P-26 Anti-Bullying

HELEN M. PLUM MEMORIAL LIBRARY

P-26 Anti-Bullying [FORMERLY P-27]
Adopted by the Library Board of Trustees, January 10, 2017.

Helen Plum Library prohibits acts of harassment or bullying in order to create the safe environment that is necessary for employees to be successful and productive. Bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both an employee’s ability to positively contribute to the Library on a day-to-day basis and the Library’s ability to successfully serve our community.

“Bullying” is conduct that meets all three of the following criteria: 

• is directed at one or more employees;
• substantially interferes with work/prevents work from being accomplished; and
• adversely affects the ability of an employee to contribute in a positive manner in the workplace by placing the employee in reasonable fear of physical harm and/or by causing emotional distress.

Examples of bullying behavior may include, but are not limited, to: 

• spreading malicious rumors, gossip, or innuendo about another employee •    excluding or isolating someone socially
• consistently intimidating an employee
• undermining or deliberately impeding a person's work
• physically abusing or threatening abuse
• removing areas of responsibilities without cause
• constantly changing work guidelines
• establishing impossible deadlines that will set up the individual to fail
• withholding necessary information or purposefully giving the wrong information making jokes of a harassing nature by spoken word or e-mail
• intruding on a person's privacy by pestering, spying, or stalking
• assigning unreasonable duties or workload which are unfavorable to one person (in a way that creates unnecessary pressure)
• underwork - creating a feeling of uselessness
• criticizing a person persistently or constantly
• routinely belittling a person's opinions (i.e., disagreeing with a person’s opinions in a manner that suggests the person is incapable of forming an educated opinion or that the person’s opinions are not as important as compared to others).
• unwarranted (or undeserved) punishment
• blocking applications for training, leave, or promotion
• tampering with a person's personal belongings or work equipment.

All employees have a responsibility to stop bullying in the workplace. Bystander support of bullying can encourage further bullying; therefore, the organization prohibits both active and passive support for acts of bullying. Employees are encouraged to report acts of bullying to the appropriate person as described below. 

An employee who believes that he or she has experienced or witnessed bullying is encouraged to report the incident(s) as soon as possible to his or her supervisor or, if the supervisor is involved in the complaint, their supervisor’s supervisor. A supervisor who receives a report under this policy must immediately inform the Director unless the complaint involves the Director, in which case the supervisor should inform the President of the Board of Trustees. Reports may be made anonymously, but formal disciplinary action may not be based solely on the basis of an anonymous report.

The library Director will conduct a prompt, thorough, and complete investigation of each alleged incident, and will create a report detailing the incident(s) as well as the resolution.

The Library prohibits reprisal or retaliation against any person who reports an act of bullying. The Library prohibits any person from falsely accusing another of bullying.

An employee found to have violated this policy may be disciplined up to and including termination of employment.