HPM 10.12, EEO Flashcards
HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 1, Policy & Program Responsibilities
Managers and supervisors are responsible for maintaining a work environment free of discrimination and harassment and for providing reasonable accommodation to qualified employees with disabilities to assist them with performing the essential functions of their positions.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 1, Policy & Program Responsibilities
All efforts to provide equal opportunity in employment practices will be made on the basis of merit, efficiency, and fitness consistent with state civil service and merit system principles.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 1, Policy & Program Responsibilities
Harassment on the basis of any of the foregoing protected categories and retaliation for filing a discrimination complaint and/or participating in the discrimination complaint process as a witness, counselor, respondent, or investigator is prohibited.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 1, Policy & Program Responsibilities
All managers and supervisors are responsible and accountable to the appropriate Division chief for personnel practices consistent with the Department’s EEO Program. Managers and supervisors shall be familiar with EEO policies and shall assure the dissemination of EEO Program information to all employees within their command. Further, it is the responsibility of all managers and supervisors to support, implement, and facilitate the Department’s EEO policy, and to assure hiring, promotion, assignment, and training of personnel is conducted consistent with policy.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 1, Policy & Program Responsibilities
Each employee is responsible for ensuring their activities convey a commitment and the Department’s EEO Program policies. As with all departmental policies, any employee who willingly and knowingly fails to adhere to the intent of this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, up to, and including, termination.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 1, Policy & Program Responsibilities
Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, in accordance with Assembly Bill (AB) 1825, developed an online sexual harassment course for departmental supervisors and managers. This course fulfills the requirements of AB 1825 and can be accessed on the Department’s Intranet.
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HPM 10.12, CHPTER 2, Protected Groups
Employment discrimination, including harassment, based on the following protected groups is prohibited by law:
(1) Race;
(2) Color;
(3) Religion;
(4) National origin;
(5) Ancestry;
(6) Age;
(7) Sex (includes sexual harassment and gender identity);
(8) Physical or mental disability;
(9) Political affiliation/opinion;
(10) Marital status;
(11) Sexual orientation;
(12) Medical condition; and/or,
(13) Retaliation.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Harassment is defined as pervasive, persistent, unwelcome conduct which is perpetuated by an individual’s status in a protected group. Harassment reaches the level of illegality when the conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to be considered hostile, intimidating, or abusive; as measured by the reasonable person standard.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
The legal definition of “reasonable person” is:
A standard for determining whether conduct can be considered…harassment. Conduct and behavior may not be considered harassment if a reasonable person would not find the action offensive.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Petty slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents, unless extremely serious, will not rise to the level of harassment. To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment which would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to a reasonable person.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to: Offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults, or threats relative to work performance.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Consistent with state and federal laws and regulations, it is the policy of the California Highway Patrol that all employees and those seeking employment with the Department will be selected, evaluated, and/or promoted only on the basis of job-related performance, experience, and qualifications.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Protected groups are legally identified groups which are specifically protected by statute against employment discrimination. Protected group status is automatically conferred upon recognized minority group members, females, and disabled persons by virtue of laws and court decisions.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Race. There are three recognized categories of race: Negroid, Mongoloid, and Caucasoid. Within these three categories there are approximately 6,000 ethnic groups.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Color. A person’s shade of skin
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Religion. A followed spiritual belief. It does not have to be an organized group, traditional denomination, or world religion. However, the employee must demonstrate their faith is a truly held belief.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Sex (Includes Sexual Harassment and Gender Identity). Discrimination based on gender (male or female).
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Sexual Harassment. Unsolicited and unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, physical, visual/written conduct of a sexual nature when:
1 Submission is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment; or,
2 Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such employee or such conduct has the purpose of or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance and/or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Gender Identity. A person’s own sense of identification as male or female, as manifested in appearance, behavior, and other aspects of a person’s life culturally attributed to masculinity or femininity, or the perception of a person’s gender.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
National Origin. An individual’s or their ancestor’s place of origin. The nation in which an individual was born, or any physical, cultural, or linguistic characteristics.
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HPM 10.2, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Ancestry. National or cultural origin of a line of decent (e.g., African-American, Hispanic, Native-American, Polish-American). Where an individual’s parents are born.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Age. Person’s chronological age. The ADEA applies to persons 40 years of age and over. Age Discrimination in Employment Act was amended to exclude peace officer positions from age restriction. Additionally, Government Code (GC) Section 18932 prevents employers from establishing a minimum/maximum age limit for any civil exam except with regard to public health or safety classifications or those having the power and duties of a peace officer.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Marital Status. Applies to the legal status of each adult in a relationship.Covered statuses are: single, married, divorced, separated, or widowed.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Disability. Physical or mental impairment, permanent or temporary, or perception that a person is impaired. May also cover the perception about an employee’s child with a disability.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Medical Condition. Refers to only two items: Employee/applicant has or had cancer, and genetic characteristics (e.g., sickle cell anemia, Tay-Sachs Disease, hemophilia).
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Sexual Orientation. The direction of one’s sexual affection, and/or emotional attractions involving others. This applies to heterosexual (opposite sex attraction), homosexuals (same sex attraction), and bisexuals (opposite and same sex attraction).
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Political Affiliation/Opinion. Membership in, or support of, political parties, groups, candidates.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Retaliation. Action taken against an individual because the person opposed an alleged unlawful discriminatory practice, filed a complaint, acted as a witness in a complaint investigation, or assisted in the discrimination complaint process, regardless if the complaint is founded or unfounded.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Employees who feel they are victims of discrimination should seek informal assistance and counseling from an equal employment opportunity counselor or appropriate supervisory and/or management personnel.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 2, Protected Groups
Employees may file a formal discrimination complaint by utilizing the procedures set forth in Chapter 6, Discrimination Complaint Procedures, of this manual.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
It is the policy of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) that the working environment be free of discrimination, including sexual harassment. The Departmentprohibits and does not tolerate sexual harassment by any departmental employee against another employee, applicant, or non-employee. Sexual harassment in the workplace against departmental employees by non-employees (e.g., a contract employee, a member of the public) or vice versa, is likewise strictly prohibited.
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HPM 1012, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
Reporting incidents of sexual harassment will not result in reprisal against employees alleging they are being harassed. Persons determined to have committed acts of reprisal are subject to adverse action.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
Government Code Section 12950.1(a) states: “By January 1, 2006, an employer having 50 or more employees shall provide at least two hours of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment prevention to all supervisory employees in California who are employed as of July 1, 2005, and to all new supervisory employees within six months of their assumption of a supervisory position . . . After January 1, 2006, each employer covered by this section shall provide sexual harassment prevention training and education to each supervisory employee in California once every two years.”
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
Types of Sexual Harassment. Courts have recognized two types of sexual harassment under federal and state law. These include quid pro quo and hostile work environment.
(1) Quid pro quo harassment occurs when, “submission to or rejection of (unwelcome sexual) conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting that individual,” per EEOC guidelines.
(2) In contrast, a hostile work environment claim occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual’s job performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment, even if it does not lead to tangible or economic consequences.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
The Supreme Court has stated for sexual harassment to violate Title VII, it must be “sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of [the victim’s] employment and create an abusive working environment.”
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
In order for conduct to be determined to have created an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment based on sexual harassment , the following three criteria must exist:
(1) The behavior in question must be of a sexual nature.
(2) The behavior must be unwelcome.
(3) The behavior must be severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
In Ellison v. Brady, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the court presented the following
rules for evaluating allegations of hostile environment sexual harassment in accordance with the newly revised reasonable woman standard:
1 The focus should be based on the perspective of the victim;
2 An understanding of the victim’s perspective requires an analysis of the different perspectives of men and women:
3 An employee may state a case of hostile environment (sexual harassment) by alleging conduct that a reasonable person would consider sufficiently severe, but this does not mean the employer must accommodate the idiosyncrasies of the rare hypersensitive employee; and,
4 The standard is not static but will change as the views of reasonable women change over time.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
Conduct which does not constitute sexual harassment, but is inappropriate for the workplace may be censured pursuant to GC Section 19572 (m), which states an employee may be disciplined for, among other reasons, “discourteous treatment of the public or other employees.” Likewise, an employee may be charged with “inexcusable neglect of duty” for failure to comply with Department policy on this matter.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
The EEOC states, “a single, unusually severe incident of harassment may be sufficient to constitute a Title VII violation; the more severe the harassment, the less need to show a repetitive series of incidents. This is particularly true when the harassment is physical.”
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
The EEOC also interprets conduct in relation to the perpetrator’s position in the hierarchy of the work setting. In other words, single incidents of sexual conduct (e.g., jokes, comments) perpetrated by a supervisor or manager will carry much greater weight toward establishing a hostile, intimidating, or offensive working environment than similar conduct by a peer of the victim.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
It is important to note this type of hostile environment (sexual harassment) can occur toward the direct recipient of sexual behavior or to an indirect recipient. For example, a third party who is present and is indirectly subjected to sexual behavior, such as seeing inappropriate touching or sexual items, or hearing jokes of a sexual nature directed towards another employee, may lodge a complaint of sexual harassment based on hostile environment.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
Prior Willing Participation. There is a greater responsibility for expressing unwelcomeness in cases where the employee first willingly participates in conduct of a sexual nature, but then ceases this participation and claims any continued sexual conduct has created a hostile environment. According to EEOC, if an employee participates in conduct of a sexual nature, they cannot simply claim later the continued sexual conduct created a hostile work environment. An employee in this situation bears the burden of showing that further conduct is unwelcome, work-related harassment. To do so, the employee must clearly notify the individual that the conduct is no longer welcome.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
TYPES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT. While sexual harassment may be manifested in various forms, common examples include making unsolicited written, verbal, physical, and/or visual contact with sexual overtones. For example:
a. Written. Suggestive or obscene letters.
b. Verbal. Derogatory comments, slurs, jokes, or epithets.
c. Physical. Assault, touching, impeding, or blocking movements.
d. Visual. Leering or suggestive visuals.
e. Other.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
Incidents of sexual harassment can lead to:
(1) Disciplinary sanctions;
(2) Workers’ compensation claims;
(3) Reinstatement costs and back pay;
(4) Civil liability and compensatory damage awards; and,
(5) Discredit to the Department.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 3, Sexual Harassment Prevention
Supervisors and managers shall have employees initial and sign a CHP 237A, Sexual Harassment Prevention and Discrimination Policy Admonition, during the employee’s annual review or after any training on these policies.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 4, Persons With Disabilities Program
All practices, applications, and conditions of the Department’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program shall include and apply to persons with disabilities.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 4, Persons With Disabilities Program
The Department’s Persons with Disabilities Program has two major objectives to ensure compliance with federal and state laws. The first objective is to reach, attract, and employ qualified persons with disabilities into the Department at a level commensurate with their representation in the California labor force.
The second objective is to ensure all qualified individuals with physical and/or mental disabilities have access to any programs, services, and/or activities under the jurisdiction of the Department for which they are eligible.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 4, Persons With Disabilities Program
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is legally mandated to prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities and is required to encourage their employment.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 4, Persons With Disabilities Program
The ADA prohibits discrimination in employment against persons with disabilities for all employers, both in the public and private sector, who have over 15 employees, regardless of governmental funding.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 4, Persons With Disabilities Program
Not all physical or mental conditions qualify as “disabilities” as defined in federal and state laws. In California, the FEHA definition will be used in most cases for employment actions and the ADA definition for program access.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 4, Persons With Disabilities Program
A physical or mental impairment does not constitute a disability unless it results in a limitation of one or more major life activities. Impairments which do not affect major life activities do not qualify the individual as having a disability under federal and state laws.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 4, Persons With Disabilities Program
For the purposes of participation in the Department’s Persons with Disabilities Program, as well as entitlement to reasonable accommodation, a person with a disability is someone who:
(1) Has a physical or mental impairment which limits one or more of that person’s major life activities.
(2) “Has a record of or history of” such impairment means that person has a history of, or has been classified as, having a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities.
(3) “Is regarded as having” such an impairment as identified below:
(a) A major physical or mental impairment which does not limit a major life activity, but is being treated by an employer as having such an impairment.
(b) A physical or mental impairment which limits major life activities as a result of the attitudes of others towards such impairments.
(c) Not having an impairment but being treated by an employer as having an impairment. This includes individuals who may be discriminated against because of their association with a person with a disability.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 4, Persons With Disabilities Program
For employment purposes, a person with a disability must be qualified to perform the essential functions of the position they are seeking, wants to retain, wants to transfer to, or wants to promote to, whether or not a reasonable accommodation is implemented.
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HPM 10.12, CHAPTER 4, Persons With Disabilities Program
Temporary, non-chronic impairments which do not last for a long time and have little or no long-term impact usually are not disabilities.
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