HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 1982-11058 RESOLUTION NO. 11058
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA
VISTA ADOPTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY
The City Council of the City of Chula Vista does hereby
resolve as follows:
NOW, THEREFOE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of
the City of Chula Vista that that certain Sexual Harassment Policy
attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by reference
as if set forth in full be, and the same is hereby adopted.
.. Approved a~ to form by
ctorperso~ne~ of George D. Lindberg, City
.... Attorney
ADOPTED AND APPROVED by the CITY COUNCIL of the CITY OF
CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA, this 2nd day of November , 1982,
by the following vote, to-wit:
AYES: Councilmen McCand]iss, Scott, Cox, Ma]c0]m, Moore
NAYES: Councilmen None
ABSENT: Councilmen None ty~, ~
ES~ r~ ~ayo i of Chula Vista
ATT ~
er
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO ) ss.
CITY OF CHULA VISTA )
I, , City Clerk of the City of
Chula Vista, California, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the above is a full,
true and correct copy of Resolution No. ]]058 , and that the same has
not been amended or repealed.
City Clerk
EXHIBIT
A
SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY
The City of Chula Vista has as its policy to provide a working environment
free from all forms of prohibited discrimination, including sexual
harassment. This policy is an augmentation of the City's Affirmative Action
Policy.
Sexual harassment is an offensive working condition that will not be
tolerated. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in their guidelines,
has taken the view that the following conduct violates Federal law:
Unwel come sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other
verbal and/or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual
harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made either
explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's
employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an
individual is used as the basis for emplo3qnent decisions affecting
such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of
unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or
creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
Written examples of sexual harassment include suggestive or obscene letters,
notes and invitations; verbal examples include derogatory comments, slurs or
jokes; physical examples include assault, touching, impeding or blocking
movements; and visual examples include leering, sexually oriented gestures, or
display of sexually suggestive or derogatory objects, pictures, cartoons, or
posters. Other examples include the threat or insinuation that lack of sexual
favors will result in reprisal; withholding support for appointments,
promotion or transfer; rejection on probation; punitive actions; change of
assignments; or a poor performance report.
An employee who feels that this policy is being violated shall report this to
the appropriate supervisor or department head. Enforcement of this policy
will be handled at the departmental level. The department head will initiate
an investigation and take disciplinary action if the facts indicate a
violation of the policy. Whether or not an alleged conduct constitutes
harassment will be determined by looking at the entire record and at the
totality of the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances and
the context in which the alleged incidents occurred on a case by case basis.
The Personnel Department will provide a neutral, third-party staff person to
sit in on all meetings between the employee making the complaint and the
department. The neutral role will be to help clarify issues and assure that
all parties receive a fair hearing of the facts.
This policy is not to be construed as prohibiting mutually welcome social
relationships between employees which have no bearing on employment decisions,
benefits or conditions.
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Meeting Date~
violation of Title VII (Bundy v. Jackson). Thus, it appears settled that
Title VII applies to sexual harassment cases. The law, however, is less
settled with regard to whether there must be employer acquiescence and the
extent of an employer's liability for its employees. The case law is still
developing, and no case has yet gone to the U.S. Supreme Court." (IPMA Public
Personnel Management, Fall 1982)
Employee Rights
Regardless of the state of case law, employees who feel that they have been
sexually harassed have a right to appeal to the Fair Employment and Housing
Conmnission of the State of California (FEHC) and the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) of the federal government. Since FEHC and EEOC
investigation and litigation is so costly, time consuming and non-productive
for a local agency, the City would be much better served by preventing sexual
harassment and any resultant complaints. It is for this reason that a policy
is being established to notify employees what behavior constitutes sexual
harassment and that such behavior will not be tolerated.
City Responsibility
A policy prohibiting sexual harassment and providing avenues for complaints is
important in showing compliance with the guidelines of non-discrimination on
the basis of sex. A policy also shows that the employer is not condoning
sexual harassment and puts employees on notice that such behavior is illegal
and will not be tolerated. The attached policy states that sexual harassment
will not be tolerated, defines sexual harassment, gives examples, gives a
guideline on how behavior shall be construed, lists the complaint route should
an employee feel that he or she is being sexually harassed, and states that
disciplinary action will be taken in the case of individuals who violate the
pol icy.
FISCAL II(PACT: The implementation and follow through on a policy preventing
sexual harassment could result in the City saving significant amounts of money
if a sexual harassment complaint were filed. Hopefully, the training that
accompanies the policy will eliminate sexual harassment from the work place,
thus eliminating any danger of law suits and the attendant costs.
An additional positive effect of such policy can be in the area of
productivity. No employee can be maximally effective in their work if the
environment is hostile and/or intimidating as a result of sexual harassment.
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