Harassment Prevention and Responses for DoD Civilian Employees/Section 4: Harassment Prevention and Response Policies and Procedures
Section 4: Harassment Prevention and Response Policies and Procedures
4.1. HARASSMENT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
DoD Components will establish policies and procedures that prevent and respond to harassment of DoD civilian employees. Such policies and procedures should:
a. Distinguish between response procedures for allegations of harassment that is not unlawful but detracts from an efficient workplace, unlawful discriminatory harassment, and harassment of a criminal nature.
b. Encourage DoD civilian employees to report and DoD Components to respond to allegations of harassment.
c. Identify venues where DoD civilian employees can report harassment of any kind and provide for referral of harassment allegations to an appropriate venue for response.
d. Outline the process the DoD Component will use to resolve an allegation of harassment, to include an opportunity for alternative dispute resolution where appropriate.
e. Require a timely response.
f. Identify methods to correct harassing behavior.
g. Provide appropriate notification to individuals who allege they have been harassed on the status of the response to the harassment allegation, including, but not limited to, when the Component determines its response to be completed.
h. Identify available resources and support services to restore workplace efficiency.
i. Permit a third-party, such as a bystander or witness, to report the harassment of a DoD civilian employee, unless the report is made via the process identified in Paragraph 4.3.
j. Instruct that training and education be established in accordance with the requirements stated in Section 5.
k. Implement a process or system to collect, track, and report harassment allegations in accordance with the requirements stated in Section 6, consistent with law and DoD policy pertaining to privacy, including Section 552a of Title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.), also known and referred to in this issuance as the “Privacy Act of 1974,” as amended; DoD Instruction (DoDI) 5400.11; and DoD 5400.11-R, as applicable.
4.2. HARASSMENT THAT DETRACTS FROM AN EFFICIENT WORKPLACE.
DoD Components will identify venues to process allegations of harassment that do not involve an EEO complaint or criminal allegations but do detract from an efficient workplace. These processes may include both formal and informal procedures.
4.3. EEO COMPLAINTS OF UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATORY HARASSMENT.
Allegations of unlawful discriminatory harassment may be reported to a DoD EEO office, in accordance with DoDD 1440.1 and Part 1614 of Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations. Individuals reporting unlawful discriminatory harassment must be informed that, in order to pursue this avenue of redress, they must make a report within the statutory 45-day time limit. This process does not permit third-party harassment allegations, and limits the stage at which anonymous allegations may be made. This process does not address behaviors that are not unlawful discriminatory harassment.
4.4. HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS OF A CRIMINAL NATURE.
a. Criminal activity, either reported in conjunction with a harassment allegation or identified during the process of responding to the harassment allegation, must be immediately reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency. The DoD Component’s process to respond to harassment allegations may occur collaterally only if it does not hinder the criminal investigation.
b. The appropriate Military Criminal Investigative Organization or the Pentagon Force Protection Agency will immediately notify the Department of Justice, in accordance with DoDI 5525.07, of criminal allegations involving perpetrators who are not subject to Chapter 47, Title 10, U.S.C. (also known and referred to in this issuance as “the Uniform Code of Military Justice”) when the alleged crime occurred on a military installation or the Pentagon Reservation.
c. Reports and disclosures of sexual assault by DoD civilian employees who are adult military dependents, members of the Reserve Component, or stationed outside the continental United States are covered by DoDD 6495.02, which contains the policy for eligibility for Restricted (confidential) and Unrestricted reporting and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response services. For other civilian employees, please refer to DoDI 1438.06.
4.5. SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS MADE TO A COMMANDING OFFICER OR OFFICER IN CHARGE.
A sexual harassment complaint made by a subordinate DoD civilian employee to a commanding officer or officer in charge of a unit, vessel, facility, or area of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Space Force will be processed in accordance with the timelines and requirements identified in Section 1561 of Title 10, U.S.C. This process does not supplant the process identified in Paragraph 4.3.
4.6. ANONYMOUS ALLEGATIONS.
a. Anonymous allegations of harassment, in which the identity of the reporter is unknown but there is sufficient information to warrant further inquiry will be referred to an appropriate response process in accordance with this instruction and any DoD Component-specific guidance.
(1) Allegations of harassment in which the identity of the reporter is known, but the reporter desires anonymity, may be treated as anonymous allegations for purposes of keeping the identity of the person making the report confidential. However, information concerning the reporter as a victim of or a witness to alleged harassment may be revealed as part of the response process. Therefore, complete anonymity will not be guaranteed. An effective inquiry or investigation may require revealing certain information to the alleged offender and potential witnesses. Moreover, certain means of resolving a harassment allegation, such as a formal EEO complaint of unlawful discriminatory harassment, require revealing the identity of the person making the harassment allegation.
(2) Information about the report of harassment may be shared only with those who have an official need to know. Privacy and confidentiality will be maintained in accordance with law and DoD policy, including the Privacy Act of 1974, DoDI 5400.11, and DoD 5400.11-R, as applicable.
b. If an anonymous report of harassment does not contain sufficient information to merit a response, the information must be documented. The following information, if available, should be retained in accordance with applicable disposition instructions:
(1) Date the information was received.
(2) A detailed description of the facts and circumstances included in the report of harassment.
(3) The disposition of the allegation.
(4) Any other pertinent information.
4.7. RESPONDING TO CONFIRMED HARASSMENT.
When a DoD Component’s response process confirms that harassment occurred, the DoD Component will:
a. Take immediate and appropriate corrective action, including administrative and disciplinary action. The individual subjected to the harassment will be notified of the measures taken to resolve the matter, subject to applicable privacy laws, regulations, and policies, including the Privacy Act of 1974, DoDI 5400.11, and DoD 5400.11-R.
b. Implement remedial measures designed to stop the harassment and ensure that the harassment does not reoccur. These remedial measures need not be those that the DoD civilian employee requests or prefers, as long as they are effective. Remedial measures should not adversely affect the individual reporting the harassment or the individual subjected to the harassment, if different.
c. Provide the individual subjected to the harassment with adequate protection, care, and information about available support resources, including:
(1) Military and civilian emergency medical and support services.
(2) Public and private programs that are available to provide counseling, treatment, and other support.
(3) Organizations and entities on-base and off-base that provide services and support.
d. Document an offender’s substantiated harassment, by type (e.g., conduct that detracts from an efficient workplace, EEO unlawful discriminatory harassment, and criminal harassment), in the DoD Component’s appropriate personnel records system.
e. Determine whether an organizational climate assessment is warranted or additional training is required.
4.8. RELEASE OF INFORMATION CONCERNING REPORTS OF HARASSMENT.
a. DoD Components will inform the individual or individuals who experienced harassment of the availability of an executive summary of the response to the allegation of harassment.
b. Freedom of Information Act requests will be processed in accordance with DoD Manual 5400.07.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
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