SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY

Harassment of any kind is prohibited and will not be tolerated.

This policy applies to all employees. Violation of this policy will subject a crewmember to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

If you believe that you have either experienced or witnessed any prohibited harassment, report the incident to your supervisor immediately. If you believe it would be inappropriate to discuss the matter with your supervisor, you may bypass you supervisor and report it directly to the Master or another senior officer of the ship.

Your complaint will be investigated and kept confidential to the fullest extent possible. Individuals who make complaints have an obligation to assist and cooperate with the company’s investigation.

If the company determines that harassment has occurred, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against the offender, up to and including termination.

The company prohibits any form of retaliation against a crewmember for lodging a bona Fide complaint under this policy or for assisting the investigation of a claim of harassment.

Definition

Sexual Harassment includes but is not limited to:

1.       Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal, visual or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

2.       Unwelcome sexual flirtations, advances or propositions, verbal abuse of a sexual nature, subtle pressure or requests for sexual activities.

3.       Unnecessary touching of an individual, graphic verbal commentaries about an individual’s body, sexually degrading words used to describe an individual.

4.       Display of any objects or pictures of a sexually suggestive nature, sexually explicit or offensive jokes and physical assault.

Guidelines

1. Act Promptly

Don’t assume “time will heal the wounds.” By failing to act quickly, you may give up the defense that you vigorously enforced the Company’s sexual harassment policies.

2.                                           Take All Complaints Seriously.

Embarrassment or fear of reprisal often causes a complainant to understate   the incident. Also do not ignore complaints after a broken relationship between co-workers. Sexual harassment can be present.

3. Involve Fleet Personnel.

The Master should contact fleet Personnel Department as soon as he hears about the incident and prior to commencing any investigation. Once the investigation begins, all interviews must be documented. Companies have successfully used evidence gathered during their investigations to support their action or inaction against the accused. Prompt action is imperative.

4.   Conduct Interviews in Private.

Employees are more candid in private. If bystanders overhear, parties may claim you negligently publicized the incident and invaded their privacy.

 

5.   Maintain Confidentiality.

Discuss the investigation and its results only with fleet Personnel Department or Operations. A conditional privilege can exist against defamation claims for sexual harassment investigations, as long as the communications are on a limited, business-need-to-know basis. You may lose the privilege if you over publicize.

 

6.   Investigations are only to be conducted by the Master.

Individual Department Heads have a responsibility to report any and all claims of sexual harassment to the Master, regardless of whether they believe the allegations have merit.

Managing sexual harassment problems after they occur requires sensitivity and common sense. A proper investigation may serve to dissuade a complainant from bringing a suit and may, in addition discourage future harassment on board.

Conduct Toward Passengers

Crewmembers must exhibit a courteous and professional attitude toward all passengers. Further, crew members should be attentive to passengers’ needs. However, inappropriate personal conduct such as sexual advances, requests for “dates” or sexual activity between crewmembers and passengers is strictly prohibited. Violation of this policy will subject a crewmember to disciplinary action, up to and including immediate termination of employment.

In the event of a sexual advance by a passenger towards a crewmember, the crewmember should politely but firmly reject such advances and should immediately report the incident to his or her supervisor.

Crewmembers should also strictly avoid sexual innuendos, suggestive comments or sexually oriented joking or teasing between crewmembers and passengers. The use of foul or obscene language by employees is also strictly prohibited, and constitutes grounds for immediate termination of employment. Physical conduct, including touching or “brushing”, between crewmembers and passengers should also be avoided.

Crewmembers should also avoid placing themselves in compromising situations with passengers, such as being alone with a passenger in the guestroom. There may be instances in the course of the performance of day-to-day duties by crew members.

The following policies must be followed at all times:

No one is allowed to enter a guest stateroom at anytime. The only exceptions are
the steward/ess, housekeeper and the ship’s doctor while performing their duties.

Steward/ess or housekeeper performing required service will leave the stateroom
door open at all times while in the stateroom.

If invited into a stateroom for social reasons, decline the invitation or suggest a
more public meeting place as an alternate.

Unless permission is obtained from the Master as mentioned earlier, no
crewmember is allowed to enter a guest stateroom.

The purpose of this policy is to protect employees and guests against unsolicited and unwelcome sexual overtures and conduct. It does not refer to occasional compliments of a socially acceptable nature.

A crewmember who feels that he or she is the victim of sexual harassment should bring the matter to the immediate attention of his or her supervisor and ultimately to the Master. The Master is to inform the main office accordingly about the allegation and of his findings. The crewmember has the option of informing the Fleet Personnel after he/she has informed the Master.

If a crewmember or a guest makes an allegation of sexual harassment, the Master must promptly investigate it and the findings reported to the Operation Office, where final evaluation and proper action will be taken. The company prohibits any form of retaliation against a crewmember for lodging a bona fide complaint under this policy or for assisting the investigation of a claim of harassment.

Any crewmember found in violation of this policy would be subjected to appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment for cause.

WHAT IS SEXUAL HARASSMENT?

Not easily defined, can be verbal, non-verbal or physical

Individuals see it from their vantagepoint, based on their unique experience.

Under the law “Sexual Harassment is deliberate or repeated behavior of a sexual nature which is unwelcome, not asked for, and not returned.”

TYPES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Implicit or explicit request for sexual favors used as condition or basis for employment decisions.

E.g. Supervisor tells employee she will not be promoted unless she grants him a sexual favor.

            “Hostile Work Environment” - More difficult to define, more far reaching. Behavior that has purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with employee’s work performance or creates and intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.
E.g. Displaying offensive photos, using sexual language in conversation, telling offensive sexual jokes or making offensive sexual comments directed at specific employees or about members of a particular sex.

WHY SHOULD EMPLOYERS WORRY ABOUT SEXUAL HARASSMENT? The Company is interested in maintaining a healthy, work environment, free of harassment for all employees.

It is recognized that the victims of sexual harassment often suffer physically and emotionally. Their symptoms are headaches, stomach problems, and inability to concentrate and may show up as inefficiency and loss of productivity.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT: A TOOL FOR INTIMIDATORS

Desire to exert power over a weaker, more vulnerable person appears to

be behind most harassment.

A relatively small percentage of men in the workplace appear to e responsible for a large percentage of harassment cases.

“Chronic Harassers” - men who bully one woman after another at work

Most harassers share common goal - intimidation.

HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT

Offensive conduct

Conduct creating a hostile environment does not have to be sexual in    

nature.

Claim could be based on threatening, demeaning, hostile or offensive conduct by a supervisor in the workplace because of the sex of the victim.

Conduct does not have to be directed at the Individual

Harassing incidents not involving the individual but which the individual has observed or has knowledge of and affects his/her psychological well being.

Determining whether a work environment is “hostile”

Sufficiently severe or pervasive to establish a hostile environment has been the reasonable person standard.

EXAMPLE OF HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT

A supervisor made sexually explicit comments and propositions.

Male workers subjected female workers to observe explicit pictures.

An employee was depicted in sexually explicit cartoons.

An employer asked employee to spend the weekend and take a shower with him.

An employer touched an employee repeatedly.

Female member of the crew was subjected to derogatory and vicious  

jokes, pornographic and demeaning cartoons, and nude photos with her 

name written on them and posted in public view.

A male supervisor repeatedly requested that an employee engaged in oral

sex.

Male employees posted pornographic pictures, displayed sexual objects,   

and made anonymous phone calls.

THE EMPLOYER’S AND EMPLOYEE’S LIABILITY FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

Sexual Harassment by Supervisors                                                  Employers may be held liable for the conduct of their managers, supervisors, whether or not they are aware of the harassing behavior.

Supervisors can also be held personally liable for their conduct.

Sexual Harassment by Co-Employees

Whether an employee is found liable for harassment by co-employees depends on many factors, including:

Whether the employer knew, or should have known, about the alleged  

harassment.

The employer’s implementation and enforcement of its sexual harassment  

policies.

The employer’s prompt investigation and appropriate discipline of the  

harassing co-employee.

Sexual Harassment of Employees by Non-Employees

Employers may be liable for harassment even if the harasser is not an  

Employee liability will accrue only if the employer had notice of the

harassment.

Employers may be liable for the conduct of non-employees “where the     

employer fails to take corrective measures within its control once it knows   

or has reason to know of the non-employee’s conduct”.

PREVENTION AND SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

    It will take the effort of both the employer and employee to prevent sexual
    harassment from occurring in the workplace.

    The employer’s responsibility begins with the adoption of a strong sexual  

    harassment policy effectively communicated to employees - which we are   

    doing.

The employee’s obligations are to treat colleagues with the highest degree of respect, so as to demand the same in return, to make complaints known at the earliest possible time to appropriate management official and to cooperate to the maximum extent possible with the Company’s investigations of complaints.