Standing Order #11 - Definition and Reporting of Harassment
Issue Date:
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to define harassment and to specify the complaint procedure to follow if a member believes he/she has been harassed while working for PCSAR.
SCOPE/POLICY
The Pennington County Search and Rescue Team is committed to offering opportunity based on ability and performance, in a productive climate, free of discrimination. Accordingly, harassment of any kind by team members will not be tolerated. In addition, PCSAR will protect its members, to the extent possible, from reported harassment by non-members of the team during team functions. In general, ethnic or racial slurs, jokes, and other verbal or physical conduct relating to a person's race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, sex, or disability constitute harassment when they unreasonably interfere with the person's performance or create an intimidating work environment.
Sexual harassment has been defined by federal and state regulations as a form of sex discrimination. It can consist of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other physical and verbal conduct of a sexual nature by officers, team members, or others.
Sexual harassment exists when:
Members of the team make submission to such conduct either an explicit or implicit term or condition of team membership.
Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used by a team member as a basis for team related decisions such as work assignments, discipline, etc.
Sexual harassment may also exist when other team member(s) (or non-team members) engage in such conduct, when the conduct unreasonably interferes with a team member’s performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.
RESPONSIBILITY
It is the responsibility of all PCSAR team members to adhere to this policy. It is the responsibility of the PCSAR Team Leader or his/her assistants to ensure adherence to this policy.
PROCEDURE
Reporting of Harassment
If a member has a complaint about an incident of harassment, he/she should immediately report the matter to the Team Leader or one of the Assistant Team Leaders. He/she must provide a verbal as well as a written description of the incident to aid in the investigation of the complaint.
If the Team Leader or one of the Assistant Team Leaders is not an appropriate person, or if the member is not satisfied with their handling of the complaint, the member may report the matter to one of the remaining Executive Board members.
All complaints will be thoroughly investigated by the Executive Board and will be treated with the utmost confidence consistent with resolution of the problem. If the allegations are found to be true following investigation, appropriate corrective action will be taken, up to and including the dismissal of the offending team member.
If the member is not satisfied with the Executive Board’s response, the member may take the matter directly to the Pennington County Search and Rescue Team at the next regularly scheduled business meeting.