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Discrimination and Harassment Free
Workplace power point presentation.

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Discrimination and
Harassment Free
Workplace
State of Oregon
Department of Administrative
Services
Statewide Policy 50.010.01

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

The State of Oregon is

committed to a discrimination
and harassment free work
environment.

All employees are expected to

conduct themselves in a
business-like and professional
manner and not engage in
discriminatory or harassing
behavior.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Statewide Policy 50.010.01, Discrimination and

Harassment Free Workplace, outlines types of
prohibited conduct and procedures for reporting and
investigating prohibited conduct.

All employees are expected to read Statewide Policy

50.010.01, Discrimination and Harassment Free
Workplace. The policy can be located at:

http://oregon.gov/DAS/HR/rules.shtml.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

This power point presentation

provides additional information about
a discrimination and harassment free
workplace.

If you have questions after viewing

this presentation and reading the
policy, ask your supervisor, your
agency Human Resource section,
Executive Director or chair.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Throughout the
presentation there will be
questions, scenarios and
quizzes designed to test
your knowledge.

See if you can answer the

questions before the slide
changes to reveal the
answer.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Policy 50.010.01 and this presentation cover three

types of illegal, prohibited behavior:

1. Discrimination,

2. Workplace harassment and

3. Sexual harassment

Discrimination and workplace harassment are

based upon an individuals protected class status.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Protected class status under federal law includes:

race, color and national origin;
sex (includes pregnancy-related conditions);
religion;
age (40 and older);
disability;
a person who uses leave covered by the Federal Family
and Medical Leave Act;
a person who uses Military Leave;
a person who associates with a protected class;
a person who opposes unlawful employment practices,
files a complaint or testifies about violations or possible
violations; and
any other protected class as defined by federal law.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Protected class status under Oregon law

includes:
All federally protected classes, plus:
age (18 and older);
physical or mental disability;
injured worker;
a person who uses leave covered by the Oregon
Family Leave Act;
marital status and family relationships;
sexual orientation;
whistleblower;
expunged juvenile record; and
any other protected class as defined by state law.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace
Discrimination is

A supervisor or person in authority making

employment decisions related to hiring, firing,
transferring, promoting, demoting, benefits,
compensation, and other terms and conditions of
employment, because of an employees protected class
status.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

*Examples of discrimination include:

A supervisor refusing to hire a well qualified

candidate because she is pregnant.

Upon discovering an employees age, a

supervisor transfers a well qualified 45 year old
employee from the teen unit to the senior
citizen unit.
*The examples are assuming a Bonafide
Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) or other
circumstances do not exist.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Workplace Harassment is

Unwelcome, unwanted or offensive conduct

based on or because of an employees
protected class status.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Examples of workplace harassment include:

An employee repeatedly addresses coworkers with

derogatory comments or stereotypes related to their
race or religion. The employee calls a coworker
wearing a turban, Towel Head, calls a Hispanic
coworker, Beaner, and calls a Jewish coworker
Cheap Skate.

An employee tries to get a coworker to resign by

spreading untrue, malicious gossip about the
coworker, because of the coworkers disability.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace
Sexual Harassment is

Unwelcome, unwanted, or offensive sexual advances,

requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature when:

1. Submission to the conduct is made either explicitly or

implicitly a term or condition of the individuals
employment; or is used as a basis for any employment
decision (granting leave requests, promotion, favorable
performance appraisal, etc.); or

2. The conduct is unwelcome, unwanted, or offensive and

has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with
an individuals work performance, or creating an
intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Examples of sexual harassment include:

A supervisor telling a subordinate

employee that if he/she accompanies the
supervisor for a weekend get-away, the
supervisor might be able to arrange for
some paid time off for the employee, or
look into a promotion for the employee.

A person in authority threatening to

discredit a subordinate employee if they
wont attend a party with them after
work.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Any employee believing they have been

subjected to discrimination, workplace
harassment or sexual harassment should
report that behavior to their immediate
supervisor, another member of
management or the agency Human
Resource section.

A complaint may be made verbally or in

writing.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Why is it important for employees to report discrimination,

workplace harassment and sexual harassment?

Answer
Discrimination ,workplace harassment and sexual harassment can
cause:

Employees to be hurt emotionally

Productivity to go down
Absenteeism to go up
The work of the agency to be jeopardized
Employees to be fearful of others
Workplace morale to be reduced

When management knows about the problem it can be corrected

Discrimination, workplace harassment and sexual harassment
must be stopped!

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Why do employees hesitate to report discrimination,

workplace harassment and sexual harassment?

Answer
Fear of losing their job
Fear of retaliation
Fear of getting someone into trouble
Fear of disrupting the workplace
Fear of being accused of having no sense of humor
Fear of being embarrassed
Fear of feeling like less of a man/woman
Fear of not being believed. Discrimination and harassment are
generally subtle and inconspicuous.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

What can a supervisor do to help employees feel safe

reporting discrimination, workplace harassment and sexual
harassment?

Answer
Set an example of respectful workplace behavior.
Have clear expectations that discrimination, workplace harassment
and sexual harassment are not tolerated.
Have a clear mechanism for reporting; including the ability to report
to another member of management should the supervisor be the
accused.
Take immediate steps to stop inappropriate behavior or conduct as it
occurs or is reported.
Guard against retaliation.
Handle investigations as discretely and confidentially as possible.
Be sensitive to the feelings of all involved. It is not easy for the
complainant, the accused or anyone participating in an investigation.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Once a complaint of discrimination,

workplace harassment or sexual
harassment is made, the agency must
promptly investigate the complaint.

Complaints are taken seriously and

are confidential to the extent possible.

Employees are expected to cooperate

with an investigation and keep
information regarding the
investigation confidential.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace
Scenario: An employee reports harassment to his/her
supervisor and says, I dont want you to do anything about
this. I just want you to listen and be aware of what is going
on.

How should the supervisor respond?

Answer

A supervisor cannot promise to just listen and be aware.

Once a supervisor receives a report of harassment or discrimination, a

supervisor has an obligation to take action.

In fact, a supervisor has the responsibility to ensure the integrity of the

workplace. A supervisor must exercise reasonable care to prevent and
promptly correct any discrimination, workplace harassment or sexual
harassment they know about or should know about.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace
Scenario: A supervisor receives a report of sexual harassment.
The supervisor has seen such reports divide a workforce.

What advice would you give the supervisor to help minimize

disruption to the workplace?

Answer
Conduct an investigation discretely and quickly.
Caution all parties not to discuss the investigation.
Direct employees back to work who are talking about the accused or
the complainant in regards to the report.
Work to keep up morale in the office and ensure work is being
accomplished.
Be proactive. Having established expectations in place that do not
allow gossiping and other non-productive or destructive activities is a
preventative measure a supervisor should take.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

How should an agency treat an employee accused of

discrimination, workplace harassment or sexual harassment?

Answer
An employee accused of discrimination, workplace harassment or
sexual harassment should be treated with professionalism and
respect, as you would any employee.
Just because an employee has been accused, does not mean the
employee is guilty.
The accused employee has a chance to defend him/herself and
present information and witnesses.
An agency must conduct a neutral investigation. Conclusions should
not be reached until the investigation is complete.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace
Scenario: An employee filed a report of harassment with
her supervisor. After an investigation the agency did not
agree that harassment occurred. Because harassment
was not found, the employee worries that she will be
disciplined.

Are the employees worries founded?

Answer
No. An employee will not be disciplined for making a report of
what the employee believes is harassment.
Harassment is a term often used for lack of a better way to
describe what an employee feels he/she is experiencing.
Sometimes an investigation will conclude that a particular
behavior was not harassment or discrimination but was
inappropriate workplace behavior.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

The complainant and the accused will be

notified individually when an investigation
is concluded. They will be told if any part
of the complaint is substantiated. The
complainant will not be told specifics of any
action taken against the accused.

Employees engaging in conduct in violation

of this policy may be subject to disciplinary
action, up to and including dismissal.

State temporary employees or volunteers

engaging in conduct in violation of this
policy may be subject to termination of
their working or volunteer relationship with
the agency.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

An employee who harasses another employee

because of their protected class status, or
sexually harasses another employee, while away
from the workplace and outside of working hours,
may be subject to the provisions of this policy if
that conduct has a negative impact on the
environment at work and/or working relationships
and/or the employers business.

Even consensual relationships can impact the

work environment when one party decides they
no longer wish to participate.

Supervisor/subordinate relationships can also

impact the work environment because of actual or
perceived preferential treatment.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

If a complaint involves the conduct

of a contracted employee or a
contractor, management will
address the problem behavior with
the contractor and require prompt,
appropriate action.

If a complaint involves the conduct

of a client, customer, or visitor, the
agency should follow its own
internal procedures and take
prompt, appropriate action.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace
Scenario: A technician is contracted to maintain the office copy
machine. Each time the technician makes a service call the
technician tells a dirty joke. Some employees cant wait for the
machine to break down, just so they can hear the latest joke.

Even though no employees have complained, what is the

supervisors responsibility?

Answer

The supervisor has an obligation to maintain the integrity of the office

environment.

The supervisor should direct the employees back to work.

Even though the technician is not an employee, the supervisor should

tell the technician to stop telling dirty jokes.

The supervisor should contact the company holding the contract and
report the behavior and request prompt corrective action.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Retaliating against employees who file

complaints, participate in
investigations, or report observing
discrimination, workplace harassment or
sexual harassment is prohibited.

If an employee believes they have been

retaliated against, the employee should
report the retaliatory behavior to their
supervisor, another manager, or the
agency Human Resource section,
Executive Director or chair.

Complaints of retaliation will be

investigated promptly.

Retaliatio
n

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace
Scenario: An investigation resulted in an employee being
disciplined for sexual harassment. The disciplined
employee was mad and encouraged others to shun those
who participated in the investigation. You have been asked
to refuse to speak to your coworkers who reported the
employees behavior to the supervisor.

What can you do?

Answer

Just as discrimination and harassment are prohibited, so is

retaliation.

Refuse to participate in retaliation against your coworkers. The

morale of the staff has already been harmed. You do not want to
contribute to further problems.

Report this behavior to management.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace
A Quiz (True or False)

Discrimination, workplace harassment and

sexual harassment can be illegal behavior.

True

Employment actions taken against employees that

are based on or because of an employees protected
class status are illegal, violating federal and state
law.

Unwelcome, unwanted or offensive sexual advances

or requests for sexual favors which require
submission in exchange for employment action or
inaction are illegal, violating federal and state law.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Harassment is limited to exchanges between men and

women.

False

Harassment can occur between men and women, women

and women, and men and men.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Only a member of management has the power to

eliminate discrimination, workplace harassment and
sexual harassment in the workplace.

False

Only a supervisor/manager has the authority to discipline an

employee for engaging in discrimination, workplace
harassment or sexual harassment.

Employees at every level of the agency have the power to

prevent and eliminate discrimination, workplace harassment
and sexual harassment by:

Being a role model for appropriate workplace behavior;

Not engaging in it; and

Being comfortable enough to tell each other respectfully when

they have been offended.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

If I tell my manager I am being harassed my manager can

guarantee my name will be kept out of it.

False.

A manager receiving a report of harassment has an obligation to

keep the information as confidential as possible.

Human Resources and specific members of management may

need to have some or all of the information from your report.

In order for the accused to answer questions and defend

him/herself, he/she will need specifics.

Witnesses will be given limited information.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Prevention is the most effective way to eliminate

discrimination, workplace harassment and sexual
harassment in the workplace.

True

Taking a proactive stance to create and maintain a respectful

work environment is the most effective way to prevent
discrimination, workplace harassment and sexual harassment.

This can be accomplished by:

Educating the workforce about discrimination, workplace harassment

and sexual harassment;

Having clear guidelines for reporting discrimination, workplace

harassment and sexual harassment; and

Making it clear that that discrimination, workplace harassment and

sexual harassment are prohibited and retaliating against someone for
reporting is prohibited.

Discrimination and Harassment Free

Workplace

Together we must work to

create and maintain a work
environment that is free from
discrimination, workplace
harassment and sexual
harassment.

End