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Sexual Misconduct and Harassment Policy

​Purpose: To define and establish guidelines for addressing sexual misconduct, including harassment and assault, and provides procedures for reporting and investigating such incidents. 

  1. ​Policy Statement: Harris Health System is committed to maintaining a work environment free from unwanted or inappropriate sexual conduct.   Sexual misconduct is strictly prohibited, and the organization has a zero-tolerance policy. 
  2. Scope: The policy applies to all individuals, including employees, patients, vendors, and visitors, and covers all aspects of employment such as recruitment, hiring, promotion, termination, and training.
  3. Reporting: Employees who witness or experience behavior violating this policy are encouraged to report the incident to the Office of Corporate Compliance (OCC), even if they are uncertain whether the conduct violates the policy. 
  4. Sexual Assault: Physical assaults of a sexual nature, such as rape, sexual battery, molestation or attempts to commit these assaults, including intentional physical conduct that is sexual in nature such as touching, pinching, patting, grabbing, brushing or poking against another employee's body. 
  5. Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment includes Sexual Assault. In addition, Sexual Harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
  1. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment or learning; 
  2. Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as a basis for employment or academic decisions affecting that individual; or
  3. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work, academic performance, or creating an intimidating, hostile, offensive work or learning environment.

    6. Sexual Misconduct: a range of non-consensual sexual activity or unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.