It is the policy of the Maryland State government that discrimination is prohibited on the basis of age, ancestry, color, creed, marital status, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation, as well as any other bases set forth by federal and/or State law, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; State Personnel and Pensions Article, Title 5; Article 49B of the Annotated Code of Maryland and the Code of Fair Employment Practices Executive Order. Sexual harassment is a type of discrimination, which is illegal and is in conflict with the personnel practices of the State of Maryland and will not be tolerated.
Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
* submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment;
* submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting an individual or:
* such conduct has the effect of interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
Any employee who believes that he or she has been the victim of sexual harassment should immediately report the alleged incident(s) to their immediate supervisor. If the supervisor is the alleged harasser, the employee should report the incident(s) to their agency's Fair Practices Officer, Equal Employment Opportunity Officer or any other management representative.
Retaliation against an employee who files a complaint alleging sexual harassment, or participates in an investigation of a complaint is strictly prohibited. All allegations of sexual harassment and/or retaliation will be immediately investigated, and where proven, immediate appropriate corrective action up to and including termination from State employment, will be taken.
All employees are to be given a copy of this policy and advised of the name and telephone numbers of the agency's Fair Practices and Equal Employment Opportunity Officers. This policy should also be posted in conspicuous locations throughout State work sites.