SSC DD Employee Handbook
Any employee of the Company involved in discriminatory practices is subject to disciplinary action, up to and
including termination.
Policy Against Harassment and Discrimination
The Company expressly prohibits any form of unlawful harassment of and/or unlawful discrimination against
employees and co-workers based on race, color, religion, creed, gender, sexual preference, national origin, age,
veteran status, the presence of handicaps or disabilities, or any other legally protected characteristic or status.
What Is Harassment and Discrimination?
Harassment is making derogatory comments or telling jokes about someone's age, color, race, religion, sexual
preference, national origin, disability, sex, and/or other verbal, physical and visual behavior; to trouble, worry or
torment someone on a persistent basis.
Discrimination occurs when a person or group of people are treated differently from another person or group of
people.
Discriminatory Harassment is the verbal or physical conduct or visual material that denigrates or shows hostility
toward an individual based on his or her connection in a protected class and that creates an intimidating working
environment.
Employees have the right to be free from harassment on the job, either from co-workers, supervisors, managers,
vendors, or customers. Harassment, including sexual harassment, is prohibited by state and federal anti-
discrimination laws where (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of
employment; (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment
decisions affecting such individual; or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of interfering with an individual’s
work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. All employees are
prohibited from engaging in the harassment of any employee and/or customer in the course of conducting business,
on or off the Company’s premises.
Our policy strictly prohibits inappropriate or unwelcome sexual, physical, verbal, or non-verbal behavior in the
workplace involving employees and/or customers. We consider the following conduct a representation of the types
of inappropriate acts that may violate our policies, even though they may not constitute illegal conduct. This list is
not all-inclusive. It should be used as a guideline only. Company policies prohibit:
• jokes, teasing, comments, or conversations about another person’s race, color, religion, creed, gender, sexual
preference, national origin, age, veteran status, the presence of handicaps or disabilities, or any other legally
protected characteristic or status.
• gossiping or complaining about another employee “behind their back”.
• intentional physical conduct that is sexual in nature, such as rubbing a person’s shoulders or any pinching,
patting, grabbing, or brushing against another person’s body;
• intentional physical conduct that is not sexual in nature, such as hitting or pushing;
• threatening or implying that “sexual cooperation” will have an effect on employment or on compensation,
advancement, or any other condition of employment;
• displaying sexually explicit or suggestive materials;
• repeated unwelcome flirtation, advances, propositions, or requests to date;
• looking someone up and down or staring at them suggestively;
• speaking about another person’s or one’s own sexual experiences; or
Responsibility
All company employees, and particularly Managers, have a responsibility for keeping their work environment free of
harassment and discrimination. Any employee, who becomes aware of an incident of harassment and/or
discrimination, whether by witnessing the incident or being told of it, must report it to their immediate supervisor or
to someone in the Human Resources Department with whom they feel comfortable. When management becomes
aware that harassment and/or discrimination might exist, they are obligated by law to take prompt and appropriate
action, whether or not the victim wants the Company to do so.