed. 3. The supervisor shall document all facets of the informal review, to include all interviews, a synopsis of the original complaint, and/or any other documentation or evidence, which may come to light during the course of the informal review. At the conclusion of the informal review, a memorandum shall be generated by the supervisor, outlining the disposition of the complaint, with all documentation attached and forwarded to the lieutenant for review and filing. 4. If the parties do not agree on an acceptable resolution of the problem, the complainant shall be advised that further processing of the complaint will require that the complainant file a written complaint. D. Formal Investigation Procedure and Complaint Disposition: Any employee who believes that they are a victim of harassment and who is unable to reach agreement concerning the resolution of the problem through the informal procedures described above may file a written complaint with the lieutenant who shall initiate the procedures described in the General Order “Conduct Investigations”. GENERAL ORDER EMPLOYEE HARASSMENT POLICY GO – 14 PAGE 5 OF 5 E. Complainant’s right to seek remedy outside of the Longwood Police Department: If the complaint is dismissed, or if the Chief of Police takes corrective action but the complainant still wishes to file a grievance for the alleged violation, or if the complainant does not wish to file a complaint and pursue remedies within the Longwood Police Department, he/she may file a written complaint with the City of Longwood Human Resources Department, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the Florida Human Relations Commission, Department of Administration, alleging a violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. F. Employee liability under Federal and Florida law: 1. An employee who is found to have harassed another employee will be subject not only to discipline by the Longwood Police Department but may also be subject to penalties under federal and state law. The offending employee may be held personally liable for his or her misconduct through civil suit by the injured employee and may also be criminally prosecuted for his or her misconduct. 2. An employee who is found to have knowingly filed a false harassment complaint will be subject not only to discipline by the Longwood Police Department but may also be held personally liable for his or her misconduct through civil suit by the injured employee and may also be criminally prosecuted under Chapter 837.06, Florida State Statutes.