19B.12 - SEXUAL HARASSMENT PROHIBITED.
19B.12 SEXUAL HARASSMENT PROHIBITED.
A state employee shall not sexually harass another state employee,
a person in the care or custody of the state employee or a state
institution, or a person attending a state educational institution.
This section applies to full-time, part-time, or temporary employees,
to inpatients and outpatients, and to full-time or part-time
students.
1. An employee in a supervisory position shall not threaten or
insinuate, explicitly or implicitly, that another employee's refusal
to submit to sexual advances will adversely affect the employee's
employment, evaluation, salary advancement, job assignments, or other
terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
2. An employee shall not discriminate against another state
employee, a person in the care or custody of the employee or a state
institution, or a person attending a state educational institution
based on sex or create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working
environment in a state work, educational, or correctional situation.
3. a. As used in this section, "sexual harassment" means
persistent, repetitive, or highly egregious conduct directed at a
specific individual or group of individuals that a reasonable person
would interpret as intentional harassment of a sexual nature, taking
into consideration the full context in which the conduct occurs,
which conduct threatens to impair the ability of a person to perform
the duties of employment, or otherwise function normally within an
institution responsible for the person's care, rehabilitation,
education, or training.
b. "Sexual harassment" may include, but is not limited to,
the following:
(1) Unsolicited sexual advances by a person toward another person
who has clearly communicated the other person's desire not to be the
subject of those advances.
(2) Sexual advances or propositions made by a person having
superior authority toward another person within the workplace or
institution.
(3) Instances of offensive sexual remarks or speech or graphic
sexual displays directed at a person in the workplace or institution,
who has clearly communicated the person's objection to that conduct,
and where the person is not free to avoid that conduct due to the
requirements of the employment or the confines or operations of the
institution.
(4) Dress requirements that bear no relation to the person's
employment responsibilities or institutional status.
4. The department of administrative services for all state
agencies, and the state board of regents for its institutions, shall
adopt rules and appropriate internal, confidential grievance
procedures to implement this section, and shall adopt procedures for
determining violations of this section and for ordering appropriate
dispositions that may include, but are not limited to, discharge,
suspension, or reduction in rank or grade as defined in section
8A.413, subsection 18.
5. The department of administrative services shall develop for
all state agencies, and all state agencies shall distribute at the
time of hiring or orientation, a guide for employees that describes
the applicable sexual harassment prohibitions and grievance,
violation, and disposition procedures.
6. The state board of regents shall develop, and direct the
institutions under its control to distribute at the time of hiring,
registration, admission, or orientation, a guide for employees,
students, and patients that describes the applicable sexual
harassment prohibitions and grievance, violation, and disposition
procedures.
7. This section does not supersede a provision of a collective
bargaining agreement negotiated under chapter 20, or the grievance
procedures provisions of chapter 20.
8. This section does not supersede the remedies provided under
chapter 216. Section History: Recent Form
92 Acts, ch 1086, §3; 2003 Acts, ch 145, §143, 286; 2008 Acts, ch
1031, §98
Referred to in § 2.11, 2.42, 602.1401