3362 Employee Anti-Harassment

Prohibited Harassment

The Board of Control is committed to a work environment that is free of harassment of any form. The Board will not tolerate any form of harassment and will take all necessary and appropriate action to eliminate it. Any member of the Agency community who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Additionally, appropriate action will be taken to stop and otherwise deal with any third party who engages in harassment against our employees. 

If the concerns an individual is seeking to address involve allegations of sex-based harassment against employees under Title IX in programs or activities of the Agency, the individual should refer to Policy 3365, and/or contact the Agency’s Title IX Coordinator:

Michael Koltes, CESA 5 Title IX Coordinator
626 E. Slifer St.
Portage, WI 53901
(608) 745-5416
koltesm@cesa5.org

For purposes of this Policy 3362, "Agency community" means individuals subject to the control and supervision of the Board including, but not limited to, student, teachers, staff, volunteers, and Board members. "Third party" means individuals outside the Agency community who participate in school activities and events authorized by the Board including, but not limited to, visiting speakers, and vendors doing business with, or seeking to do business with, the Agency.

For purposes of this Policy 3362, “harassment” consists of unwelcome conduct, whether verbal, physical, or visual, that is based on a person's protected status, such as sex, color, race, ancestry, creed, religion, genetic information, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, veteran status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, arrest record, conviction record, or other protected group status, which affects tangible job benefits, interferes unreasonably with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

Harassment

Harassment is a form of misconduct that undermines the integrity of CESA 5’s employment and academic relationships. All employees and students must be allowed to work in an environment free harassment. This not only applies to the workplace during normal business hours, but also to work related social functions and business related travel. Individuals who experience harassment should make it clear to the harasser that such behavior is offensive to them and may lead to a complaint pursuant to this policy.

Harassment may include actions such as:

· Subtle pressure for sexual activity;

· Sexual contact as defined by statutes;

· Demand for sexual favors, accompanied by implied or overt promises of preferential treatments or threats concerning an individual’s employment;

· Sex-oriented verbal “kidding” or abuse;

· Sexually suggestive objects or pictures in the workplace.

It is possible for such harassment to occur at various levels: among peers or co-workers, between supervisors and subordinates, between employees and students, or imposed by nonemployees on employees and/or students. In fulfilling our obligation to maintain a positive and productive working and learning environment, CESA 5 will make every effort to halt any harassment of which they become aware by calling attention to this policy or by more direct disciplinary action, including, but not limited to, written warnings, suspension, demotion, or discharge, if necessary.

Supervisory personnel will be informed that they are responsible for working to prevent such harassment and to take appropriate action if it does occur. Any person who believes they have been harassed or who witnessed the harassment of another are encouraged to file a written complaint with their supervisor or the CESA 5 Administrator. All complaints shall be investigated promptly and appropriate corrective action will be taken if necessary. Further, there shall be no retaliation against any person who files a harassment complaint under this policy or against any person who participates in the investigation of any complaint.

Harassment/Sexual Harassment Procedure

The following procedure applies to complaints of sex-based harassment made under this Policy 3362. Complaints involving allegations of sexual harassment against employees under Title IX in programs or activities of the Agency will be processed under the procedures set forth in Policy 3365.

STEP 1:

Any complaint shall be presented in writing to the immediate supervisor. However, if necessary, the employee may bypass an alleged harasser by appealing to the next higher level of authority. If complaint is submitted in writing, it should include the specific nature of the harassment and corresponding dates, names of possible witnesses, and should also include the name, address and phone number of the complainant.

STEP 2:

Upon its receipt, the complaint shall be investigated. Such investigation will include meeting with the complainant, respondent and witnesses to obtain relevant information. Upon completion of the investigation the complaint officer shall meet with the complainant to inform the complainant about the findings of the investigation.

STEP 3:

If the complainant is not satisfied with the response of the complaint officer, he or she may submit a written appeal to the Agency Administrator indicating with particularity the nature of the disagreement with the complaint officer’s response and reason underlying such disagreement. Appeals must be based on procedural irregularity that would change the outcome, new evidence that would change the outcome and was not reasonably available when the determination was made, or the decisionmaker had a conflict of interest or bias for or against the complainants or respondents generally, or the individual complainant or respondent that would change the outcome. Such appeal must be filed within ten (10) working days after receipt of the complaint officer’s answer. The Agency Administrator or designee may arrange a private meeting with the complainant and other affected parties at a mutually agreeable time to discuss the appeal.

STEP 4:

If the complainant is not satisfied with the response of the Agency Administrator to the written appeal, the employee may then file a complaint with:

Department of Workforce Development

Equal Rights Division

201 East Washington Ave., Room A100

Madison, WI 53703

(608) 266-6860

or

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission

310 West Wisconsin Ave., Suite 500

Milwaukee, WI 53203

(414) 662-3680

Adopted 4/4/2013

Revision 8/6/2020

Revision 8/1/2024