Sexual harassment is any unwelcome direct or indirect verbal or physical conduct that is made a condition of employment, is a basis for employment decisions, or creates an offensive work atmosphere that inhibits work performance. Such behavior at St. Edward's University is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. It is important that employees be allowed to work in an environment free from this type of objectionable behavior.

Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following: the victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man; the victim does not have to be of the opposite sex; the harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee such as a vendor or customer; the victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct; and unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.

Examples of behaviors prohibited under this policy include, but are not limited to (1) physical assaults or other physical conduct of a sexual nature, including unwanted touching; (2) unwanted sexual advances, propositions, or other sexual comments; (3) displays or publications of a sexual nature anywhere in the workplace; or (4) retaliatory action taken against an employee for making a sexual harassment complaint.

Any employee who, in good faith, believes that s/he has been subjected to sexual harassment should report the incident promptly to the Director of Human Resources or to one of the Administrative Officers. It is the employee's responsibility to bring complaints to the attention of the appropriate administrators, so that they can help resolve them.

In the event that any employee wants to file a formal complaint, s/he may submit the complaint in a written statement to the Director of Human Resources or an Administrative Officer. The written statement should be dated and include a description of the situation and inappropriate behavior, the name of the person being accused, the date of the occurrence, and the signature of the person who is making the complaint. To the greatest extent possible, confidentiality will be maintained.

The Director of Human Resources will coordinate the investigation of the formal complaint. In determining whether alleged conduct constitutes sexual harassment, the totality of the circumstances, the nature of the conduct complained of, and the context in which the alleged conduct or incident occurred will be considered. If it is determined that sexual harassment did occur, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken by the appropriate Administrative Officer, consistent with the degree of seriousness of the harassment; however, the Administrative Officer or the Director of Human Resources will not be involved in the investigation or decision if the complaint is against that administrator.

Administrative decisions made regarding sexual harassment complaints may be appealed in writing to the President by either the person making the complaint or by the person against whom the complaint is being made.

Sexually harassing behavior is a serious matter. Filing a complaint against someone for such inappropriate behavior is equally serious. All St. Edward's University's directors, managers, supervisors, deans and others in authority have the responsibility to remedy discriminatory harassment. The university's objective in these situations is to resolve the matter with care and concern for the best interests of the person filing the complaint, the person against whom the complaint is filed, and the university as a whole.