Equal Employment Opportunity

The Greater Portland Transit District (METRO) provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

METRO commits to undertaking an affirmative action program consistent with state and federal laws, court decisions, executive orders, and regulations in order to overcome the past effects of discrimination against minorities and women. Local 714 of the Amalgamated Transit Union and METRO are parties to a working agreement.

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Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination Policy

Greater Portland Transit District METRO

Purpose: Greater Portland Transit District METRO (GPTD) is committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to work in an atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits unlawful discriminatory practices; including harassment. This policy represents GPTD’s commitment to establishing that environment and holding all employees accountable to the guidelines outlined within. It is the policy of GPTD to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, status as a covered veteran, or any other legally prohibited classification. GPTD has a zero tolerance standard for any such discrimination or harassment.

Conduct prohibited by these policies is unacceptable in the workplace and in any work-related setting outside the workplace, such as during business trips, business meetings and business-related social events.

Scope: All applicants and employees of GPTD are subject to this policy. This includes contracted, temporary, part-time, per-diem, and full-time staff. Vendors, customers, consultants and providers doing business with or on behalf of GPTD or with GPTD equipment are also subject to this policy and its provisions.

Definitions:

Harassment: Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general.

Harassment on the basis of any other protected characteristic is also strictly prohibited. Under this policy, harassment is verbal, written or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of his/her race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by law or that of his/her relatives, friends or associates, and that a) has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment; b) has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance; or c) otherwise adversely affects an individual's employment opportunities.

Harassing conduct includes epithets, slurs or negative stereotyping; threatening, intimidating or hostile acts; denigrating jokes; and written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group and that is placed on walls or elsewhere on the employer's premises or circulated in the workplace, on GPTD time or using GPTD equipment via e-mail, phone (including voice messages), text messages, tweets, blogs, social networking sites or other means.

Sexual Harassment: Sexual Harassment is defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature when a) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment; b) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or c) 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. Both the victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex. Sexual harassment is illegal when it is frequent or severe enough that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

Depending on the circumstances, these behaviors may include unwanted sexual advances or requests for sexual favors; sexual jokes and innuendo; verbal abuse of a sexual nature; commentary about an individual's body, sexual prowess or sexual deficiencies; leering, whistling or touching; insulting or obscene comments or gestures; display in the workplace of sexually suggestive objects or pictures; and other physical, verbal or visual conduct of a sexual nature.

Direct Sexual Harassment: Harassment that is direct may be verbal or physical in nature. It can involve someone being the topic of a lewd joke, a request for sexual favors in exchange for benefits like a promotion or raise, or in worst cases, can involve physical harm, such as inappropriate touching or rape.

Indirect Sexual Harassment: Indirect sexual harassment incidents usually involve a secondary victim who has been offended by visual or auditory conduct. A victim of indirect sexual harassment can be someone that overhears a lewd joke at work, even though they are not the subject of it, may read a letter or email that is sexual in nature and become offended by it, or can also come across an inappropriate image or photograph, such as on a screen saver or in an email.

In addition, indirect sexual harassment can involve someone who is a witness to the harassment of another individual. They may take offense or become fearful for their own safety.

Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment: Quid pro quo harassment occurs in the workplace when a manager or other authority figure offers or merely hints that he or she will give the employee something in return for that employee's satisfaction of a sexual demand. Examples of benefits offered in return can include:

• Favorable performance reviews or recommendations,

• Promotions,

• Raises, and

• Sought-after work assignments or work shifts.

This also occurs when a manager or other authority figure says he or she will not fire or reprimand an employee in exchange for some type of sexual favor. A job applicant also may be the subject of this kind of harassment if the hiring decision was based on the acceptance or rejection of sexual advances.

For instance, a male bank manager interviewing a female applicant for a job as a teller places his hand on her thigh. When she objects, he asks, "Don't you want this job?" The implication is that she must comply with the hiring manager's advances in order to get hired.

Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment: Hostile environment harassment is the type of sexual harassment that occurs when there is frequent or pervasive unwanted sexual comments, advances, requests, or other similar conduct. It can also occur when there is other verbal or physical conduct that is sexual in nature. This could include:

• Displays of inappropriate or offensive materials;

• Sexual jokes;

• Interference with someone’s ability to move freely; and

• Persistent, unwanted interactions, such as asking for dates continually.

In general, this type of conduct must be unwelcome and either frequent or pervasive (or both) to be considered a hostile environment. It is not usually deemed a hostile environment if the activity in question was an isolated occurrence or a simple attempt at initiating a sexual relationship that was not reciprocated nor repeated. Whether or not this criterion (unwelcome, frequent, pervasive) has been met is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Unlike quid pro quo harassment, a hostile work environment does not require any employment benefit to be at risk. Since it is not tied to the promise or threat of particular employment actions, this type of sexual harassment is found across all levels of employees.

Another important distinction here is that inappropriate behavior between employees may also create a hostile work environment for other employees who were not actually the target of the behavior.

Retaliation: Retaliation is when action is taken against employees for their participation in any of the following:

• Filing or being a witness in an EEO charge, complaint, investigation, or lawsuit

• Communicating with a supervisor or manager about employment discrimination, including harassment

• Answering questions during an employer investigation of alleged harassment

• Refusing to follow orders that would result in discrimination

• Resisting sexual advances, or intervening to protect others

• Requesting accommodation of a disability or for a religious practice

• Asking managers or co-workers about salary information to uncover potentially discriminatory wages.

Participating in a complaint process is protected from retaliation under all circumstances. Other acts to oppose discrimination are protected as long as the employee was acting on a reasonable belief that something in the workplace may violate EEO laws, even if he or she did not use legal terminology to describe it.

Management is not allowed to take any action that would discourage someone from resisting or complaining about future discrimination.

Examples of possible retaliation against an employee include but are not limited to:

• Reprimanding the employee or give a performance evaluation that is lower than it should be;

• Transferring the employee to a less desirable position;

• Engaging in verbal or physical abuse;

• Threatening to make, or actually make reports to authorities (such as reporting immigration status or contacting the police);

• Increased scrutiny of the employee;

• Spreading false rumors, treating a family member negatively (for example, cancel a contract with the person's spouse); or

• Making the person's work more difficult (changing their work schedule knowing it would cause difficulty for the employee)

Retaliation against an individual for reporting harassment or discrimination or for participating in an investigation of a claim of harassment or discrimination is a serious violation of this policy and, like harassment or discrimination itself, will be subject to disciplinary action. Acts of retaliation should be reported immediately and will be promptly investigated and addressed.

Complaint Process:

GPTD encourages individuals who believe they are or have been subjected to such conduct to promptly advise the offender that his or her behavior is unwelcome and request that it stop. Often, this action alone will resolve the problem. GPTD recognizes that an individual may need to pursue the matter through complaint procedures.

Individuals who believe they have been the victims of conduct prohibited by this policy or who believe they have witnessed such conduct should discuss their concerns with their immediate supervisor, Human Resources or any member of management as soon as possible.

Any reported allegations of harassment, discrimination or retaliation will be investigated promptly by the Director of Human Resources. The investigation may include individual interviews with the parties involved and with individuals who may have observed the alleged conduct or may have other relevant knowledge.

Confidentiality will be maintained throughout the investigatory process to the extent consistent with adequate investigation and appropriate corrective action.

Formal Complaint Filing Procedure:

1. An individual who feels harassed, discriminated or retaliated against may initiate the complaint process by filing a complaint with their immediate supervisor or the Human Resources Department. No formal action will be taken against any person unless a complaint has been formally filed.

2. Upon receiving the complaint, the Director of Human Resources will review the complaint with appropriate members of management and the individual. Note that legal counsel may also be consulted if appropriate.

3. Within five business days of receiving the complaint, the Director of Human Resources will notify the person(s) charged of a complaint and initiate the investigation to determine whether there is reasonable basis for believing that the alleged violation of this policy has occurred.

4. The investigation will be closed and completed within 20 business days unless there are extenuating circumstances hindering this timeline. A written report of the findings will be submitted to the General Manager.

5. If harassment, bullying, or discrimination is founded in violation of GPTD policy, the Director of Human Resources will recommend appropriate discipline. The appropriate action will depend upon: a) the severity, frequency, and pervasiveness of the conduct b) prior complaints made against the individual, c) prior complaints made by the complainant, d) quality of evidence.

6. If the investigation is inconclusive or determined that there has been no violation of policy but potentially problematic conduct may have occurred, the Director of Human Resources may recommend appropriate preventative action.

7. Within five business days of completing the investigation the Director of Human Resources and/or the appropriate manager will meet with the complainant and the respondent separately to notify them of the findings and inform them of the action being recommended.

8. If the complaint is against the General Manager and/or the Director of Human Resources and the employee does not feel comfortable reporting this to the General Manager and/or Director of Human Resources. The employee may contact the President of the Board of Directors. The President shall maintain the right to involve an outside third party to investigate and will follow the time line stated above and will bring its findings to the Executive Committee of the Board for resolution.

False and malicious complaints of harassment, discrimination or retaliation may be the subject of appropriate disciplinary action.

If a party to a complaint does not agree with its resolution that party may appeal to the General Manager or employees may contact the Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Or, if the employee is uncomfortable with reporting the harassment to any GPTD member of management, they may also bring the complaint to the MHRC or the EEOC.

The MHRC is the state agency charged with the responsibility of enforcing Maine’s anti-discrimination laws.

The MHRC can be contacted at the following address and number:

Maine Human Rights Commission

State House Station 51

Augusta, Maine 04333

(207) 624-6290

The EEOC is a Federal Agency charged with the responsibility of enforcing national standards of anti-discrimination and anti-harassment.

The EEOC can be contacted at the following address and number:

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

131 M Street, NE

Washington, DC 20507

202-663-4900 / (TTY) 202-663-4494

(800)-669-4000

Operational Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination:

It is the responsibility of GPTD employees to combat harassment and discrimination when and where possible. This includes on the buses that we operate. This policy segment represents our process and commitment to combating harassment and discrimination in these settings.

Recognition: There are several ways to recognize the occurrence of a harassment or discrimination issue that bus operators need to be aware of in a bus setting:

• Nonverbal cues can include body language, facial expressions or sense a passenger gives you in reaction to a situation or interaction.

• Visual cues can include inappropriate touching, physical movement or physical interaction of individuals on the bus that indicate a situation is occurring.

• Verbal cues can include vulgarity, taunting, catcalling, or other interactions of a verbal nature that indicate a situation is occurring.

While we are aware there are a lot of distractions in a bus setting that a bus operator may be charged with, it is important to know how to recognize when an occurrence of harassment or discrimination is happening on the bus and what to do to stop it.

Action:

There are there three approaches to dealing with a harassment or discrimination issue that bus operators should take if appropriate to do so.

1. Inform the passenger that it may be best if they sit up front as they board the bus.

a. If there is a recognized safety concern with passengers at the back of the bus or a limited visual capability of the driver with high risk passengers (i.e. young children or young women traveling alone).

b. This should be done carefully and with tact in order to limit alarm of the passenger or to not cause the passenger concern about the driver’s intentions.

2. Stop the bus and go and talk to the individual that may be experiencing harassment or discrimination.

a. Find a safe place to pull the bus over.

b. Walk to the back to speak to the passenger.

c. Let the passenger know that you are there to help them and check in with how they are doing.

d. Invite the passenger to sit up at the front to stop the communication or concern for the remainder of their bus ride.

3. Remove the aggressor from the bus.

a. Advise the customer(s) about the policy and the reason for it. If appropriate to the situation, consider making a general announcement to all passengers so as not to single out the offending passengers which can create conflict escalation.

b. If you cannot gain compliance, inform the customer(s) that they have a choice: they can stop violating GPTD’s policies and continue riding or they can exit the bus at the next stop.

c. If the behavior continues, stop the bus at the next bus stop and direct the offending passengers to exit the bus.

d. If the passenger(s) refuse, contact dispatch and request GPTD security staff or police department assistance. Be nice.

e. During this process, Bus Operators should stay in their seats and maintain professionalism and politeness.

f. Ordering passengers off the bus is a serious issue and is a last resort. Situations and people are complex and you will have to exercise good judgment in enforcing GPTD’s Passenger Policies and applying the steps above.

GPTD recognizes that there are occurrences outside of a bus operator’s control on a busy bus. It is important that operators take appropriate steps to mitigate the risk and occurrence of harassment and discrimination in good faith and communicate with management when there are concerns on the bus with the safety of its passengers.

Bus operators who knowingly fail to comply with this policy may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including t