G1-18 Ordinance No. G 1-18
AN ORDINANCE
ADOPTING A POLICY PROHIBITING SEXUAL HARASSMENT
FOR THE CITY OF ELGIN
WHEREAS, the Illinois General Assembly has recently enacted Public Act 100-0554, an
Act concerning government, which became effective immediately, dated November 16, 2017; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Act, each governmental unit shall adopt an ordinance or
resolution establishing a policy to prohibit sexual harassment; and
WHEREAS, all prior existing sexual harassment policies of the City of Elgin shall be
superseded by the Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment adopted by this Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, should any section or provision of this Ordinance or the adopted Policy
Prohibiting Sexual Harassment be declared to be invalid, that decision shall not affect the validity
of this Ordinance or adopted Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment as a whole or any part thereof,
other than the part so declared to be invalid;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ELGIN, ILLINOIS:
Section 1. The City of Elgin's anti-harassment/non-discrimination policy, which
includes a policy prohibiting sexual harassment, attached hereto as Exhibit A to this Ordinance, is
hereby adopted.
Section 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon its passage and
publication in the manner provided by law.
David J. Kp n
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Presented: January 10, 2018
Passed: January 10, 2018
Omnibus Vote: Yeas: 9 Nays: 0
Recorded: January 10, 2018
Published: January 12, 2018 ;��
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Kimberly Dewi , ity Clerk
EXHIBIT A
Section 6.14 Anti-Harassment/Non-Discrimination Policy.
The City of Elgin is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free of discrimination or
harassment and any unlawful discrimination or any form of harassment is expressly prohibited. In keeping
with this commitment,we will not tolerate any form of harassment or unlawful discrimination by anyone.
All employees are expected to avoid any behavior or conduct that could reasonably be interpreted as
unlawful harassment of, or discrimination against, employees or persons who do business with the City
of Elgin.
Harassment consists of unwelcome conduct, whether verbal, physical, or visual, that is based upon a
person's protected status, such as sex, sexual orientation, color, race, ancestry, religion, national origin,
age, disability, veteran status, citizenship status, or other protected group status. Harassment includes
conduct that denigrates, or is intended to humiliate or intimidate, or which shows hostility or aversion
toward an individual because of his or her protected status or that of his or her relatives, friends, or
associates. Examples include, but are not limited to, words or actions involving derogatory, sarcastic,
demeaning remarks or actions based on an individual's protected status or that of his/her friends,
relatives or associates. For the purposes of this policy, "kidding," "teasing," or jokes based upon an
individual's protected status shall constitute a violation of this policy.
Sexual harassment deserves special mention. It is unlawful to harass a person because of that person's
sex. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other physical,verbal,or visual conduct
based on sex may constitute sexual harassment. This policy adopts the definition of sexual harassment
as stated in the Illinois Human Rights Act, which currently defines sexual harassment as any unwelcome
sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature when (1) submission to
the 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 substantially interfering with an
individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
Sexual harassment may include such actions as: sex-oriented verbal "kidding", "teasing",or jokes;foul or
obscene language or gestures; display of foul or obscene printed or visual material; derogatory, sarcastic
or demeaning remarks; physical contact such as patting, pinching, or brushing against another's body;
demands for sexual favors; and "sexting" (electronically sending messages with sexual content, including
pictures and videos, or the use of sexual explicit language, harassment, cyber stalking and threats via all
forms of electronic communication. While such conduct generally can amount to sexual harassment only
if it is both unwelcome and either severe or pervasive,the City of Elgin nonetheless will not condone any
such conduct, regardless of the circumstances.
The most severe and overt forms of sexual harassment are easier to determine. On the other end of
spectrum, some sexual harassment is more subtle and depends,to some extent,on individual perception
and interpretation. The courts will assess sexual harassment by a standard of what would offend a
"reasonable person."
Everyone at the City of Elgin and especially each supervisor is expected to avoid any behavior or conduct
that could be interpreted as unlawful harassment or discrimination. All employees should also
understand the importance of informing an individual or the City administration whenever that
individual's behavior is unwelcome, offensive, in poor taste, or inappropriate.
Discrimination can also result from conduct that has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering
with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working
environment; or treating any person differently based on that person's protected status as described
above.
If you feel that you have experienced or witnessed discrimination or harassment in the work environment,
you are to notify immediately your supervisor, the Director of Human Resources, Professional Standards
Officer or the Corporation Counsel who will take steps to ensure that your report is properly investigated.
There will be no retaliation or tolerance of any retaliation against anyone for reporting discrimination or
harassment, or for cooperating with an investigation of a complaint of discrimination or harassment.
The policy of the City of Elgin is to investigate each complaint promptly and to keep complaints and the
result of our investigation confidential to the fullest extent practicable.
All allegations, including anonymous reports, will be accepted and investigated regardless of how the
matter comes to the attention of the City. However, because of the serious implications in discrimination
and harassment charges, including sexual harassment charges, and the difficulties associated with their
investigation and the questions of credibility involved, the claimant's willing cooperation is a vital
component of an effective inquiry and an appropriate outcome.
If an investigation confirms that a violation of this policy has occurred,then appropriate corrective actions,
including disciplinary measures, will be taken. Such disciplinary measures may include termination. In
investigating complaints of harassment or discrimination under this policy,the City may impose discipline
for inappropriate conduct without regard to whether the conduct constitutes a violation of the law and
even if that conduct does not rise to the level of violation of this policy,but constitutes a violation of other
city policies, rules or regulations. In addition to any disciplinary matters which may be taken by the City,
any person who violates this policy or the prohibition on sexual harassment contained in 5 ILCS 40/5-65,
may be subject to a fine up to Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) per offense and any applicable fines and
penalties otherwise established by law including state or federal law. Each violation may constitute a
separate offense. Any discipline imposed by the City shall be separate and distinct from any penalty
imposed by any other entity and any fines or penalties imposed by a court of law or a state or federal
agency.
The City will advise interested parties of the outcome of an investigation, although not necessarily all
details of the actions the City has taken to maintain a harassment and discrimination-free environment.
A false report is a report of sexual harassment made by an accuser using the sexual harassment report to
accomplish some end other than stopping sexual harassment or retaliation for reporting sexual
harassment. A false report is not a report made in good faith which cannot be proven. Given the
seriousness of the consequences for the accused, a false or frivolous report is a severe offense that can
itself result in disciplinary action. Any person who intentionally makes a false report alleging a violation
of any provision of this policy shall be subject to discipline or discharge pursuant to applicable city policies,
procedures and/or collective bargaining agreements. In addition, any person who intentionally makes a
false report alleging a violation of any provision of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act to an ethics
commission,an inspector general,the State Police, a State's Attorney,the Attorney General, or any other
law enforcement official is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. An ethics commission may levy an
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administrative fine of up to $5,000 against any person who intentionally makes a false, frivolous or bad
faith allegation.
The purpose of this policy is to establish prompt, thorough and effective procedures for responding to
every report and incident so that problems can be identified and remedied by the City. However, all city
employees have the right to contact the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) or the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for information regarding filing a formal complaint with
those entities. An IDHR complaint must be filed within 180 days of the alleged incident(s) unless it is a
continuing offense. A complaint with the EEOC must be filed within 300 days.
No city official,officer, employee or agent shall take any retaliatory action against any city employee due
to a city employee's: disclosure or threatened disclosure of any violation of this policy; the provision of
information related to or testimony before any public body conducting an investigation,hearing or inquiry
into any violation of this policy;or assistance or participation in a proceeding to enforce the provisions of
this policy.
For the purposes of this policy, retaliatory action means the reprimand,discharge,suspension,demotion,
denial or promotion or transfer,or change in the terms or conditions of employment of any city employee
that is taken in retaliation for a city employee's involvement in protected activity pursuant to this policy.
No individual making a report will be retaliated against even if a report made in good faith is not
substantiated. In addition,any witness will be protected from retaliation.
Similar to the prohibition against retaliation contained herein, the State Officials and Employees Ethics
Act (5 ILCS 430/15-10) provides whistleblower protection from retaliatory action such as reprimand,
discharge, suspension, demotion, or denial of promotion or transfer that occurs in retaliation for an
employee who does any of the following: (1) discloses or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or to a
public body an activity, policy, or practice of any officer, member, State agency, or other State employee
that the State employee reasonably believes is in violation of a law, rule, or regulation; (2) provides
information to or testifies before any public body conducting an investigation,hearing,or inquiry into any
violation of a law, rule,or regulation by any officer, member,State agency or other State employee;or(3)
assists or participates in a proceeding to enforce the provisions of the State Officials and Employees Ethics
Act.
Pursuant to the Whistleblower Act (740 ILCS 174/15(a)), an employer may not retaliate against an
employee who discloses information in a court, an administrative hearing, or before a legislative
commission or committee, or in any other proceeding, where the employee has reasonable cause to
believe that the information discloses a violation of a State or federal law, rule,or regulation. In addition,
an employer may not retaliate against an employee for disclosing information to a government or law
enforcement agency,where the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses
a violation of a State or federal law, rule, or regulation. (740 ILCS 174/15(b)).
According to the Illinois Human Rights Act (775 ILCS 5/6-101), it is a civil rights violation for a person, or
for two or more people to conspire,to retaliate against a person because he/she has opposed that which
he/she reasonably and in good faith believes to be sexual harassment in employment, because he/she
has made a charge, filed a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in an investigation, proceeding,
or hearing under the Illinois Human Rights Act.
FALeeal Dept\AereementWnti-Harassment Policy Amend-clean-12-14-17.docx
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