Policy on Sexual Harassment

              DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY
It is the responsibility of each individual employee
to refrain from sexual and/or gender based
harassment, and it is the right of each individual
employee to work in an environment free from
sexual and/or gender based harassment.
DEFINITION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
According to the Illinois Human Rights Act, sexual
harassment is defined as:
Any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for
sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature
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 employ-ment
decisions affecting such individual, or
(3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of
substantially interfering with an individual’s
work performance or creating an intimidating,
hostile, or offensive working environment.
The courts have determined that sexual and/or
gender based harassment is a form of discrimina-tion
under Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of
1964, as amended in 1991.
One such example is a case where a qualified
individual is denied employment opportunities
and benefits that are, instead, awarded to an indi-vidual
who submits (voluntarily or under coercion)
to sexual advances or sexual favors.
Another example is where an individual must sub-mit
to unwelcome sexual or gender based conduct
in order to receive an employment opportunity.
Other conduct commonly considered to be sexual
harassment includes:
• Verbal: Sexual innuendos, suggestive or gender
based comments, insults, humor and jokes
about sex, anatomy- or gender-specific traits,
sexual propositions, threats, repeated requests
for dates, or statements about other employees,
even outside of their presence, of a sexual or
gender based nature.
• Non-Verbal: Suggestive or insulting sounds
(whistling), leering, obscene gestures, sexually
suggestive bodily gestures, “catcalls,” “smack-ing”
or “kissing” noises.
• Visual: Posters, signs, pin-ups or slogans of a
sexual nature.
• Physical: Touching, unwelcome hugging or
kissing, pinching, brushing the body, coerced
sexual intercourse, or actual assault.
• Non-sexual: Non-sexual conduct can also con-stitute
a violation of the applicable laws when
that conduct is directed at the victim because
of his or her gender. For example, a female
employee who reports to work every day and
finds her tools stolen, her work station filled
with trash and her equipment disabled by her
male co-workers because they resent having to
work with a woman.
Sexual harassment most frequently involves a
man harassing a woman. However, it can also
involve a woman harassing a man or between
members of the same gender.
The most severe and overt forms of sexual
harassment are easier to determine. On the other
end of the spectrum, some sexual harassment is
more subtle and depends to some extent on indi-vidual
perception and interpretation. The trend in
the courts is to assess sexual harassment by a
standard of what would offend a “reasonable
woman” or a “reasonable man,” depending on
the gender of the alleged victim.
An example of the most subtle form of sexual
harassment is the use of endearments. The use
of terms such as “honey,” “darling,” and “sweet-heart,”
is objectionable to many women who
believe that these terms undermine their authority
and their ability to deal with men on an equal and
professional level.
Another example is the use of a compliment that
could potentially be interpreted as sexual in nature.
Below are three statements that might be made
about the appearance of a woman in the work-place:
“That’s an attractive dress you have on.”
“That’s an attractive dress, it really looks
good on you.”
“That’s an attractive dress, you really fill
it out well.”
The first statement appears to be simply a com-pliment.
The last is the most likely to be per-ceived
as sexual harassment, depending on indi-vidual
perceptions and values. To avoid the pos-sibility
of offending an employee, it is best to fol-low
a course of conduct above reproach, or to err
on the side of caution.
RESPONSIBILITY OF EMPLOYEE
Each individual employee has the responsibility to
refrain from sexual and/or gender based harass-ment
in the workplace.
An individual employee will be subject to discipli-nary
action up to and including discharge in
accordance with Departmental policy or a bar-gaining
agreement, as appropriate.
RESPONSIBILITY OF
SUPERVISORY PERSONNEL
Each supervisor is responsible for maintaining a
workplace free of sexual and/or gender based
harassment. This is accomplished by promoting a
professional environment and by dealing with
sexual harassment as with all other forms of
employee misconduct. Acts of sexual harassment
should be reported immediately to the Bureau of
Civil Rights.
The courts have found that organizations as well
as supervisors can be held liable for damages
related to sexual and/or gender based harass-ment
by a manager, supervisor, employee, or
third party (an individual who is not an employee
but does business with an organization, such as a
contractor, customer, sales representative, or
repair person).
Liability is either based on an organization’s
responsibility to maintain a certain level of order
and discipline, or on the supervisor acting as an
agent of the organization. As such, supervisors
must act quickly and responsibly not only to mini-mize
their own liability but also that of the
Department. Specifically, a supervisor must
address an observed incident of sexual and/or
gender based harassment or a complaint, with
seriousness, report it to the Bureau of Civil
Rights, and observe strict confidentiality. This
also applies to cases where an employee tells the
supervisor about behavior considered sexual or
gender based harassment but does not want to
make a formal complaint. Once reported, the
Department is obligated to take action.
In addition, supervisors must ensure that no retal-iation
will result against an employee making a
sexual or gender based harassment complaint.
The Department’s Civil Rights Officer (CRO) is
available to consult with supervisors and employ-ees
on the proper procedures to follow.
PROCEDURES FOR
FILING A COMPLAINT
An employee who either observes or believes
herself/himself to be the object of sexual or gen-der
based harassment should deal with the inci-dent(
s) as directly and firmly as possible by clear-ly
communicating her/his position to the supervi-sor,
Civil Rights Officer and offending employee.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT