6Shasta Head Start is committed to maintaining a respectful and dignified workplace for all employees. Discrimination and harassment interfere with and needlessly undermine a respectful and dignified workplace. Various federal and state laws prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, medical conditions (including genetic characteristics), marital status, sexual orientation, and pregnancy.

Discrimination is not always intentional. An adverse employment action (demotion, no-promotion, unfair treatment, etc.) taken against on someone simply because they belong to a protected class is easy to define as discrimination. However, certain acts can be considered discrimination because of the outcome, regardless of the motivation. A supervisor can discriminate against an employee for what they do as much as what they do not do. It is imperative that all employees treat one another with respect, dignity, and fairness.

Harassment, which is a form of discrimination, is defined as behavior intended to disturb, annoy, upset, or threaten another individual. This section will help you, the supervisor, to better understand what harassment and discrimination are and your role in preventing them.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides the legal foundation for harassment in the workplace. The act prohibits discrimination of employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Additional federal and state laws protect employees from discrimination based on other factors. In order for a supervisor to prevent harassment, it is important to be able to distinguish the various forms of harassment. Below are some of the various forms of harassment and discrimination.

Types of Harassment

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination and is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Sexual harassment consists of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment usually falls into two types:

Quid pro quo
- Submission to the conduct is a condition or expectation for job continuance, promotions, benefits, etc.
Hostile Environment
- The unwelcome sexual comments, touching and/or visual displays of affection from a supervisor or coworker create an intimidating, offensive environment

All Shasta Head Start staff can prevent sexual harassment simply by treating co-workers with dignity, respect, integrity in all situations. Supervisors should refer to Section 703 of the Shasta Head Start Personnel Policies and Procedures for further clarification regarding sexual harassment.

Harassment Based on Race or Color

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits harassment on the basis of race. Racial harassment can take the form of improper language directed toward minority employees. Racial slurs are obviously unlawful, and racial jokes may also rise to the level of unlawful activity. Whether any type of language constitutes racial harassment is normally determined by the severity and frequency of the language. Additionally, any adverse employment action based on race or color is unlawful.

Religious Harassment

Title VII also makes it illegal to harass an employee on the basis of his/her religion or religious creed, or lack of religion or religious creed. Religious creed is broadly defined to include all aspects of religious belief, observance, or practice, or the lack thereof. This kind of harassment often takes the form of improper language that refers specifically to an employee’s religion in a derogatory manner, but can also include employment decisions based on religious creed.

On the flip side, it can also be harassment when one employee or supervisor attempts to convert the religion of another employee. Again, the test is whether the conduct is severe and pervasive enough to rise to the level of harassment.

Age Harassment

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of age with respect to employees and applicants 40 years of age and above. Adverse employment actions and inappropriate language will often open the organization to liability with regards to age discrimination. A supervisor should not refer to an older employee or permit a co-worker or subordinate to refer to an older employee in a derogatory manner.

It is unlawful to use an individual’s age as a basis for:

Failing or refusing to hire an applicant for employment
Discharging or disciplining an employee
Setting an employee’s compensation, benefits, or other conditions or privileges of employment

Harassment Based on National Origin

Title VII prohibits harassment on the basis of national origin. This included harassment based on the country where the employee was born or country where his/her ancestors lived. Ethnic slurs and other verbal or physical conduct relating to an individual’s national origin constitute harassment when this conduct:

Has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment;
Has the purpose or effect of unreasonable interference with an individual’s work performance; or
Otherwise adversely affects an individual’s employment opportunities

Disability Harassment

Under the ADA, the definition of disability is “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities” of an individual. It is unlawful to harass an employee because of his/her disability. This harassment can take the form of slurs or jokes directed toward employees because of their disabilities. It can take the form consistently excluding employees from certain kinds of work or activities because of the disabilities they have.

Shasta Head Start may be required to provide a reasonable accommodation for a disabled employee so that he or she can perform the essential functions of the job. This should be determined through a flexible interactive process that involves the employee, supervisor, and Human Resources.

In considering disability harassment, it should be remembered that unflattering references to an employee’s mental, psychological, or emotional condition could be a violation of the ADA just like unflattering references to the employee’s physical condition.

Other Types of Harassment

There are several other forms of harassment. Shasta Head Start must provide a workplace free from harassment based not only on the above circumstances, but also based on:

Medical condition
Pregnancy
Marital status
Sexual orientation
Veteran Status
Family and Medical Leave usage
Worker’s compensation
Whistle Blowing