Code of Conduct
Dancing Gnome is working towards building a safe place within our community for all genders, races, or backgrounds. We welcome everyone to support their neighborhood and respect the differences among their neighbors. Any acts of abuse, homophobia, misogyny, racism, or sexism displayed towards our staff or our patrons will not be tolerated. Those who can not respect and value others will be asked to leave the brewery. Let’s all be a part of the change that we want to see.
Dancing Gnome does not tolerate and prohibits discrimination, harassment or retaliation of or against our job applicants, contractors, customers, vendors or employees by another employee, supervisor, vendor, contractor or any third party on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military and veteran status, domestic violence victim status, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition as defined by applicable state or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. Dancing Gnome is committed to a workplace free of discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
Dancing Gnome is dedicated to ensuring the fulfillment of this policy as it applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities, and general treatment during employment. Dancing Gnome will update this Code of Conduct as necessary.
Discrimination Defined. Discrimination under this policy means treating differently or denying or granting a benefit to an individual because of the individual’s protected characteristic.
Harassment Defined. Harassment is defined in this policy as unwelcome verbal, visual or physical conduct creating an intimidating, offensive, or hostile work environment that interferes with work performance. Harassment can be verbal (including slurs, jokes, insults, epithets, gestures or teasing), visual (including offensive posters, symbols, cartoons, drawings, computer displays, or e-mails) or physical conduct (including physically threatening another, blocking someone’s way, etc.) that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion towards an individual because of any protected characteristic. Such conduct violates this policy. Because it is difficult to define harassment, employees are expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the intended purpose of this policy.
Sexual Harassment Defined. Sexual harassment includes harassment on the basis of sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression (including transgender status), and/or sexual orientation. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome conduct which is either of a sexual nature or which is directed at an individual because of that individuals’ sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression (including transgender status), and/or sexual orientation when:
- Submission to that conduct or those advances or requests is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment; or
- Submission to or rejection of the conduct or advances or requests by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting the individual; or
- The conduct or advances or requests have the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment, even if the individual is not the intended target.
Sexual harassment can be verbal (including slurs, jokes, insults, epithets, gestures or teasing), visual (including offensive posters, symbols, cartoons, drawings, computer displays, text messages, social media posts or e-mails) or physical conduct (including physically threatening another) that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion towards an individual on the basis of sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression (including transgender status), and/or sexual orientation. Such conduct violates this policy, even if it is not unlawful. Because it is difficult to define unlawful sexual harassment, employees are expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the intended purpose of this policy.
Examples of conduct that violates this policy include:
- unwelcome sexual advances, flirtations, advances, leering, whistling, touching, pinching, assault, blocking normal movement
- requests for sexual favors or demands for sexual favors in exchange for favorable treatment
- obscene or vulgar gestures, posters, or comments
- sexual jokes or comments about a person’s body, sexual prowess, or sexual deficiencies
- propositions, or suggestive or insulting comments of a sexual nature
- derogatory cartoons, posters, and drawings
- sexually-explicit e-mails or voicemails
- uninvited touching of a sexual nature
- unwelcome sexually-related comments
- conversation about one’s own or someone else’s sex life
- forwarding emails, texts, or other electronic messages of a sexual nature
- conduct or comments consistently targeted at only one gender, even if the content is not sexual
- teasing or other conduct directed toward a person because of the person’s gender
Retaliation Defined. Retaliation means adverse conduct taken because an individual reported an actual or perceived violation of this policy, opposed practices prohibited by this policy, or participated in the reporting and investigation process described below. “Adverse conduct” includes but is not limited to: shunning and avoiding an individual who reports harassment, discrimination or retaliation; express or implied threats or intimidation intended to prevent an individual from reporting harassment, discrimination or retaliation; and denying employment benefits because an applicant or employee reported harassment, discrimination or retaliation or participated in the reporting and investigation process described below.
All discrimination, harassment and retaliation is unacceptable, whether engaged in by a supervisor, co-worker, customer, contractor, vendor or other third party. This is true regardless of whether discrimination, harassment and retaliation occurs in the workplace, in another work-related setting, such as a business trip or a business-related social function, or even off-premises or off-hours, where the alleged offender is a supervisor, coworker, or non-employee with whom you are involved, directly or indirectly, in a business or potential business relationship.
Reporting Procedures. The following steps have been put into place to ensure the work environment at Dancing Gnome is respectful, professional, and free of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. If an employee believes someone has violated this policy or our Equal Employment Opportunity policy, the employee should promptly bring the matter to their direct report. If the complaint is against this individual or if an employee has not received a satisfactory response within five (5) business days, the employee should immediately contact Human Resources by emailing [email protected].
Every supervisor who learns of any employee’s concern about conduct in violation of this policy, whether in a formal complaint or informally, must immediately report the issues raised to Human Resources.
Investigation Procedures. Upon receiving a complaint, Dancing Gnome will promptly conduct a fair and thorough investigation into the facts and circumstances of any claim of a violation of this policy or our Equal Employment Opportunity policy. To the extent possible, Dancing Gnome will endeavor to keep the reporting employee’s concerns confidential. However, complete confidentiality may not be possible in all circumstances. Upon completion of the investigation, Dancing Gnome will determine whether this policy, or the Equal Employment Opportunity policy, has been violated based upon its reasonable evaluation of the information gathered during the investigation. Dancing Gnome will inform the Complainant of the results of the investigation.
Dancing Gnome will take corrective measures against any person who it finds to have engaged in conduct in violation of this policy, if the Company determines such measures are necessary. These measures may include, but are not limited to, counseling, suspension, or immediate termination. Anyone, regardless of position or title, whom Dancing Gnome determines has engaged in conduct that violates this policy will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination. This includes individuals engaging in sexual harassment and/or retaliation, as well as supervisors who fail to report violations of this policy, or knowingly allow prohibited conduct to continue. Individuals who engage in conduct that rises to the level of a violation of law can be held personally liable for such conduct.