Last Edited May 13, 2022

Mindful Leader Policy Against Unlawful Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation

Mindful Leader is committed to providing a working and learning environment free of sexual or any other form of unlawful harassment or discrimination. Mindful Leader has a no-tolerance policy, and is committed to maintaining a respectful, courteous environment in all settings that respects the dignity and worth of each employee and learner. Inappropriate workplace behavior and unlawful harassment are wholly inconsistent with this commitment. No employee, contract worker, customer, vendor or other person who does business with this organization is exempt from the prohibitions within this policy.

Harassment or discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender (including gender identity and gender expression), religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), religious creed, marital status, age, national origin (including language use restrictions,) ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, military and veteran status, genetic information, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), sexual orientation, or any other protected class, characteristic, or consideration made unlawful under applicable federal, state, or local laws, is illegal and prohibited by Mindful Leader policy. Such conduct by or toward any employee, contract worker, customer, vendor or anyone else who does business with Mindful Leader will not be tolerated.

Prohibited Conduct

Mindful Leader prohibits harassment of any kind, including sexual harassment, and will take appropriate and immediate action in response to complaints or knowledge of violations of this policy. For the purposes of this policy, sexual or other unlawful harassment or discrimination includes any verbal, physical, or visual conduct based on sex, race, age, national origin, disability or any other legally protected basis if:

submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an  individual’s employment or engagement; submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for decisions concerning that individual’s employment or engagement; or it creates a hostile or offensive work environment.

Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and lewd, vulgar, or obscene remarks, jokes, posters, or cartoons, and any unwelcome touching, pinching, or other physical contact. Other forms of unlawful harassment or discrimination may include racial epithets, slurs, and derogatory remarks, stereotypes, jokes, posters, or cartoons based on race, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or other legally protected categories. Prohibited harassment also includes the transmission of materials such as cartoons, jokes, or links to offensive materials online using Mindful Leader’s electronic communications system, or through other online conduct.

Treating any employee, learner, or individual differently or unfairly because of the characteristics listed above is also prohibited. Unlawful discrimination includes conduct that is based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics, or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics. All Company employees, other workers, and representatives are prohibited from engaging in unlawful discrimination. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, discipline, compensation, benefits, and termination of employment.

Complaint Procedure

Employees or contract workers who feel that they have been harassed or discriminated against, or who witness any harassment or discrimination by an employee, contract worker, customer, vendor, or anyone else who does business with Mindful Leader, should immediately do the following:

If you feel comfortable enough to do so, tell the person engaging in the harassing and/or discriminating behavior that his or her actions are not welcome and they must stop.

Report the incident verbally or in writing to your supervisor/manager, and/or another supervisor with whom you feel comfortable or Human Resources if you are an employee. If you are a learner at Mindful Leader, report the incident in writing to the Instructor or Course Manager.  

If you are an employee and the incident is committed by your supervisor/manager, report the incident verbally or in writing to another supervisor with whom you feel comfortable or Human Resources.

If you are a learner and the incident is committed by your Instructor, report the incident to your Course Manager. If the incident is committed by your Course Manager, report the incident to another Mindful Leader Employee or your Instructor. 

Report any additional incidents or retaliation that occur to your supervisor/manager, and/or another supervisor with whom you feel comfortable, or Human Resources.

Any Course Manager or supervisor who observes, or receives a report of, any form of unlawful harassment, discrimination, or retaliation for conduct protected by this policy, must promptly report the conduct to Human Resources so that an investigation can be conducted and, if appropriate, remedial action can be taken.

Any reported incident will be investigated by qualified personnel in a fair, impartial, timely, and thorough manner that provides all relevant parties with the opportunity to be heard and to present any information they think is relevant or important for consideration, and that allows Mindful Leader to reach reasonable conclusions based on the information collected. In responding to and taking action to address a complaint, Mindful Leader will be as discrete as reasonably possible under the circumstances and will maintain the confidentiality of the matter to the extent reasonably possible, subject to its obligation to conduct a full and fair investigation. Mindful Leader will take appropriate action to stop and remedy any and all such conduct, including interim measures during a period of investigation. The investigation will be completed in a timely manner, after which Mindful Leader will inform the complaining party of the conclusions reached concerning the complaint.

You may find more information and lodge complaints regarding harassment, discrimination, and retaliation by contacting the offices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or on their website at the following URL: https://www.eeoc.gov/discrimination-type

Retaliation Prohibited

Mindful Leader will not allow retaliation against anyone who makes a complaint under this policy. Employees and contract workers are protected by law from retaliation for opposing or reporting unlawful harassment or discrimination, or for otherwise participating in processes connected with an investigation, proceeding, or hearing conducted by Mindful Leader or a government agency with respect to such complaints. Mindful Leader will take disciplinary action up to and including immediate termination of any employee who retaliates against another employee, learner, or contract worker for engaging in any of these protected activities. Contract workers will be subject to termination of their engagement with Mindful Leader for engaging in retaliation.

Violations of Policy

Any employee or contract worker who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of his or her employment or engagement. To the extent a customer, vendor, or other person with whom Mindful Leader does business engages in unlawful harassment or discrimination, Mindful Leader will take appropriate corrective action to address that situation.

Any employee who has questions about this policy or requires further information on the subject of sexual or other harassment or discrimination should contact the Human Resources Department.

Consensual Romantic or Sexual Relationships

Mindful Leader strongly discourages romantic or sexual relationships between a manager or other supervisory employee and an employee who reports directly or indirectly to that person, and romantic or sexual relationships between an instructor and a learner, because such relationships tend to create compromising conflicts of interest or the appearance of such conflicts. In addition, such a relationship may give rise to the perception by others that there is favoritism or bias in employment decisions affecting the staff employee. Moreover, given the uneven balance of power within such relationships, consent by the staff member or learner is suspect and may be viewed by others, or at a later date by the staff member or learner, as having been given as the result of coercion or intimidation. The atmosphere created by such appearances of bias, favoritism, intimidation, coercion or exploitation undermines the spirit of trust and mutual respect that is essential to a healthy work and learning environment. If there is such a relationship, the parties need to be aware that one or both may be moved to a different department or class, or other actions may be taken.

If any employee of Mindful Leader enters into a consensual relationship that is romantic or sexual in nature with an employee who reports directly or indirectly to that employee, or if one of the parties is in a supervisory capacity in the same department in which the other party works, the parties must notify Human Resources or an appropriate supervisor. Because of potential issues regarding quid pro quo harassment, Mindful Leader has made reporting mandatory. This requirement does not apply to employees who do not work in the same department or to parties where neither one supervises or otherwise manages responsibilities over the other.

If an instructor employed by Mindful Leader enters into a consensual relationship that is romantic or sexual in nature with a learner in their class or cohort, or if the partner of an instructor wishes to enroll in their class or cohort, the parties must notify Human Resources or the Course Manager. Because of potential issues regarding quid pro quo harassment, Mindful Leader has made reporting mandatory. This requirement does not apply to learners taking a class not taught by the instructor with which they have a romantic or sexual relationship. 

Once the relationship is made known to Mindful Leader, the company will review the situation with human resources in light of all the facts (reporting relationship between the parties, effect on co-workers, learners, job titles of the parties, etc.) and will determine whether one or both parties need to be moved to another job, class, cohort, or department. If it is determined that one party must be moved, and there are jobs in other departments available for both, the parties may decide who will be the one to apply for a new position. If the parties cannot amicably come to a decision, or the party is not chosen for the position to which he or she applied, the HR director and/or senior management will decide which party will be moved. That decision will be based on which move will be least disruptive to the organization as a whole. If no other jobs are available for either party, the parties will be given the option of terminating their relationship or resigning.