Title
Review, approve, and adopt the following proposed revised policies: Nondiscrimination Policy, Language Access and Effective Communication Policy, and Sexual Harassment Policy.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors review, approve, and adopt the three proposed revised policies: Nondiscrimination Policy, Language Access and Effective Communication Policy, and Sexual Harassment Policy.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The Civil Rights Office recommends that the Board of Supervisors review, approve, and adopt the recommended revised Nondiscrimination Policy, Sexual Harassment Policy, and Language Access and Effective Communication Policy. These policies are up for revision based on the approved revision date found in the current Board Policy Manual.
All three policies were made available for a one-week employee comment and feedback window to allow County of Monterey employees to participate in shaping equitable and reasonable policies. Although the number of respondents was minimal in comparison to the workforce, the feedback received was valuable. The Civil Rights Office was not able to adopt all suggestions that were made; however, many of the proposed changes were integrated into the proposed revised policies presented here. The Civil Rights Office aspires to integrate employee feedback in this way for policy revisions in the future.
Additionally, the Civil Rights Office adopted gender-neutral language throughout all three of the presented policies.
Nondiscrimination Policy
The County's Nondiscrimination Policy was last updated in 2018. The policy was reviewed for legal compliance and the proposed Nondiscrimination Policy includes minor changes for clarity, some of which were highlighted during the comment and feedback window. This includes updated names of agencies, such as updating the name for the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to the recently adopted name of Civil Rights Department.
Sexual Harassment Policy
The ...
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