SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY STATEMENT

All College employees have the right to work in an environment free from discrimination, including sexual harassment.  It is the policy of Union County College that harassment on the basis of gender/sex is unacceptable conduct in the workplace and is not and will not be tolerated or condoned in any manner.

It is illegal and against the policies of the College for any employee, male or female, to sexually harass another employee by:

• making unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature an explicit or implicit condition of an employee's continued employment; or
• making submission to or rejection of such conduct the basis for employment decisions or modifying terms or conditions of employment affecting the employee; or
• creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment by such conduct, irrespective of one's intent; such conduct has the purpose or effect of interfering with one's work environment.

Examples include but are not limited to the following:  unwelcome sexual propositions; graphic statements about a person's body; display of sexually suggestive objects or pictures in the work place; remarks or innuendoes with a sexually demeaning implication, unwelcome touching, patting or other physical contact; gender based humor; suggesting or demanding sexual involvement which may include implied or explicit threats concerning one's job, status, or employment condition; or sexual abuse including forced conduct.

This Policy, the Affirmative Action (AA) Plan and subsequent procedures related thereto shall apply to all College staff and faculty.  Non-compliance with this Policy, the AA Plan and any of its subsequent procedures by any College employee will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Therefore, any employee who has been the target of sexual harassment has a General Complaint Resolution Procedure available to ensure that his/her rights are protected.

It is the intent of Union County College to encourage employees to come forward with their concerns.


Consensual Amorous Relationships

A consensual amorous relationship between a faculty or staff member and a student does not necessarily involve sexual harassment or sexual misconduct.  However, the College's educational responsibilities to its students are potentially compromised in all such cases by the likelihood or even the appearance of a conflict of interest.  Consequently, this policy prohibits consensual amorous relationships between a faculty or staff member and a student whenever the faculty or staff member is in a position of professional or supervisory responsibility with respect to the student.  A faculty or staff member has a professional or supervisory responsibility when  she or he is currently in a position to make or influence a decision or to confer or withhold  a benefit relating to the student's education, employment or campus-sponsored activity.  This includes, but is not limited to, staff and student, faculty and student, coach and player, supervisor and student worker, and counselor and counselee relationships.

While this policy does not prohibit a consensual amorous relationship between a faculty or staff member and a student in the absence of a current professional or supervisory responsibility with respect to the student, the College strongly discourages such relationships.  It is, therefore, established according to this policy that any faculty or staff member enters at peril into such amorous relationships with a student.

Furthermore, with respect to amorous relations in particular, what might appear to be consensual even to the parties involved, may in fact not be so.  On this basis, any amorous relations between a supervisor and a subordinate is prohibited.