Finding the Facts - Disciplinary and Harassment Investigation

the employee, and that his perception of her sex was a motivating reason for his conduct. The Court of Appeals held that section 51.7 was intended to create civil liability that sweeps more broadly than the common meaning of the phrase "hate crime." Therefore, the employee was not required to prove that her supervisor’s conduct was motivated by hate.

Work Performance Consideration must be given to the conduct’s effect on the complainant’s work performance:

Did the conduct interfere with the complainant’s work performance?

Important: In order to show that the conduct unreasonably interfered with the complainant’s work performance, he/she does not need to show that it diminished his/her performance. Rather, the complainant only needs to demonstrate that the conduct made it more difficult for him/her to do his/her job. In summary, a work environment is unlawfully hostile or abusive if there is a concerted pattern of harassment of a repeated, routine or a generalized nature which affects the complainant’s working conditions. But, the district’s policy may be violated by less severe harassment.

Examples of Harassing Behavior Behavior which may constitute hostile work environment harassment includes the following:



Physical acts, such as assault, impeding or blocking movement, offensive touching, or any interference with normal work or movement.



Speech, such as epithets, derogatory comments or slurs, lewd propositions.



Visual insults, such as derogatory posters, cartoons, or drawings.

If the alleged harassing conduct is verbal in nature, the investigator should make sure he/she discovers the “nature, frequency, context, and intended target” of the remarks. Questions to be explored include:  Did the alleged harasser single out the charging party?  Did the charging party participate?  What was the relationship between the charging party and the alleged harasser(s)?  Were the remarks hostile and derogatory?” 208

LCW Practice Advisor

Disciplinary and Harassment Investigations ©2019 (e) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 123