Objectives
Groworx strives to create and maintain a work environment in which people are treated with dignity, decency and respect. The environment of the company should be characterized by mutual trust and the absence of intimidation, oppression and exploitation. Groworx will not tolerate unlawful discrimination or harassment of any kind. Through enforcement of this policy and by education of employees, Groworx will seek to prevent, correct and discipline behavior that violates this policy.
Policy Scope
All employees, regardless of their positions, are covered by and are expected to comply with this policy and to take appropriate measures to ensure that prohibited conduct does not occur. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against any employee who violates this policy. Based on the seriousness of the offense, disciplinary action may include verbal or written reprimand, suspension, or termination of employment.
Any employee who knowingly allows or tolerates discrimination, harassment or retaliation, including the failure to immediately report such misconduct to the Corporate Services Group - Human Resources, are in violation of this policy and subject to discipline.
Policy Definitions
Discrimination
It is a violation of Groworx’s policy to discriminate in the provision of employment opportunities, benefits or privileges; to create discriminatory work conditions; or to use discriminatory evaluative standards in employment if the basis of that discriminatory treatment is, in whole or in part, the person's race, color, national origin, age, religion, disability status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or marital status.
Discrimination in violation of this policy will be subject to disciplinary measures up to and including termination. Applicable laws , depending on the territory where the employee is located, may be charged to the employee if found guilty of violating this clause.
Harassment
Groworx prohibits harassment of any kind, including sexual harassment, and will take appropriate and immediate action in response to complaints or knowledge of violations of this policy. For purposes of this policy, harassment is any verbal or physical conduct designed to threaten, intimidate or coerce an employee, co-worker, or any person working for or on behalf of Groworx.
The following examples of harassment are intended to be guidelines and are not exclusive when determining whether there has been a violation of this policy:
Verbal harassment includes comments that are offensive or unwelcome regarding a person's national origin, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, body, disability or appearance, including epithets, slurs and negative stereotyping.
Nonverbal harassment includes distribution, display or discussion of any written or graphic material that ridicules, denigrates, insults, belittles or shows hostility, aversion or disrespect toward an individual or group because of national origin, race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, appearance, disability, sexual identity, marital status or other protected status.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment occurs when unsolicited and unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature:
Is made explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment.
Is used as a basis for an employment decision.
Unreasonably interferes with an employee's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or otherwise offensive environment.
Sexual harassment may take different forms. The following examples of sexual harassment are intended to be guidelines and are not exclusive when determining whether there has been a violation of this policy:
Verbal sexual harassment includes innuendoes, suggestive comments, jokes of a sexual nature, sexual propositions, lewd remarks and threats; requests for any type of sexual favor (this includes repeated, unwelcome requests for dates); and verbal abuse or "kidding" that is oriented toward a prohibitive form of harassment, including that which is sexual in nature and unwelcome.
Nonverbal sexual harassment includes the distribution, display or discussion of any written or graphic material, including calendars, posters and cartoons that are sexually suggestive or show hostility toward an individual or group because of sex; suggestive or insulting sounds; leering; staring; whistling; obscene gestures; content in letters, notes, facsimiles, e-mails, photos, text messages, tweets and Internet postings; or other forms of communication that are sexual in nature and offensive.
Physical sexual harassment includes unwelcome, unwanted physical contact, including touching, tickling, pinching, patting, brushing up against, hugging, cornering, kissing, fondling, and forced sexual intercourse or assault.
Courteous, mutually respectful, pleasant, noncoercive interactions between employees that are appropriate in the workplace and acceptable to and welcomed by both parties are not considered to be harassment, including sexual harassment.
Retaliation
No hardship, loss, benefit or penalty may be imposed on an employee in response to:
Filing or responding to a bona fide complaint of discrimination or harassment.
Appearing as a witness in the investigation of a complaint.
Serving as an investigator of a complaint.
Lodging a bona fide complaint will in no way be used against the employee or have an adverse impact on the individual's employment status. However, filing groundless or malicious complaints is an abuse of this policy and will be treated as a violation.
Any person who is found to have violated this aspect of the policy will be subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.
Complaint Procedures
Groworx Employee - submits the Incident Report, addressed to the Ethics Compliance Committee, through Beacon. An Incident Report should be filed after it has occurred. Any Groworx HR representative may assist the employee in creating the Incident Report, in the event that the Groworx Employee refuses to provide information in writing.
Groworx HR - reviews the Incident Report, ensuring that the complaint is valid and true to its nature. Groworx HR ensures that the investigation will be free from bias, and all available facts will be gathered as evidence, during the investigation.
If the Incident Report is deemed valid, refer to step 4, otherwise refer to step 5.
Groworx HR - Once the Incident Report has been validated, schedule a hearing for the affected employees. Multiple hearings may be required, depending on the outcome of each session.
All Groworx HR cases will be handled through proper administrative handling. Refer to Process Employee Administrative Cases for reference on this process.