Individuals and Conduct Covered
These policies apply to all applicants and employees, whether related to conduct engaged in by fellow employees or by someone not directly connected to Bunkie General Hospital (e.g., an outside vendor, consultant or customer).
Conduct prohibited by these policies is unacceptable in the workplace and in any work-related setting outside the workplace, such as during business trips, business meetings and business-related social events.
Sexual Harassment
The hospital will not, under any circumstances, condone or tolerate conduct which may constitute sexual harassment on the part of any of its employees. It is our policy that all employees have the right to work in an environment free from any type of illegal discrimination, including sexual harassment. Any employee found to have engaged in such conduct will be subject to immediate discipline, up to and including discharge.
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:
- submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, or
- submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or
- such conduct has the purpose of substantially interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment
Sexual harassment can take many forms. Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, and can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general. Both the victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex. Harassment is not limited to overt physical acts. Suggestive comments, jokes of a sexual nature, sexually suggestive objects or pictures, obscene gestures, sexually graphic stories, as well as unwanted touching, may all constitute sexual harassment.
The hospital does encourage healthy friendships among its employees; however, employees, especially management and supervisory employees must be sensitive to acts of conduct which may be considered offensive by fellow employees and must refrain from engaging in such conduct.
If you have a complaint of job-related sexual harassment, please refer to the Complaint Procedure on page 39 of Employee Handbook. It is, also, expressly prohibited for an employee to retaliate against employees who bring sexual harassment charges or assist in investigating charges. Retaliation is a violation of this policy and may result in discipline, up to and including termination. No employee will be discriminated against, or discharged, because of bringing or assisting in the investigation of a complaint of sexual harassment. However, if it is determined through an investigation that a complaint or claim of sexual harassment was intentionally false, the hospital may take disciplinary action, up to and including termination, against the employee who intentionally made a false complaint.
Federal and State Laws- Sexual Harassment
This policy is intended to supplement the statutory provisions and procedures regarding sexually inappropriate workplace behavior under state and federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and La. R.S. 42:341-344, et seq. (Act 270 of 2018).
Training Requirements - Sexual Harassment
R.S. 42:343 requires that each public servant to complete a minimum of hour of one hour of education/training on sexual harassment prevention during each calendar year of public employment. Additional education and training is required for supervisors and persons within the agency designated to investigate sexual harassment complaints.
Training can be done either in person or via internet training approved by agency’s head. Each agency head must ensure that each public employee is notified of the agency’s policy against sexual harassment and the mandatory training requirement. Each public servant’s record of compliance shall be a public record and available to the public in accordance with the LA Public Record Law. R.S. 42:343(C).
Each agency head shall ensure that its policy against sexual harassment and its compliant procedure is prominently posted on its website or, if the agency does not have a website that a notice on how to obtain the information is posted in a conspicuous location in each of the agency’s offices. R.S. 42:343(D).
Mandatory Reports - Sexual Harassment
Each agency head shall compile an annual report by February first of each year containing information from the previous calendar year regarding his agency’s compliance, including:
- The number and percentage of public servants in his agency who have completed the training requirements;
- The number of sexual harassment complaints received by his agency;
- The number of complaints which resulted in a finding that sexual harassment occurred;
- The number of complaints in which the finding of sexual harassment resulted in discipline or corrective action; and
- The amount of time it took to resolve each complaint.
These reports shall be public record and available to the public in the manner provided by the Public Records Law.
Workplace Violence
The hospital prohibits violence in the workplace, and makes every attempt to maintain a safe workplace. The workplace is not limited to hospital premises, but includes all environments where work-related activities are performed, such as offsite meeting locations and business travel.
The hospital defines “violence” to include physically harming another, shoving, pushing, harassing, intimidating, coercing, brandishing weapons, and threatening or talking of engaging in these activities.
This policy applies to all employees, all non-employees including customers/clients, visitors, suppliers, vendors, contractors, temporary workers, and other individuals with whom hospital employees come into contact with during work duties. Any of these individuals may be a victim or a violator under hospital policy.
Nondiscrimination/Anti-Harassment
The hospital is committed to a nondiscriminatory/anti-harassing work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits unlawful discriminatory practices, including harassment. The hospital is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, sex, citizenship, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, sexual orientation, family status, pregnancy, gender or other legally protected status.
The hospital does not tolerate unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation in any employment decisions, including recruitment, hiring, compensation, promotion, benefits, discipline, termination, job assignments or training.
Harassment on the basis of any other protected characteristic is also strictly prohibited.
Under this policy, harassment is verbal, written or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law, or that of his or her relatives, friends or associates, and that: a) has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, b) has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance, or c) otherwise adversely affects an individual’s employment opportunities. Harassing conduct includes epithets, slurs or negative stereotyping; threatening, intimidating or hostile acts; denigrating jokes; and written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group that is placed on walls or elsewhere on the employer’s premises or circulated in the workplace, on company time or using company equipment by e-mail, phone (including voice messages), text messages, social networking sites or other means. The hospital is also committed to providing a work environment free of harassment based on any protected statuses. The hospital will not tolerate harassment of our employees by anyone — supervisors, co-workers, patients, visitors, contractors or vendors under our control. The hospital will not fire, demote, harass, or otherwise “retaliate” against an individual for filing a charge of harassment or discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposing discrimination. Therefore, Bunkie General Hospital expects that all relationships among persons will be business-like and free of explicit bias, prejudice and harassment. The hospital will make every reasonable effort to ensure that all concerned are familiar with these policies and are aware that any complaint in violation of such policies will be investigated and resolved appropriately. Any employee who has concerns or questions about these policies should talk with Director of Human Resources or their designee.
These policies should not, and may not, be used as a basis for excluding or separating individuals of a particular gender, or any other protected characteristic, from participating in business or work-related social activities or discussions. In other words, no one should make the mistake of engaging in discrimination or exclusion to avoid allegations of harassment. The law and the policies of Bunkie General Hospital prohibit disparate treatment on the basis of sex or any other protected characteristic, with regard to terms, conditions, privileges and perquisites of employment. The prohibitions against harassment, discrimination and retaliation are intended to complement and further those policies, not to form the basis of an exception to them.
Retaliation
Bunkie General Hospital encourages reporting of all perceived incidents of discrimination or harassment. It is the policy of Bunkie General Hospital to promptly and thoroughly investigate such reports. Bunkie General Hospital prohibits retaliation against any individual who reports discrimination or harassment or participates in an investigation of such reports.
Commitment to Workplace Diversity
Bunkie General Hospital is committed to creating and maintaining a workplace in which all employees have an opportunity to participate and contribute to the success of the business and are valued for their skills, experience, and unique perspectives. This commitment is embodied in company policy and the way we do business at Bunkie General Hospital and is an important principle of sound business management.
Reporting an Incident of Harassment, Discrimination or Retaliation
Bunkie General Hospital encourages reporting of all perceived incidents of discrimination, harassment or retaliation, regardless of the offender’s identity or position. Individuals who believe that they have been the victim of such conduct should discuss their concerns with their immediate supervisor, Director of Human Resources or designee. See the complaint procedure described below.
In addition, Bunkie General Hospital encourages individuals who believe they are being subjected to such conduct to promptly advise the offender that his or her behavior is unwelcome and to request that it be discontinued. Often this action alone will resolve the problem. Bunkie General Hospital recognizes, however, that an individual may prefer to pursue the matter through complaint procedures.
Complaint Procedure
If you experience job-related harassment, witnessed prohibited conduct of harassment, discrimination or retaliation, or have a related complaint, you should promptly report the matter to your supervisor or to department head/other person designated to receive complaints or Human Resources Director. Employees are encouraged to report all incidents of harassment, discrimination or retaliation before it becomes severe and pervasive. The hospital will promptly investigate all charges of violation of this and all policies. Early reporting and intervention have proven to be most effective method of resolving actual or perceived incidents of harassment. The investigation may include individual interviews with parties involved, individuals who may have observed the alleged conduct or may have other relevant knowledge of incident. Sexual Harassment investigations will include both the alleged offender and the alleged victim of harassment. Actions taken on the complaint shall be documented and a description of investigation process will be provided. The Confidentiality of persons reporting violations will be respected as far as practicable in conducting an investigation of such claims. If it is determined that harassment has occurred, the hospital will take immediate corrective action up to and including termination. Civil authorities may also be involved as the situation may warrant. Disciplinary action shall be explained and documented during investigations and at the conclusion of investigations.
Retaliation against an individual for reporting harassment or discrimination or for participating in an investigation of a claim of harassment or discrimination is a serious violation of this policy and, like harassment or discrimination itself, will be subject to disciplinary action. Acts of retaliation should be reported immediately and will be promptly investigated and addressed.
Misconduct constituting harassment, discrimination or retaliation will be dealt with appropriately. Responsive action may include, for example, training, referral to counseling or disciplinary action such as a warning, reprimand, withholding of a promotion or pay increase, reassignment, temporary suspension without pay, or termination, as Bunkie General Hospital believes appropriate under the circumstances.
If a party to a complaint does not agree with its resolution, that party may appeal to Bunkie General Hospital’s Administration, Board of Commissioners. Employees are also entitled to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights, or consult with an attorney or labor representative, regardless of the outcome of the investigation.
False and malicious complaints of harassment, discrimination or retaliation (as opposed to complaints that, even if erroneous, are made in good faith) may be the subject of appropriate disciplinary action.