The Foreign Service Journal, November 2016

54 NOVEMBER 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL NOTES FROM LABOR MANAGEMENT AFSA NEWS What Not to Say at the Office Holiday Party The festive month of Decem- ber is rapidly approaching—a time to celebrate the holidays, the year’s accomplishments and the start of 2017. Holi- day parties bring colleagues together for camaraderie, merriment, food and drinks. It is the latter action, drinking, that can often get employees into trouble. While enjoying alcoholic beverages or the relaxed atmosphere of an office party, employees may make comments that they believe are innocent, funny or light- hearted, but are received and internalized very differently. For example, a person may express to a female col- league,“I like your dress! You should wear dresses more often and show off those leg muscles.”Or a co-worker may quip,“You may not want that second round of pasta—look at your gut!” Employees may notice two colleagues “hitting it off” at a party and start to speculate on their relationship outside the office,“Keep your pants on tonight!” Parties with drinks flowing also tend to bring out more overt physical displays of affection amongst employees, with colleagues hugging each other, throwing their arms around one another, patting, kissing and other forms of physical friendliness. These employees may believe that their comments and actions are harmless, made in the context of a jovial party environment. However, an individual on the receiving side of such comments and actions may feel offended, embarrassed or harassed. While often such state- ments or gestures are made innocently enough (and may even have been made during a workday), the person receiv- ing the comment or contact may not welcome them. He or she may be embar- rassed by a remark about their physical appearance or be uncomfortable with exces- sive touching and hugging. These feelings of humilia- tion and harassment may be amplified if the person making the comment or gesture is a supervisor or senior official. Employees can be disci- plined for actions and com- ments made both during and outside working hours , which makes it more important to be mindful of comments you might make at holiday parties and “off-duty” events like the Marine Ball or a gathering organized by a colleague. It is also worth considering that a well-intended remark or squeeze of the shoulder may be considered inappropriate, or even harassment, by locally employed staff who interpret these actions through their own cultural lens. The department’s sexual harassment and discrimina- tory harassment policies are contained in 3 FAM 1520 . The Foreign Affairs Manual provi- sion specifically states that the department is committed to a workplace that is free from sexual and discrimina- tory harassment. Although innocently made, the examples above fall into the category of sexual or discrimi- natory harassment. Anyone in the department can report harassment to the Office of Civil Rights, and the department is obligated under the FAM to investigate all such claims. Furthermore, the FAM mandates that anyone in a supervisory position must report any harassment that they have witnessed or been advised about to OCR. Once OCR is alerted to a claim of harassment, the office will conduct an inves- tigation, which includes obtaining statements from the employees involved and witnesses. OCR then prepares a Report of Investigation, which is forwarded to the Bureau of Human Resources, Office of Employee Relations–Conduct, Suitability and Discipline and to the Diplomatic Security Office of Personnel Security and Suitability for review and action, if required. The department takes investigations and allegations of harassment very seriously. AFSA attorneys have seen a significant rise in disciplinary action stemming fromOCR investigations of harassment. The penalty for inappropriate comments, poor judgment and/or improper personal conduct can range from a Letter of Admonishment to suspension without pay. Disciplinary action can have serious consequences for your opportunity for tenure or promotion. A discipline letter remains in your performance file for one board review if you receive a letter of reprimand, two board reviews if you are proposed for a one- to-five day suspension; and the letter will stay in your performance file until you are next promoted if you receive a six-day suspension or more. Employees deserve to kick back with colleagues and enjoy the holiday season. Just be aware that a comment or action you make, while well-intentioned, innocent or meant to be humorous, may be received in the opposite manner and could be per- ceived (and reported) as harassment. If you have any questions, please review our website on EEO investigations www. afsa.org/eeo-investigation- guidance. If you are contacted by OCR about a harassment investigation, we recommend that you contact the AFSA Labor Management team f or advice or assistance. n —Neera Parikh, AFSA Senior Staff Attorney AFSA Senior Staff Attorney Neera Parikh. AFSA