SECTION
2.40 STATE OF
IOWA EEO, AA, AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
Last
Update: 12/2010
State of Iowa
EQUAL
OPPORTUNITY, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION,
AND
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
For
Executive Branch
Employees
NOTIFICATION
AND EFFECTIVE DATE
All
executive branch employees will be required to read this Equal Opportunity,
Affirmative Action, and Anti-Discrimination Policy, and will be expected to
sign an Acknowledgment indicating that the Policy was read and fully understood
by the employee. This revised Policy
shall become effective December 10, 2010.
It is the policy of the executive branch of
state government in the State of Iowa to “Provide equal employment opportunity
within state government to all persons.” (Iowa Code 19B.) The intent of this policy is to ensure that
individuals are not denied equal access to state employment opportunities because
of their race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or
mental disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity, consistent with applicable
state and federal policies and regulations.
It is also the policy of the executive branch of state government in the
State of Iowa to apply affirmative action measures to correct the
underutilization of females, minorities, and persons with disabilities in the
state employment system whenever remedial measures are appropriate.
B.
DISCRIMINATORY HARASSMENT
IN VIOLATION OF IOWA CODE CHAPTERS 216 AND 19B AND APPLICABLE FEDERAL STATUTES
Harassment of employees based upon their
race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental
disability, sexual orientation or gender identity is a violation of the Iowa
Civil Rights Act (Iowa Code chapter 216, as amended). Other laws also prohibiting
discriminatory harassment in one or more of specified covered areas include: Iowa
Code Section 19B.12, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1978, as amended; and the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Examples of discriminatory harassment based
on the employees’ protected status include, but are not limited to:
1.
Abusing
the dignity of an employee through insulting or degrading remarks or conduct.
2.
Threats,
demands, or suggestions that an employee’s work status is contingent upon
submission to harassment.
3.
Subjecting
an employee to demeaning or degrading activities in order to gain co-worker
acceptance, e.g., hazing.
Sexual
harassment is a violation of both federal and state statute. Harassment on the
basis of sex is a violation of Section 703 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et seq.) as amended and Iowa Code Sections 19B.12
and 216. Sexual
harassment based on real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity is
a violation of Iowa Code Section 216. "Unwelcome
sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when (1) submission to
such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an
individual's employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an
individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such
individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably
interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating,
hostile, or offensive working environment."
Within
Iowa Code section 19B.12, "sexual harassment means persistent, repetitive,
or highly egregious conduct directed at a specific individual or group of
individuals that a reasonable person would interpret as intentional harassment
of a sexual nature, taking into consideration the full context in which the
conduct occurs, which conduct threatens to impair the ability of a person to
perform the duties of employment, or otherwise function normally within an
institution responsible for the person's care, rehabilitation, education, or
training."
Examples of sexual harassment, in addition to
discriminatory harassment previously described, include, but are not limited
to:
1.
Unwelcome
sexual advances.
2.
Hostile
conduct based on the person’s sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
3.
Requesting
or offering sexual favors in return for job benefits.
4.
Actions
such as cornering, patting, pinching, touching or brushing against another
person’s body that are sexual in nature.
5.
Open
speculation or inquiries about another person’s sex life.
6.
Jokes,
remarks, or innuendos that are sexual in nature or based on real or perceived
sexual orientation or gender identity about another person, or about men or
women in general.
7.
Displaying
sexually explicit material in the work place.
8.
Conditioning
work benefits on submission to sexual advances, tolerance of a sexually hostile
work environment or giving preferential treatment because of another person’s
submission to sexual advances, or tolerance of a sexually hostile work
environment.
Sexual harassment can take place between (a)
any two state employees, (b) a state employee and a non-state employee,
including contractors, and (c) between a state employee and a visitor, guest,
client, patient, inmate, or resident.
A person with a disability is a person who
has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a “major life
activity,” or has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such impairment.
"Major life activities” include
functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing,
hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.
A
“qualified” person with a disability is one who meets the legitimate job
requirements and is able to perform the essential function of the position with
or without reasonable accommodations and without being a direct threat to the
health or safety of themselves or others.
Essential functions are absolute requirements for producing critical job
results/outputs. Essential, by
definition, means indispensable, vital, necessary, or related to the essence of
the job. It does not include marginal
functions or duties performed. As such,
departments are not required to provide reasonable accommodations that would
result in fundamental alterations in the nature of the work to be performed.
The
State of Iowa and its departments, agencies and other instrumentalities and all
their employment practices, services and programs shall comply with the requirements
of the ADA. The ADA requires, in part,
that the State of Iowa:
1.
Make
reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures that deny equal
access to individuals with disabilities, unless fundamental alteration in the
program or an undue hardship would result.
2.
May
not refuse to allow a person with a disability to participate in a service,
program or activity simply because the person has a disability.
3.
Provide
programs and services in an integrated setting unless separate or different
measures are necessary to ensure equal opportunity.
4.
Prohibit
requirements that tend to screen out individuals with disabilities, such as
requiring a driver’s license as the only acceptable means of identification.
5.
Eliminate
unnecessary eligibility standards or rules that deny individuals with
disabilities an equal opportunity to enjoy their services, programs or
activities unless “necessary” to the provisions of the services, program or
activity.
6.
Impose
safety requirements only when they are necessary for the safe operation of the
program in question, such as requirements for eligibility for drivers’ licenses
if they are based on actual risks and not on mere speculation, stereotypes, or
generalizations about individuals with disabilities.
7.
Ensure
that individuals with disabilities are not excluded or limited from
participation in services, programs, and activities because buildings are
inaccessible.
8.
Provide
services, programs and activities offered in the facility to persons with
disabilities through alternative methods, if physical barriers are not removed.
Any person who feels that he or she has been
denied an employment opportunity or has had the terms and conditions of their
employment adversely affected because of race, creed, color, religion, sex,
national origin, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or
gender identity has the right and is encouraged, to file a complaint with the
person’s department, pursuant to the department’s complaint procedure. A person may also file a complaint with the
Iowa Civil Rights Commission or the appropriate federal enforcement agency. (For sexual orientation or gender identity,
protection is offered under the State of Iowa statute only.)
There shall be no discrimination or
retaliation against an individual because he or she files a complaint or who
aids another individual in filing a complaint.
An employee who has reason to believe that he or she has been retaliated
against because of participation in an investigation of a discrimination
complaint may also file a charge with the Iowa Department of Administrative
Services – Human Resources Enterprise, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, or the
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whichever is appropriate.
Any person who believes that she or he has
been the victim of discrimination under this section, or who has a concern
about potential violations of this section, is directed to bring the matter to
the attention of his or her immediate supervisor, appointing authority, or
their designees, in accordance with the department’s established complaint
procedure. If the concern or complaint involves the employee’s immediate
supervisor, the employee is encouraged to file the concern or complaint with
the next highest supervisor, or, in the alternative, to the Director of the
Iowa Department of Administrative Services.
Department directors shall promptly
investigate all complaints. Each agency shall take final agency action in
response to a complaint. Corrective action shall be taken immediately to remedy
violations of this policy, whenever warranted, up to and including the
discharge of parties whose conduct violates this policy. A manager or
supervisor who fails to properly act upon complaints or who has personal
knowledge of a violation of this policy and fails to take appropriate action
shall be subject to disciplinary action up to and including discharge. The director for the Iowa Department of Administrative
Services shall assist departments and agencies with this responsibility. When applicable, state officials and employees
shall cooperate fully with all appropriate individuals in the investigation of
violations of this policy in order to create and maintain a workplace free from
discrimination and discriminatory harassment.
A person, other than a state employee, who is
the victim of discrimination prohibited under this policy, shall report the
incident immediately to the director of the department affected or to the director
of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services.
The
Iowa Department of Administrative Services shall have the authority to conduct
an investigation of practices prohibited under this policy or supervise the
investigation conducted by the agency implicated when the agency director has
determined that the investigation is necessary and consistent with the intent
of this policy or when the complaint involves allegations of systematic
discrimination.
Individuals
needing assistance may also contact the Department of Administrative Services –
Human Resources Enterprise, Hoover Building, Level A, Des Moines, Iowa 50319. Phone: 515-281-3087
or dashre.info@iowa.gov.
The director of the Department of
Administrative Services shall be designated as the State Affirmative Action
Administrator, as required in Iowa Code Chapter 19B.3 and shall be “Responsible
for the administration and promotion of equal opportunity and affirmative
action efforts in the recruitment, appointment, assignment, and advancement of
personnel by all state agencies except the state board of regents and the
institutions under its jurisdiction.”
The director of the Department of
Administrative Services shall also be designated as the State Americans with
Disabilities (ADA) Coordinator in compliance with the U. S. Department of
Justice’s Title II Regulations Section 35.107.
The director shall carry out this responsibility as follows:
1.
Employment: The Human Resources Enterprise of the
Department of Administrative Services shall be responsible for equal employment
opportunity efforts under the ADA.
2.
Accessibility: The General Services Enterprise of the
Department of Administrative Services shall be responsible for equal access to
State facilities under the ADA.
3.
Complaint Reporting Procedure: The ADA Coordinator
shall utilize existing complaint reporting procedures detailed in Section E to
ensure that policies and procedures of the State of Iowa and its departments,
agencies and other instrumentalities do not discriminate against persons with
disabilities.
Department directors have the responsibility
for the overall administration of this policy within their departments. This
includes the following responsibilities:
1.
Equal Opportunity: Integrating equal opportunity into all
parts of human resource and program management, reviewing all policies and
procedures as they affect equal opportunity and ensuring compliance with
relevant statutes.
2.
Affirmative Action: Implementing an internal system for
auditing and remedying underutilization in the workforce, and annually
reporting the effectiveness of affirmative action efforts to the director of
the Iowa Department of Administrative Services.
3.
Prevention of Harassment: Making every reasonable
effort to prevent all forms of harassment from occurring and taking immediate
and appropriate corrective action when harassment is brought to their
attention, either directly or indirectly.
Any administrator, supervisor, or employee who engages in any form of
discrimination or harassment prohibited by this policy or who retaliates
against an individual who has complained of discrimination or harassment will
be subject to disciplinary action up to and including discharge. Also, any administrator or supervisor who
fails to act upon complaints of or on personal knowledge of workplace
discrimination or harassment will be subject to disciplinary action up to and
including discharge.
4.
Access to Program Services: Department directors
shall ensure their activities, services and programs are in compliance with the
ADA and accessible to the general public.
Department directors and their employees should
attend training offered through the Iowa Department of Administrative Services
– Human Resources Enterprise intended to sensitize and inform them concerning
the elimination of discrimination and harassment in the workplace. This training shall include, but is not
limited to, equal opportunity, affirmative action, diversity, and prevention of
discrimination/harassment.
This policy shall be posted in conspicuous
places throughout each of the executive branch agencies of Iowa State
government, included in employee handbooks, distributed to all agency
employees, chairpersons of department advisory and policy-making groups, agency-specific
recruiting sources, vendors, and contractors.