5282P Procedure - Civility

 

This procedure is not intended to manage threatening or intimidating behavior which is serious enough to constitute harassment or to cause one to fear for his/her safety. Rather, it is meant to:

Civility requires treating others with dignity, respect, and making a good faith effort with regard to other’s feelings. Corrective actions may be taken by managers to enhance work performance. The language used to correct or reinforce work standards must be respectful and work related. Civility requires that even the most critical feedback be delivered respectfully, privately, and courteously.

Incivility deals with a broad range of behaviors. Generally, incivility is defined as behavior that would cause a reasonable individual to feel a sense of threat, cause undue stress, and/or cause disturbances of good order. Incivility can be subtle or overt. It may be a single event or may involve a continuing series of incidents and may involve the abuse of authority or position. Incivility may be unintended or deliberately directed at another individual. In any case, the impact on that individual is what must be addressed.

Examples of incivility include, but are not limited to:

Incivility does not include the expression of controversial or differing viewpoints that may be offensive to some persons, so long as:

These guidelines do not apply to concerns of discrimination or discriminatory harassment that are covered under Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action (FPS Policy 5010) or Sexual Harassment of District Staff (FPS Policy 5011).

 

In all cases, employees who believe they have been treated with incivility will be urged to resolve their concerns through simple, direct, or assisted communication with the person(s) at the source of the concern by following the steps outlined below:

 

Step 1: Within two days of the incident, the employee should speak directly and respectfully with the individual, in an appropriate time, place, and manner, seeking to resume communications on a civil basis.

 

Step 2: At any time after Step 1 has been attempted, if civil discussion and/or behavior cannot be resumed, the employee should document the incivility in writing and report the incident to an immediate supervisor or building administrator.

 

Step 3: The supervisor/administrator will facilitate a conversation between the staff member and the individual(s) perceived to be responsible for the incivility. Such a facilitated conversation should aim to resolve and repair the situation. Should there be no mutual agreement towards restoration, the staff members will discuss expectations of civility and requirements for achieving civil exchanges in the future. Written documentation of the meeting will be kept in the supervising administrator’s working file for each affected staff member until the end of the year unless further issues arise.

 

Step 4: At any time after Step 3 has been attempted, if it is determined that civil communications and appropriate problem-solving cannot be restored between/among the individuals affected, the employee’s supervisor should help the employee to establish requirements for further communications (i.e., the presence of a specified third person, restrictions on physical access to the employee’s work space) in order to protect the employee’s rights. The supervisor may also suggest such additional resources as mentoring, specific training, and/or written materials that address the employee’s needs.

 

Step 5: At any time after Step 4 has been implemented, if incivility toward an employee becomes chronic or escalates, disciplinary action and/or legal remedies and interventions (including contacting law enforcement) may be warranted.

 

The Executive Director of Human Resources may be used as a resource at any point during this process.

 

Additionally, at any point, a mutually agreed upon facilitator can be used to support this process.

 

No retaliation will be tolerated against individuals for working in good faith under this policy and its related procedures to resolve concerns.

 

Training opportunities will be provided as needed to ensure the district’s policy and procedure on civility are implemented in the district. The purpose of civility training is to: