CCR2009006-Policy
Harassment & Discrimination in the Workplace
Resolution to Adopt
I. PURPOSE
The City of Muskego is proud of its professional work environment and committed to maintaining a
collegial workplace in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. The purpose of this
policy is to maintain a healthy work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and
dignity and to provide procedures for reporting, investigating and resolving complaints of harassment
and discrimination.
II. POLICY
It is the policy of the City of Muskego that all employees have the right to work in an environment
free of all forms of harassment. The City of Muskego will not tolerate, condone, or allow harassment
by any employee or other non-employees who conducts business with the City. The City of Muskego
considers harassment, discrimination of others and the retaliation against any employee for filing a
complaint, to be forms of serious employee misconduct. Therefore, the City shall take direct and
immediate action to prevent such behavior, and to remedy all reported instances of harassment,
discrimination or retaliation. A violation of this City policy can lead to discipline up to and including
termination, with repeated violations, even if “minor,” resulting in greater levels of discipline as
appropriate.
III. PROHIBITED ACTIVITY
1. Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and
other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
a. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term of condition of
employment; or
b. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an employee is used as the basis for
employment decisions affecting the employee; or
c. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an employee’s
work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
2. Harassment is any verbal, written, visual or physical act that creates a hostile, intimidating or
offensive work environment or interferes with an individual’s job performance.
a. No employee shall either explicitly or implicitly ridicule, mock, deride, or belittle any
person.
3. Discrimination is a form of harassment based on race, color, sex, religion, age, disability,
sexual orientation or national origin. Such harassment is a prohibited form of discrimination
under state and federal employment law and/or is also considered misconduct subject to
disciplinary action by the City.
a. Employees shall not make offensive or derogatory comments to any person, either
directly or indirectly, based on race, color, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual
orientation, or national origin.
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b. Derogatory racial, ethnic, religious, age, sexual orientation, sexual or other inappropriate
remarks, slurs, or jokes will not be tolerated.
4. Retaliation is when an employee who brings a complaint to the attention of the City in good
faith will not be adversely affected as a result of reporting the harassment. Any employee
found to have retaliated against another employee for reporting unprofessional conduct,
including sexual or other unlawful harassment will be subject to appropriate discipline.
a. Retaliation against any employee for filing a harassment or discrimination complaint, or
for assisting, testifying, or participating in the investigation of such a complaint, is illegal and
is prohibited by this City and by federal statutes.
b. Retaliation is a form of employee misconduct. Any evidence of retaliation shall be
considered a separate violation of this policy and shall be handled by the same complaint
procedures established for harassment and discrimination complaints.
c. Monitoring to ensure that retaliation does not occur is the responsibility of the Mayor,
supervisors and the appropriate internal investigative authority.
IV Covered Individuals
Individuals covered under this policy include employees and applicants for employment,
volunteers, members of the public, elected officials and appointed boards and commissions.
V. Procedures
1. Supervisory Responsibilities
a. Each supervisor shall be responsible for preventing prohibited activities as defined above.
1. Monitoring the work environment on a daily basis for signs that harassment may be
occurring;
2. Training and counseling all employees on what constitutes harassment and sexual
harassment, on the types of behavior prohibited the City’s policy and procedures for
reporting and resolving complaints of harassment.
3. Stopping any observation that may be considered harassment, and taking appropriate
steps to intervene, whether or not the involved employees are within his/her line of
supervision; and
4. Taking immediate action to prevent retaliation towards the complaining party or
witnesses and to eliminate the hostile work environment where there has been a
complaint of harassment, pending investigation. If a situation requires separation of the
parties, care should be taken to avoid actions that appear to punish the complainant.
Transfer or reassignment of any of the parties involved should be voluntary if possible
and, if non-voluntary, should be temporary pending the outcome of the investigation.
b. Each supervisor has the responsibility to assist any employee who comes to that supervisor
with a complaint of harassment in documenting and filing a complaint with the internal
investigations authority as designated by this agency.
c. Failing to carry out these responsibilities will be considered in any evaluation or promotional
decisions and may be grounds for discipline.
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d. In striving to maintain a workplace that is free from harassment, the City prohibits an
individual who is employed in a supervisory/exempt position from engaging in any intimate
or other romantic relationship with any subordinate employee, whether exempt or non-
exempt, who reports directly to him/her. This prohibition extends to relationships both at and
away from the workplace. Upon proper investigation, and with due consideration for the
privacy of our employees, the City reserves the right to determine whether a relationship is in
violation of this policy.
2. Employee Responsibilities
a. Each employee is responsible for assisting in the prevention of harassment through the
following acts:
1. Refraining from participation in, or encouragement of actions that could be perceived as
harassment.
2. Reporting acts of harassment to a supervisor; and
3. Encouraging any employee who confides that he or she is being harassed or
discriminated against to report these acts to a supervisor.
b. Failure of any employee to carry out the above responsibilities will be considered in any
performance evaluation or promotional decisions and may be grounds for discipline.
3. Complaint Procedures
a. Any employee encountering harassment is encouraged but not required to inform the person
that his or her actions are unwelcome and offensive. This initial contact can be either verbal
or in writing. The employee is to document all incidents of harassment in order to provide
the fullest basis for investigation.
b. Any employee who has unsuccessfully attempted to terminate the harassment by means of
Section a and who believes that he or she is being harassed shall report the incident(s) as soon
as possible to their supervisor so that steps may be taken to protect the employee from further
harassment, and so that appropriate investigative and disciplinary measures may be initiated.
Where doing so is not practical, the employee may instead file a complaint with another
Supervisor, Human Resources Representative, City Administrator (if applicable) or Mayor
1. The supervisor or other person to whom a complaint is given shall meet with the
employee and document the incident(s) complained of, the person(s) performing or
participating in the harassment, any witnesses to the incident(s) and the date(s) on which it
occurred.
c. An employee should utilize the city’s internal reporting procedure first. However, if after
utilizing this procedure the complainant does not feel the complaint has not been adequately
addressed, the employee may file a complaint with either or both of the following:
1. State of Wisconsin Equal Rights Agency
201 East Washington Avenue
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 266-6860
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2. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
210 Martin Luther King Boulevard
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 266-4910
If the employee exercises the reporting options of (1) or (2) from above, they must file a copy
of the complaint with the Mayor within 24 hours of filing of the complaint.
d. The investigative authority shall be the reporting supervisor defined in V3.b or as determined
by the Mayor.
e. The internal investigation authority shall be responsible for investigating any complaint
alleging harassment or discrimination and compiling an appropriate written report.
1. The internal investigative authority shall immediately notify the Chief of Police if the
complaint contains evidence of criminal activity, such as battery, or sexual assault.
2. The investigation shall include a determination as to whether the person is harassing other
employees, and whether other City employees participated in or encouraged the
harassment.
3. The internal investigative authority shall inform the parties involved of the outcome of
the investigation.
4. A file of harassment and discrimination complaints shall be maintained in a secure
location.
f. The complaining party’s confidentiality will be maintained throughout the investigatory
process to the extent practical and appropriate under the circumstances. An employee
reporting a complaint or becoming involved in an investigation is obligated to treat the matter
confidentially outside the investigation.
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