Text-Only Version
As you begin this training, you may ask, “Why is this training important for me?" Let’s start by taking a look at you. You are one of many Commonwealth employees. As a public employee you and more than 85,000 of your coworkers contribute to the quality of life of over 12 million Pennsylvania citizens and to the support of businesses that provide for their livelihood.
And each of you is the same. You think identical thoughts. You eat identical foods. You do identical things.
Right?
Of course not!
That huge workforce includes over 85,000 unique individuals. They vary in many ways, such as age, gender, religion, cultural heritage, and means of ability. Discrimination occurs when any one of these individuals is treated differently because of his/her age, gender, religion, cultural heritage, means of ability, or other protected characteristic, rather than his/her individual merit.
Join us as we review discrimination, and learn what we can do to prevent discrimination in the workplace.
There are four main pieces of this training. First, we’ll look at the Laws and Policies that affect us at work. But more importantly, we will find out what behaviors are prohibited. We will then explore what state employees can do to prevent and report discrimination.
Finally, we will briefly review the course information before you certify your completion of the course.
You have completed Module 1: Introduction
We will look at the following laws and policies that protect employees from discrimination based on protected class:
Depending on the specific law or policy, protected classes may include gender, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS status, and union membership.
The most frequently referenced Federal Law is “Title VII” of the Civil Rights Act. It prohibits discrimination based on gender, race, color, religion, or national origin.
Other Federal Laws prohibit discrimination based on age or disability, such as:
These Federal Laws protect people from discrimination based on the following protected classes:
Harassment is a form of discrimination. Any form of harassment based on gender, race, color, religion, national origin, age, or disability is illegal. Sexual harassment, for example, is prohibited because it is a form of discrimination based on gender.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces Federal Discrimination Laws. You can visit the EEOC website at www.eeoc.gov.
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act protects people in classes similar to those covered by Federal Laws:
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) enforces State Discrimination Laws. You can visit the PHRC website at www.phrc.state.pa.us.
The Commonwealth commits the following to its employees:
As an employer, the Commonwealth has established policies prohibiting discrimination, and enforces its policies in the workplace. Commonwealth Discrimination Policies include more protected classes than Federal and State Laws.
Executive Order 2003-10 protects the same classes as the Federal and State Laws:
In addition, Commonwealth policy prohibits discrimination based upon:
As an employer, the Commonwealth strongly enforces its Discrimination Policies. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission enforce Federal and State Laws.
As an overview, Commonwealth Policy:
To review Commonwealth Policy:
The following two questions will give you a chance to test your learning:
Question #1: TRUE or FALSE? Title VII and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act prohibit ALL verbal or physical harassment in the workplace.
Answer #1: FALSE. These statutes prohibit behavior that is so offensive as to alter conditions of the victim's employment. Simple teasing and off-hand comments may not amount to harassment.
Question #2: The three classes listed below are only covered under which group of laws/policies?
Answer #2: COMMONWEALTH POLICIES. Commonwealth Policies pertaining to discrimination include more protected classes than Federal and State Laws.
You have completed Module 2: Laws and Policies
Module 3: Harassment Awareness
Remember, discrimination is treating an individual differently on the basis of his/her protected class. Harassment is a form of discrimination. Harassment is defined as conduct that is:
Harassment can be based on any protected class, including but not limited to:
What does harassment look like? Harassment can be:
Must the offending behavior happen more than once in order to be considered harassment?
Not necessarily. Usually a single or isolated incident is not enough.
However, if the incident is sufficiently severe it can violate the policy, particularly if the incident is of a physical nature.
Even behavior that is not severe, but is offensive and repeated or pervasive, may be considered harassment.
Let’s explore one specific type of harassment: Sexual Harassment.
Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual behavior that might:
Examples of sexual harassment:
Sexual harassment is usually divided into two types:
Hostile Work Environment:
Quid Pro Quo:
Let’s take a closer look at harassment that creates a hostile work environment.
Scenario
Employee #1: “Hey Tamika, I heard you handled that IT problem the other day. I didn’t know you had the equipment to handle a problem like that.”
Employee #2: “Oh, I think she has all the equipment she needs.”
Employee #1: “Yeah maybe her equipment needs a little maintenance check, too.”
Employee #2: “Yeah, I think a hands-on maintenance check is what she needs.”
Tamika: “Please stop! This is inappropriate and offensive.”
This scenario depicts a hostile work environment. The term “equipment” is suggestive of female body parts. The statement “hands on maintenance check” is suggestive of physical contact. The recipient clearly views this as inappropriate and offensive.
Hostile Work Environment
This type of harassment is created when unwelcome harassment is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of an individual’s employment or creates an abusive, intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
What does severe or pervasive mean?
Does severe or pervasive mean that the offending behavior must happen more than once?
Not necessarily. Remember, a single or isolated incident is not enough.
The law does not prohibit all harassment. Simple teasing, off-hand comments, and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) do not affect conditions of employment.
Quid Pro Quo
Occurs when an employee’s submission to or rejection of unwelcome sexual advances or conduct is used as the basis for an employment decision affecting that employee.
Let's take a look at an example of Quid Pro Quo harassment. Greg has been working for the same agency for two years. He is a dependable hard worker and proven project leader. His boss is Ms. Williams. One day, Ms. Williams calls Greg into her office and says, "Greg, I see promotion written all over you. We could discuss it over dinner at my place and 'explore' your future."
Ms. Williams has just introduced a type of sexual harassment known as "Quid Pro Quo". In this case, she promises Greg a promotion in exchange for his willingness to enter into a personal relationship.
Question #1: TRUE or FALSE? Asking a co-worker of the opposite sex for a lunch “date” is sexual harassment.
Answer #1: FALSE. Anti-discrimination polices are not designed to cripple accepted social interactions and exchanges.
Question #2: TRUE or FALSE? Repeatedly asking a co-worker for a lunch date, after being told that your behavior is unwelcome, may be considered sexual harassment.
Answer #2: TRUE. If the co-worker's repeated asking becomes offensive, sexual or intimidating, the invitee should report this to his/her supervisor or other appropriate official.
Question #3: TRUE or FALSE? Asking a co-worker of the same sex for a lunch "date" cannot constitute sexual harassment.
Answer #3: FALSE. It can be harassment if the invitation is unwelcome and repeated. Commonwealth policies also prohibit same-sex harassment.
Question #4: TRUE or FALSE? Asking your subordinate for a lunch "date" is sexual harassment.
Answer #4: Possibly. It may or may not be considered sexual harassment. However, it is risky conduct. It could be viewed as harassment if the invitee perceives (even mistakenly) some implied expectation of sexual favor.
Now that we have explored Sexual Harassment, let's look at a few examples of other types of harassment:
Meet Jed Fisher. He has been with the agency for 40 years, and he loves coming to work every day. He doesn't want to retire yet. Jed has earned the attention of several guys down in the mailroom. They thought it would be fun to write little notes on the back of Jed's daily mail. When Jed's mail gets to him, it often has messages on it, such as: "Move On, Old Timer!", "AARP called", and "Over the Hill!" The notes indicated that, in their opinion, he was too old to work with them.
Harassment may be blatant or implied. Here is another example:
For his birthday, the guys in the mailroom got him a gift to make amends. However, when Jed opened the gift it was a walker. The "gift" was another act of harassment and intimidation.
Question: TRUE or FALSE? Determining whether conduct actually constitutes harassment under Commonwealth policies is always a simple matter.
Answer: FALSE. Even in the most obvious or extreme cases, such as physical assault, the determination requires a factual investigation. The determination always depends on all the circumstances.
Harassment may also be verbal and come in the form of off-color or inappropriate jokes, such as in the following example:
Meet Hap Harrison, the local Office Supply's outside salesman. He makes regular stops at a Commonwealth office as part of his company's service. Even though he is not a Commonwealth employee, the Commonwealth's policies prohibiting harassment apply to him, as well. Hap is well-known throughout the industry for his tasteless and off-color jokes. Remember, even though he is not a Commonwealth employee, he can still create a negative and hostile environment.
Harassment comes in many forms. Regardless of the type, each is hurtful and unacceptable. Harassment is forbidden by Commonwealth policy. It will not be tolerated, whether the harasser is an employee, an applicant, or any person receiving services or doing business with the Commonwealth.
Any Commonwealth employee who engages in or knowingly condones sexual harassment related to Commonwealth employment shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
You have completed Module 3: Harassment Awareness
Now that we have learned about what behaviors are discriminatory and harassing, we will learn what you can do to prevent, report, and stop harassment.
We will start with learning how to prevent harassment. It is important to remember that unwelcome advances can be defined differently by different people. What one person considers to be acceptable, another may consider unacceptable. Unintentional behavior can be construed as harassment. The best course of action is to avoid all potentially unwelcome behavior.
What is inappropriate behavior? The victim may not voice his/her protests due to fear or intimidation, so how do you know if your behavior is welcome? If you have any doubts, ask yourself these three questions:
If the answer to any of these questions is "No", you should avoid the behavior.
Now we will learn how to report harassment. Everyone tolerates behavior at different levels. You do not have to tolerate harassment. You have a right to file a complaint. Your complaint will be taken seriously and will be investigated promptly and thoroughly. When appropriate, the Commonwealth will take effective remedial action.
How to Deal with Unwanted Attention
There are five steps you can take to eliminate harassment:
STEP 1: Act Immediately. Tell the individual that the offensive behavior is unwelcome and to STOP NOW.
STEP 2: Document the Incident.
· Date, time, place of incident
· Specific unwelcome behavior
· Your response
· Names of witnesses
· Copies of documentation (notes, e-mails, etc.)
STEP 3: Report the Behavior. Immediately report the behavior to your supervisor. If you are uncomfortable reporting the behavior to your supervisor, you have other options:
· Agency EEO Officer/Specialist
· Human Resource Officer
· Other designated agency official
When reporting the behavior, be specific! Include the following:
· What happened?
· Who is the alleged harasser?
· What did he/she do?
· What did you do?
· Where did the incident take place?
· Did you document the incident?
· How many times has this happened?
· Were there any witnesses?
· What were your feelings?
· Was your work affected?
· What remedy to you want?
STEP 4: Know Your Rights. You have a right to a workplace free from discrimination. You have a right to object to offensive behavior even if others find it acceptable. You have a right to file a complaint with your agency EEO Officer. You also have a right to file with the EEOC and/or PHRC.
STEP 5: Report Retaliation. If you believe that you have been retaliated against for opposing discrimination, immediately report this to your supervisor or the appropriate agency official. Retaliation in any form against those who exercise their right to make a good faith complaint or who cooperate in an investigation of a complaint is strictly prohibited, and is, by itself, a cause for appropriate disciplinary action.
You have completed Module 4: EEO Prevention and Reporting.
Following is a summary of the key points of this training:
For further information, contact either your Agency EEO Representative or The Office of Administration, Bureau of Equal Employment Opportunity at 717 783-1130.
This version of the course is intended for individuals who require an accommodation for a disability. Once you have fully reviewed the information in this training, contact your Human Resources Office to request credit for completing this course.
You will not receive credit for completing this course until you do so.