HEART OF AMERICA VOLLEYBALL POLICY AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT

A. PURPOSE

To establish policy prohibiting all forms of harassment. To define procedure for reporting harassment. To establish guidelines for administration of discipline.

B. STATEMENT OF POLICY

Consistent with our respect for all employees and participants as individuals, each of us is responsible for providing a working and competing environment that is free of harassment, intimidation, or insult based on a persons sex, age, national origin, ancestry or disability.
Sexual harassment is against the law and will not be tolerated by the Heart of the America Region of USA Volleyball (“Region”). Any employee or member of the Region who engages in sexual harassment will be subject to disciplinary action that will range from counseling or termination of employment or membership based on the severity of the misconduct as outlined below.

C. WHAT IS SEXUAL HARASSMENT?

1. DEFINITION:

Sexual harassment in the work place is defined as a continuing pattern of unwelcome sexual overtures, requests for sexual favors, or other conduct of a sexual nature when:

(a) You must submit to such conduct to keep your job; or

(b) Your submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as a basis for employment, evaluation, pay, job assignment, or promotion decisions about you; or

(c) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with your work performance, or is offensive or objectionable to you, causes you discomfort, or creates a hostile atmosphere for you.

This type of conduct may be considered sexual harassment whether it is initiated by an elected Region official, supervisor, co-worker, or third party with whom you interact in the course of business.

Sexual harassment for all other purposes within the Region is defined as a continuing pattern of unwelcome sexual overtures, requests for sexual favors, or other conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with your performance, or is offensive or objectionable to you, causes you discomfort, or creates a hostile atmosphere for you.

2. EXAMPLES:

Conduct of a sexual nature may include, but not be limited to:

(a) Touching, propositions, advances;

(b) Abusive, vulgar language of a sexual nature;

(c) Suggestive jokes, or sexually oriented “kidding”;

(d) Comments about an individual’s body or wearing apparel;

(e) Display of sexually suggestive cartoons, pictures or photographs; or

(f) Physical contact such as patting, pinching or purposely rubbing against another person’s body.

D. WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT SEXUAL HARASSMENT

If you are an employee of the Region and you believe you are being sexually harassed by another employee, you may take any or all of the following actions:

1. Respond immediately; do not ignore the problem.

2. Speak to the offender about his or her behavior. State firmly that you do not like it and will not tolerate it.

3. Any such incident should be promptly reported to your supervisor, the Region Commissioner, or the Region’s Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance Officer for investigation and resolution.

If you are a member of the Region and you are being sexually harassed by another member of the Region, team coach, or official, you may take any or all of the same actions listed above with the exception that any such incident should be promptly reported to the Commissioner or the Region’s Compliance Officer for investigation and resolution.

E. MAKING SEXUAL HARASSMENT COMPLAINTS

1. WHO TO CONTACT:

If you believe you are being sexually harassed by another employee you should immediately contact one of the persons below with whom you feel the most comfortable:

(a) Your immediate supervisor;

(b) The Region Commissioner;

(c) The Region’s Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, or

(d) The Harrasment Officer, Michael Seck (913) 339-6757

2. HOW TO REPORT:

You should be prepared to provide the following information:

(a) Your name;

(b) The name of the person or persons committing the sexual harassment;

(c) The specific nature of the sexual harassment, how long it has gone on, and any employment action (demotion, failure to promote, dismissal, refusal to hire, transfer, etc.) taking against you as a result of the harassment, or any other threats made against you as a result of the harassment;

(d) Witness(es) to the harassment, if any; and

(e) Whether such harassment has been previously reported and if so when and to whom.

F. REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT COMPLAINTS

Michael Seck (913) 339-6757 is the person designated as the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer for the Region and he/she is to be the investigator of complaints of sexual harassment regardless of whether you are an employee or a member of the Region. He/she may delegate the investigation to the appropriate person(s) at his/her discretion.

G. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN ALLEGATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IS MADE

The Region compliance officer or his/her designee will immediately make and keep a written record of an investigation including notes of verbal responses made by persons complaining of sexual harassment, witnesses interviewed, the person against whom the complaint of sexual harassment was made, and any other person contacted in connection with the investigation. Based upon the investigation, the Region compliance officer or his/her designee will determine whether the conduct of the person against whom a complaint of sexual harassment has been made constitutes sexual harassment. The determination of whether sexual harassment has occurred will be made on a case-by-case basis. If the Region compliance officer or his/her designee determine that the complaint of sexual harassment is founded, immediate and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken by the Commissioner against the employee or Region member guilty of sexual harassment. The disciplinary action will be consistent with the nature and severity of the offense. The disciplinary action as to an employee of the Region, may include warning, reprimand, demotion, suspension, or dismissal. The disciplinary action, as to a Region member who is not an employee, may include warning, suspension, termination of Region registration, or permanent expulsion from the Region.

The Region will not tolerate retaliatory behavior against a complainant by any employee or Region member and disciplinary action, as outlined above, will be taken against any employee or Region member who takes retaliatory action against a complainant.

H. APPEAL OF THE DECISION

Any employee or Region member who feels they have not been treated fairly in keeping with these policies should utilize the Due Process and Appeals Procedure outlined in the Heart of America USA Volleyball Player Handbook as the process applies to the convening of a hearing panel.