1. USAG Red Cloud and Area I
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
and Anti-Discrimination & Harassment Training
Teri L. Garnett
EEO Manager

2. Equal Employment Opportunity
Agenda
• Equal Employment Opportunity – The Law
• Disability & Reasonable Accommodation
• Workplace Harassment

3. Equal Employment Opportunity
Agenda

4. Equal Employment Opportunity
Agenda
• Equal Employment Opportunity – The Law
• Disability & Reasonable Accommodation
• Workplace Harassment

5. Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws
Equal Employment Opportunity
Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws protect employees from illegal
discrimination that directly relate to the terms, conditions,
and benefits of their employment.
Hiring, Promotion, Reassignments, Pay, Leave, Awards,
Performance Evaluations, Training, Job Classification,
Reprimands, Suspensions, and/or Terminations
Supervisors should ensure to have legitimate,
non-discriminatory reasons for every personnel action taken.

6. Equal Employment Opportunity
and The Law
Federal laws enforced by the EEOC that protect employees
from employment discrimination:
 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
Equal Pay Act of 1963
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
Let’s talk about all these individually…

7. Equal Employment Opportunity
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
“It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an
employer…to discriminate against any individual
with respect to his/her compensation, terms and
conditions, or privileges of employment, because of
an individual’s
“Race, Color, National Origin, Equal
Pay/Compensation, Sex (including Pregnancy),
Age (40+), Religion, Disability (Mental or Physical),
Genetic Information and/or Reprisal/Retaliation
(for engaging in protected activity).”

8. Equal Employment Opportunity
Race, Color, National Origin
Discrimination based on Race involves treating someone
unfavorably because they are of a certain race or because of
personal characteristics associated with race (such as hair
texture, or certain facial features)
Discrimination based on Color involves treating someone
unfavorably because of skin color or complexion.
Discrimination based on National Origin involves treating
someone unfavorably because they are from a particular
country or part of the world, because of ethnicity or accent,
or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic background.

9. Equal Employment Opportunity
Equal Pay Act of 1963
This law requires that men and women in the
same workplace be given equal pay for equal
work. Protects both men and women who
perform substantially equal work from sexbased wage discrimination.

10. Equal Employment Opportunity
Sex
Discrimination based on Sex involves treating
someone unfavorably because of their gender.
Includes discrimination based on Pregnancy which
involves treating a woman unfavorably because of
pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related
to pregnancy or childbirth.

11. Equal Employment Opportunity
Age Discrimination Act of 1967
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act only
prohibits Age discrimination for individuals who are
Age 40 and older, which prohibits discrimination
based on Age or treating someone less favorably
because of their age.

12. Equal Employment Opportunity
Religion
Discrimination based on Religion involves treating
someone unfavorably because of their religious
beliefs.
The law protects not only people who belong to
traditional, organized religions as well as others
who have religious, ethical or morale beliefs.

13. Equal Employment Opportunity
Religious Accommodation
The law also requires reasonable accommodation of
an employee’s religious beliefs or practices, unless
doing so would cause undue hardship on the
organization/mission.
This means that the Army may be required to grant
reasonable accommodation to the work environment
that will allow an employee to practice his or her
religion.

14. Genetic Information Non-Discrimination
Act of 2008 (GINA)
This law makes it illegal to
discriminate against
employees or applicants
because of their genetic
information.

15. Equal Employment Opportunity
Genetic Discrimination
Genetic information includes information about an
individual and/or an individual’s family members
test results, the manifestation of a disease or
disorder regarding an individuals or the individuals
family medical history.
Which is often used to determine whether
someone has an increased risk of getting a disease,
disorder, or condition in the future.

16. Equal Employment Opportunity
Genetic Discrimination - Scenario
Jordon is a supervisor. Gloria, informs Jordon that a relative
died from a disease, that she has just been diagnosed with
and she requests to take leave. Jordan tells Gloria he is sorry
to hear the news. He says he will work with her and the office
manager to assist her with leave options. Jordan tells Gloria
to let him know if she needs any other assistance.
In this scenario, Jordon acted appropriately by keeping his
remarks brief while focusing on the conversation about work
issues and his willingness to assist her with leave.
Although it may be difficult to do, supervisors should avoid
engaging in conversations about the specifics regarding
medical conditions of employees or their relatives.

17. Disability and
Reasonable Accommodation

18. Equal Employment Opportunity
Disability
Disability discrimination occurs when an a
qualified individual (employee or applicant)
with a disability is treated unfavorably because
he/she has a disability.
Disability discrimination also occurs when an
employer treats an employee or applicant less
favorably because he/she has a history of a
disability (such as cancer that is controlled or
in remission) or;

19. Equal Employment Opportunity
Disability (Cont’d)
Because he/she is believed to have a physical
or mental impairment that is NOT lasting or
expected to last six months or less, even if
he/she does not have such an impairment.

20. Equal Employment Opportunity
Reasonable Accommodation
A reasonable accommodation is any change in
the work environment (or in the way things are
usually done) to help a person with a disability
apply for a job, perform the duties of a job, or
enjoy the benefits and privileges of
employment.

21. Equal Employment Opportunity
Requesting Reasonable Accommodation
An employee who believes he/she needs a
reasonable accommodation for a disability may
submit an oral or written request through the
supervisor or the EEO Office.
Supervisors are responsible for providing
reasonable accommodations to their
employees or applicants with disabilities,
unless doing so would cause an undue
hardship or expense to the Army.

22. Equal Employment Opportunity
Reasonable Accommodation Requests
•
Employee must specify the
change or modification the
individual believes necessary
•
Employee must submit the
request for accommodation
to Management or the
Individual with Disability
Program Manager (EEO)

23. Equal Employment Opportunity
Reasonable Accommodation Requests
•
If the individual with a disability is qualified to
perform the essential functions of the job.
•
The employer should work with the servicing EEO
Office/Disability Program Manager to process the
request for reasonable accommodation.
•
The employer should approve the request for
accommodation, unless the employer can prove
that making the accommodation would cause an
undue hardship.

24. Equal Employment Opportunity
Reasonable Accommodation
A supervisor can engage in the interactive
process with an employee to exchange
information and search for solutions that may
allow the approval of a request for reasonable
accommodation immediately.
At the end of this process, the supervisor will
let the employee know whether the request has
been granted or denied.

25. Equal Employment Opportunity
Reasonable Accommodation Information
Supervisors are encouraged to respond to requests
for reasonable accommodation in a timely manner.
Ordinarily, a decision can be made within 30
calendar days from the date request was received.
Information about the Reasonable Accommodation
Process may be obtain from the servicing EEO
Office.

26. Equal Employment Opportunity
Disability & Reasonable Accommodation
Information related to a request for
accommodation or the fact that you are
receiving an accommodation may only be
shared with those who have a need to know.
An accommodation may not be specifically
what an employee requested, as long as the
accommodation is effective.

27. Equal Employment Opportunity
Definition of a “Disability”
Not everyone with a medical condition is
protected by law.
In order to be protected, a person must
be qualified for the job and have a
disability as defined by law.

28. Equal Employment Opportunity
Reprisal or Retaliation
It is illegal to fire, demote, harass,
or otherwise “retaliate” against
individuals (applicants) because
they complained about
discrimination, or because they
participated in employment
discrimination proceedings.

29. Equal Employment Opportunity
Reprisal - Scenario
Carl filed an EEO complaint after being given a negative performance
appraisal, alleging that his supervisor discriminated against him when he
received a poor appraisal.
Although John had a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for giving Carl the
poor appraisal. But when he learned that Carl filed an EEO complaint, John
held a closed door meeting with his colleague Pam, but the office walls were
thin and everyone in the vicinity including Carl could hear him say things like,
“How could Carl do this, I have given him every opportunity.
This is Carl’s insurance policy – he knows he is about to get fired”.
Later, John sends an email to Carl informing him that he should only
communicate with him by email and gave Carl minimal work to do, feeling he
could no longer trust Carl.
John believes he did not discriminate but his actions could turn what was
otherwise an unfounded complaint into a successful retaliation claim.

30. Equal Employment Opportunity
Your Rights
If you believe you have been subjected to unlawful
discrimination, harassment or retaliation:
Contact your servicing EEO office within 45 calendar days
from the date you first became aware of the alleged
discrimination. You have an option of remaining anonymous.
An EEO Counselor will be assigned to conduct an inquiry
within 30 calendar days, while attempting to resolve the
complaint; offer you an option to use an Alternative
Disputed Resolution (Mediation) to resolve your complaint.
 If the complaint is not resolved you will be provided a
Notice of Right to File a Formal Complaint of Discrimination.

31. Equal Employment Opportunity
ADR (Mediation)
A preferred Dept of the Army alternative
dispute resolution method, in which a third
party neutral assists disputants in focusing
on issues brought forth, reviewing common
interests towards reaching a mutually
satisfactory settlement.

32. Equal Employment Opportunity
Agenda

33. Equal Employment Opportunity
Supervisor Don’ts
If you are a supervisor and one of your employees has
contacted the EEO office about a complaint or
participated in EEO activity, you should:
DO NOT confront the employee about the complaint or
try to persuade the employee to drop the ocmplaint.
DO NOT discuss the complaint with colleagues. Instead,
try to keep the matter as confidential as possible.
DO NOT try to avoid the employee. Instead you should
conduct business as usual.

34. Equal Employment Opportunity
Supervisor Do’s
DO COOPERATE with the EEO Counselor.
DO CONSIDER whether mediation would be
helpful in resolving the complaint. Working through
concerns with a neutral third party may result in
creative solutions.
DO CONTACT your servicing labor counselor for
assistance. The labor counselor represents the
Army, and can assist you through the process.

35. Workplace Harassment

36. Workplace Harassment
Army Anti-Harassment Policy
•Workplace Harassment based on race, color, sex (including
pregnancy), religion, national origin, age (40+), equal pay/
compensation, genetic information, disability or reprisal or other
impermissible basis is not acceptable.
•Harassment includes any offensive conduct such as slurs, jokes or
other verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct that has the purpose or
effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work
performance or creating a intimidating, offensive or hostile
environment.
•Even if a single utterance, joke or act does not rise to the level of
actionable harassment under the law, such conduct is contrary to
Army values.

37. Equal Employment Opportunity
Hostile Work Environment - Scenario #1
A supervisor receives the following complaint from Charlene, who works in a pod of
cubicles:
a. Chuck’s coworkers in the area use the term “b____” to refer to women with whom they
have disagreements at work.
b. The co-workers mock a mail deliver worker with physical and mental disabilities after
he leaves the area by laughing about and imitating is disabilities.
c. Nearly every day the co-workers listen to a crude morning radio show featuring sexual
topics and ethnic jokes. One told Charlene to “wear earplugs” when she tried to
change the station.
d. One co-worker displays a woman in a swimsuit as his screen saver.
Which of the actions above constitute prohibited harassment under Army’s policy?
Who is responsible for taken action and what action should be taken?

38. Equal Employment Opportunity
Hostile Work Environment - Scenario #1
Answer: All of the above
This is true even if the behavior is not directed towards Charlene or is not
intended to offend her. It also does not matter that the mail delivery worker
is not aware of the behavior.
Answer: The Supervisor
The supervisor must immediately take steps to investigate Charlene’s
complaint. If the complaint is substantiated, the supervisor must take
appropriate corrective action to end the behavior, including any necessary
disciplinary action. The servicing labor-management employee relations
specialist and labor counselor can assist the supervisor with these actions.

39. Equal Employment Opportunity
Agenda

40. Workplace Harassment
Sexual Harassment
…Sexual Harassment is a form of sex discrimination. Sexual harassment
includes unwelcome, sexual advances , request for sexual favors and
other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
• Submission to such conduct made explicitly or implicitly effects a term
or condition of a individuals employment, pay or career;
• Submission to or rejection of such conduct by a person is used as a
basis for a decision affecting a person’s career or employment;
• Such conduct has the purpose of unreasonably interfering with an
individual’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or
offensive working environment.

41. Equal Employment Opportunity
Sexual Harassment - Scenario #2
Darla gave her co-worker Joe a note saying she would like to go out with him.
Joe told Darla he was not interested and was not looking for anything like that
right now.
Darla gave Joe a second note asking him to giver her a chance, which Joe
discarded. Darla then approached Joe and gave him a photo of herself.
Joe told Darla again that he was not interested. Darla continued to give
Joe notes for several months, telling Joe she had been dreaming about
him. Darla also had co-workers deliver messages to Joe with request to go
on dates and saying that she was going to get him no matter hat. After six
months, Darla asked Joe for a date in front of a customer, embarrassing
both Joe and the customer.
Did Darla’s actions constitute workplace harassment ?

42. Equal Employment Opportunity
Sexual Harassment - Scenario #2
Answer: Yes
Although Darla’s initial polite request to go on a
date with Joe was not harassment, Darla persisted
even after Joe indicated hw was not interested.
Darla’s continued pursuit of Joe over several
months also affected others which can be
considered “third-party harassment”.

43. Equal Employment Opportunity
Sexual Harassment Scenario #2 (Cont’d)
If Joe brings Darla’s behavior to the attention of his supervisor’s
attention, the supervisor must take action designed to end Darla’s
behavior and take escalating steps if her behavior does not stop.
For example, if Joe brings it to the supervisor’s attention after just
the notes, noting more may be required than telling Darla that Joe
finds her behavior unwelcome and tat she needs to stop. The
supervisor should document his/her actions and follow up with
Joe to make sure Darla’s conduct stops.
If Darla denies the conduct, does not agree to stop the conduct, does
not stop the conduct, or if Joe later reports more serious behaviors
more formal and more serious measures will be required.

44. Workplace Harassment
Who Can Be Responsible?
… Anyone who creates or tolerates a work
environment which is permeated with
discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult
that is severe or pervasive enough to alter the
conditions of an individuals employment,
subjecting them to or creating an abusive working
environment is in violation of Title VII.

45. Workplace Harassment
Perception vs. Intention
People have different ways of looking at the
same situation because of many factors,
such as upbringing, education and experiences.
These different perceptions can
benefit an organization, but they
can also cause conflict in the
workplace.

46. Workplace Harassment
Perception vs. Intention
Often in a court of law, more emphasis is placed on the
victim’s perception rather than the offender’s intention.
This means that employees should
take responsibility for how their
behavior affects others.

47. Workplace Harassment
Reasonable Person Standard
In order to prevent employees from being unfairly
accused of harassment, the “Reasonable Person
Standard” was created, which asks…
“Would a “reasonable person” find the behavior offensive?”

48. Workplace Harassment
Bullying
Employees who are bullied often experience a
high level of stress and emotional anguish.
However, unless an employee falls into a
protected class, there are no laws that prohibit an
employee from being bullied in the workplace.

49. Workplace Harassment
Recognizing Harassing Behavior
Bullies:
 Tend to treat employees
inconsistently or unfairly
 Often use humiliation or
intimidation to control others
 Can be emotionally unpredictable
or have frequent emotional
outbursts
 Often intend to negatively affect
employees’ performance
 Act in their own self-interest.
Tough Managers:





Treat employees consistently
and fairly
Set reasonable standards and
expect employees to meet them
Are generally predictable in their
actions and reactions
Aim to positively affect employees’
performance
Act in the interest of the
organization.

50. Workplace Harassment
Employee Responsibilities
If you have been subjected to harassment…

You have the responsibility to take reasonable action.

Inform the offender that the behavior is unwelcome and needs to stop.

If you are not comfortable with talking directly to the offender talk to a
supervisor with whom you feel comfortable reporting, so the command can
investigate and take steps to end the harassment.

If desired, contact you servicing EEO office to file a complaint within 45
CALENDAR DAYS after first becoming aware of the harassment.

Remember it is illegal for someone to retaliate against you for making a
harassment claim. If you experience retaliation report it immediately.

51. Workplace Harassment
Supervisor Responsibilities
If you are a supervisor/manager who receives a complaint of harassment…

It is your responsibility to take prompt and appropriate action.

Immediately conduct an inquiry appropriate for the circumstances – this
could range from a discussion with the alleged harasser to an investigation
under AR 15-6.

Take steps during the inquiry to protect the person complaining from further
harassment.

Take corrective action designed to end the harassment. Discipline or
discharge may be warranted depending on the conduct. You must also
take escalating action if the harassment does not stop.

52. Workplace Harassment
Hostile Work Environment
A “Hostile Work Environment” harassment claim
involves an pervasive atmosphere of discriminatory
severe or unwelcome working conditions that have
the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with
an individual’s work performance or create an
intimidating, hostile or offensive working
environment.

53. Workplace Harassment
Hostile Work Environment and Discrimination
The phrase “Hostile Work Environment" generally accompanies a
discrimination complaint when an individual feels unlawful
harassment rises to a level that creates an environment in which
the employee cannot work, due to unreasonable and undue
hostility.
Harassment on the part of employees, supervisors, managers or
even customers can become unlawful if the bases includes those
covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- Race, Color,
Sex, National Origin or Religion.

55. Workplace Harassment
Recognizing a Hostile Work Environment
A hostile work environment is created when anyone commits this
type of harassment, including a co-worker, a supervisor or
manager, a contractor, client, vendor, or visitor.
In addition to the person who was directly harassed, other
employees who are impacted by the harassment (by hearing or
viewing it) are also considered victims.

56. Workplace Harassment
Recognizing Hostile Work Environment
Other factors that dictate a hostile work environment include:
 If the employee feels threatened or intimidated through
discriminatory actions;
 There is a frequency or pervasiveness of unfair treatment;
and, if comments or actions are unduly offensive and
degrading.

57. Equal Employment Opportunity
Preventing Unlawful Harassment
•The underlying cause for a hostile work environment
is unlawful harassment; therefore attending training
about anti-discrimination laws and statutes like these
can help prevent it;
•Implementation and adherence to workplace policies
that spell out consequences for those who engage in
prohibited discriminatory behavior;

58. Equal Employment Opportunity
Preventing Harassment (Cont’d)
•Professional behavior in the workplace is another
way to prevent unlawful harassment;
•Maintaining a workplace free from discrimination;
•Commitment to treating all individuals equally
with dignity and respect boosts self-esteem, builds
morale of workers and eliminates harassment in
our workplaces.

59. Workplace Harassment
Preventing Harassment (Cont’d)
If You Think You Have Harassed Someone…
o If someone appears to be offended by something
you have said or done…
o Apologize to the person you have offended
o Be careful not to repeat the behavior

60. Equal Employment Opportunity
Workplace Harassment Summary
Harassment takes a big toll on its victim, as well as the organization as
a whole. To prevent harassment in your workplace…




Become familiar with the organizational policies
Learn how to recognize the harassment
Be aware of how your behavior affects others
If you think a comment or action could be taken the wrong way,
don’t do it or say it
 Avoid joking about sensitive topics in the workplace
 Use technology (including email) with care
 Speak up when you are harassed or if you witness harassment.

61. Parting Thought…
"I've learned that people
will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will NEVER forget
how YOU made them feel.“
-Maya Angelou

62. Equal Employment Opportunity
Contact Information
Teri L. Garnett
EEO Manager
USAG Red Cloud, Bldg 909
(315) 732-6273
Cell: 010-3271-7998