Each supervisor is responsible for maintaining the workplace free of sexual harassment. This is accomplished by
- Promoting a professional environment and by dealing with sexual harassment as with all other forms of employee misconduct
- Setting the right example, which may discourage his or her employees from acting inappropriately
- Acting quickly and responsibly not only to minimize their own liability but also that of the company
- Addressing an observed incident of sexual harassment or a complaint, with equal seriousness, reporting it, taking prompt action to investigate it, implementing appropriate disciplinary action, taking all necessary steps to eliminate the harassment and observing strict confidentiality
- Ensuring that no retaliation will result against an employee making a sexual harassment complaint
- Reminding employees, on a regular basis, that their incoming and outgoing electronic messages on employer owned/issued equipment are subject to monitoring and that employees have no expectation of privacy on employer owned/issued electronic equipment
- Informing employees that if they are subjected to inappropriate electronic communications while at work or on employer-owned equipment, or even on their personal cell phones and computers, that they should contact their supervisor or Human Resources immediately
- Advising managers, supervisors, and employees not to “friend” each other on social networks and to limit their electronic messages to relevant business matters
- Investigating complaints on a case-by-case basis and remind employees of the company’s code of conduct and ethics rules if applicable