Section 2:

Leadership & Accountability

Introduction

The leadership of an organization plays a key role in preventing and addressing discrimination and harassment. Senior management (paid and non-paid), clergy, and boards can start this work by:

Communicating the importance of having a diverse and inclusive workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment
Stating values and modeling behaviors
Allocating time, money, and other resources
Making sure to understand the relevant laws

This section of the toolkit will provide further guidance on the role of leadership in advancing this work.

Get Started

Review the standards and resources below on Leadership and Accountability and the relevant checklist.

Advise your board and all of your employees, volunteers, and stakeholders about the work you are doing to prioritize safety, respect, and equity within your organization.

Become familiar with federal and state laws regarding workplace discrimination and harassment.

Allocate time, money, and resources to prioritize diversity, inclusion and harassment prevention.

Resources

What leaders should know about discrimination

Understand what sex based discrimination and sexual harassment is.
Learn about other types of discrimination that are prohibited by law.
Know your responsibilities under federal employment discrimination laws and learn about prohibited employment policies and practices that are outlined below.
Understand that discrimination and harassment occur in multiple forms (including race, sexual orientation and gender identity, and disability), and includes intersectional discrimination and harassment in which an individual is targeted due to their multiple intersecting identities.
Know how to prevent harassment.
Understand your liability when supervisors harass.

Responsibilities under federal employment discrimination laws

If federal employment discrimination laws apply to your business:

You must provide equal pay to male and female employees who perform the same work unless you can justify a pay difference under the law.
You cannot discriminate against or harass applicants, employees or former employees because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information (including family medical history).
You cannot use employment policies or practices that have a negative effect on applicants or employees of a particular race, color, religion, sex or national origin or applicants or employees with disabilities unless the policies or practices are related to the job and necessary for the operation of your business.
You cannot use employment policies or practices that have a negative effect on applicants or employees who are 40 or older unless the policies or practices are based on a reasonable factor other than age.
You may be required to provide reasonable accommodations (changes to the way things are normally done at work) because of an applicant’s or employee’s religious beliefs or disability.
In general, you cannot request medical or genetic information from applicants. You may request medical or genetic information from employees only in limited circumstances.

If you legally obtain medical or genetic information, you must keep it confidential, with very limited exceptions, and in a separate medical file.

You cannot retaliate against (punish) an applicant, employee or former employee for reporting discrimination, participating in a discrimination investigation or lawsuit or opposing discrimination (for example, threatening to file a charge or complaint of discrimination).
You must display a poster at your business that describes the federal employment discrimination laws.
You must retain any employment records, such as applications, personnel records and payroll records, as required by law.

If you have at least 100 employees or if you are a federal contractor with at least 50 employees and at least $50,000 in government contracts:

You must report data about the ethnicity, race and gender of your workforce to the government.

You may have additional responsibilities under federal, state and local laws. Federal, state and local government websites may have additional information about these laws.

What leaders should know about harassment

Worksheets

Checklist

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Questions

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Section 3: Policies & Guidelines

Toolkit Home

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The content and resources listed on the Safety Respect Equity Network’s website (or otherwise developed or distributed) are meant to help provide guidance to organizations that wish to establish safe, respectful, equitable work places and communal spaces. They do not guarantee safety, respect, or equity. Any use thereof should be based on the user’s own evaluation and consultation with legal counsel and is at the sole risk of the user. SRE and its members are not responsible for any harm that may result from any such use.

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Section 2:

Leadership & Accountability

Introduction

Get Started

Resources

What leaders should know about discrimination

Responsibilities under federal employment discrimination laws

What leaders should know about harassment

Worksheets

Checklist

Questions

SRE Network c/o New Venture Fund

Keep in Touch

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