Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment & Retaliation

Parkland Soccer Club is committed to providing a work environment free of unlawful discrimination, harassment (including - but not limited to - sexual harassment, bullying, hazing, etc.), and retaliation. The Club prohibits all discrimination and all harassment based on an individual's actual or perceived race (including hairstyles and textures associated with race), color, national origin, ancestral, religion, creed, sex, gender identity or expression (including transgender status), pregnancy status, age, sexual orientation, marital status, physical or mental disability or handicap, genetic information or and other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law (which traits and statuses are herein collectively referred to as "protected characteristics"). The Club likewise prohibits all retaliation against personnel who engage in protected activity, such as reporting a complaint of discrimination or harassment or participating in an investigation thereof. This policy covers and applies to all Club personnel as well as any to other persons with whom personnel come into contact as part of the Club's business. It also applies to all locations where Club business is conducted. This policy prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by and between all personnel, regardless of job level.

 

Discrimination Defined

Discrimination is the unfavorable or unequal treatment of an individual or group with respect to the terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of a protected characteristic. Such discrimination is unlawful and will not be tolerated by the Club. It is the policy of the Club to promote equal employment opportunities and to make all personnel decisions (such as recruiting, hiring, training, work assignments, promotion, transfer, compensation, evaluations, and termination) without regard to protected characteristics. To that end, the Club prohibits discrimination with respect to the terms, conditions or privileges of employment on the basis of any protected characteristic.

 

Harassment & Sexual Harassment Defined

Harassment, including sexual harassment, is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated by the Club. For purposes of this policy, harassment means any offensive and unwelcome conduct (whether verbal, written, physical, or visual) that is based on a protected characteristic(s). Prohibited harassment occurs when:

• Submission to or rejection of the harassing conduct is used as the basis for an employment decision or becomes a condition of continued employment;
• The harassing conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance; or
• The harassing conduct creates a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile or offensive.

Examples of harassment include, but are not limited to:

• using racial or ethnic epithets or slurs
• engaging in negative stereotyping
• making disparaging remarks, jokes or comments about an individual's age, race (including hairstyles associated with race), sex, gender identity, transgender status, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or other protected characteristic
• stalking
• making negative comments about an individual's religious beliefs or practices; and sharing, displaying or sending drawings, posters, images, videos, pictures or other visual content that is offensive to a particular protected group.

Sexual harassment, in particular, includes any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, written, visual or physical conduct that is of a sexual nature or that is directed at an individual because of that individual's sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status. The following are examples of conduct that may constitute unlawful sexual harassment:

• Quid Pro Quo sexual harassment occurs when an individual in a supervisory or managerial position makes an employment decision based on the submission to or rejection of sexual advances. For example, a positive employment action (e.g., a raise or promotion) is conditioned on agreeing to provide sexual favors or a negative employment action (e.g., denial of a promotion, removal from an assignment) is taken based on the refusal to provide or rejection of sexual advances or favors.
• Verbal sexual harassment may include: requests for sexual acts or favors; repeated unwelcome requests for dates; sexual language, innuendoes, jokes or stories; inappropriate or intrusive comments or questions about a person's body, sexual experiences, sexual identity or sexual preferences; and derogatory comments about sex, gender, gender identity or transgender status, even if non-sexual.
• Physical sexual harassment may include: sexual assault; initiation of an unwanted sexual relationship; inappropriate or unwanted touching; sexual gestures or expressions; staring or leering at a person's body; and impeding or blocking a person's movement.
• Visual sexual harassment may include: displaying, sending or sharing posters, calendars, drawings, pictures, videos, photographs, screensavers, or other images (electronic or otherwise) of a sexual, pornographic or sexually-suggestive nature.

 

Reporting Requirements

Personnel are required to immediately report all suspected instances of prohibited discrimination and harassment (including sexual harassment) that they experience, witness, hear about or that otherwise comes to their attention (even if inadvertent). This mandatory reporting requirement applies to actual or suspected discrimination and harassment that occurs on Grant Thornton premises or occurs offsite such as at a client site, during work-related travel or at Club social events, and regardless of the identity of the alleged harasser (be it another employee, client, vendor, or any other third-party in the workplace).

Personnel may fulfill this reporting requirement using any of the following methods:

• By contacting the Club's Administrator Bridget Jacobson
• By contacting the Club's Directors of Coaching Dumel Decius or Luis Valente
• By contacting the Club's Compliance Officer David Balaban

Personnel who believe they were or are subject to discrimination or harassment or who witness such conduct (and who feel comfortable doing so) may advise the offending individual that such harassing and/or discriminatory conduct is unwelcome and ask the offender to stop.

 

Investigation

Upon receiving a complaint under this policy, the Club will conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation of the pertinent allegations. The Club's investigation process may vary on a case-by-case basis but will typically include a review of relevant documents and records (including electronic communications), interviews of the parties and any witnesses or other individuals with knowledge, and documentation of the outcome of the investigation.

The investigation will be conducted in a confidential manner, but the Club reserves the right to disclose information on a need­ to-know basis in order to effectuate a meaningful investigation and appropriate resolution. All personnel at any level are expected and required to cooperate fully with any investigation in which they are asked to participate and to provide truthful and complete information during the investigation. Failure to cooperate with or obstruction of a Club investigation of alleged discrimination or harassment may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

 

Retaliation Prohibited

The Club strictly prohibits retaliation in any form. This includes - but is not limited to - any form of intimidation, retribution, threats or acts of retaliation or harassment against personnel who:

• Make a complaint or report of discrimination or harassment (including sexual harassment), either internally to the Club or externally, such as with a court or government agency;
• Provide information regarding suspected discrimination or harassment (including sexual harassment);
• Participate in or assist with a Club investigation involving alleged discrimination or harassment (including sexual harassment); and/or
• Testify or assist with a court or other government agency proceeding involving discrimination or harassment (including sexual harassment).

Personnel who believe they have been subjected to retaliation must immediately report such retaliation using any of the reporting options described above. Any reported retaliation will be investigated promptly and fairly pursuant to the procedures in this policy.

 

Good Faith Reporting

Notwithstanding the above, the Club expects personnel to report concerns regarding discrimination, harassment and retaliation in good faith. It is a violation of this policy for personnel to knowingly or intentionally make a groundless report of discrimination, harassment or retaliation, to provide false information during the course of an investigation or to withhold information during an investigation. Such conduct is prohibited and may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Disciplinary Action

The Club considers discrimination, harassment (including sexual harassment) and retaliation to be forms of misconduct. Any individual found to have violated this policy, including its non-retaliation provisions, will be subject to remedial and/or disciplinary action, up to and including immediate termination. Likewise, any supervisory personnel who know of discriminatory or harassing conduct in violation of this policy but fail to report such conduct and allow it to continue, will be subject to disciplinary action.