Prevention of Harassment Policy
Foreign Agricultural Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture

It is the Foreign Agriculture Service’s (FAS) policy that harassment in any form is inappropriate and unacceptable conduct, which will not be tolerated. It is illegal and undermines employee relationships, interferes with productivity, and threatens the mental, emotional and physical well being of employees. FAS maintains a working environment free of harassment on the basis of race, color, sex, religion and national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, religion or disability. Harassment in any form is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

Harassment:

A. Slurs, derogatory remarks, obscene materials, and other verbal or physical conduct relating to an individual’s race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, religion or disability constitute harassment when this conduct:

1. Has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

2. Has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance.

3. Otherwise adversely affects an individual’s employment opportunities.

B. With respect to conduct in the workplace, FAS managers and supervisors are responsible for acts of harassment in the workplace where the manager or supervisory employees, knew or should have known of the conduct, unless immediate and appropriate corrective action was taken.

C. FAS may also be responsible for the acts of non-employees with respect to harassment of employees in the workplace (or vice versa), where supervisory employees knew or should have known of the conduct and failed to take immediate corrective action. In such cases, FAS will consider the extent of the supervisor’s control and any other legal responsibility, which the supervisor may have with respect to the conduct of such employees.

Sexual Harassment:

Sexual harassment is also a form of harassment. Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature in which submission to or rejection of such conduct results in a condition of employment, the basis for a personnel decision; or creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive working environment.

Action:

Any employee—supervisory, non-supervisory, or managerial—engaging in sexual harassment is subject to disciplinary action including demotion, suspension, and/or removal (Ref: DPM Chapter 751, Appendix A, Table of Disciplinary Penalties).
 

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