ANSWER: The policy of the State of North Carolina is that no State employee may engage in conduct that falls under the definition of unlawful workplace harassment.  All employees are guaranteed the right to work in an environment free from unlawful workplace harassment and retaliation.

ANSWER: The purpose of this policy is to establish that the State of North Carolina prohibits unlawful workplace harassment of State employees, and to require that every agency subject to the State Personnel Act establish policies and programs to ensure that work sites are free from unlawful workplace harassment.

ANSWER: Unlawful workplace harassment is unwelcomed or unsolicited speech or conduct based upon race, sex, creed, religion, national origin, age, color, or handicapping condition as defined by G.S. 168A-3 that creates a hostile work environment or circumstances involving quid pro quo.

ANSWER: No, one or more of the factors identified above must exist in order for the harassment to be considered unlawful.

ANSWER: No, again, the Unlawful Workplace Harassment Policy applies only when an employee has been harassed on the basis of race, sex, creed, religion, national origin, age, color or handicapping condition. However, an employee who has been discriminated against on the basis of political affiliation is covered under G.S. 126-34.1. This statute states that an employee may file in the Office of Administrative Hearings a contested case under Article 3 of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes when that person has a grievance concerning a denial of employment, promotion, transfer, training, or concerning a demotion, reduction in force, or termination due to discrimination based on age, sex race, color, national origin, religion, creed, political affiliation or handicapping condition as defined by G.S. 168A-3.

ANSWER: A hostile work environment is one that both a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive and one that the particular person who is the object of the harassment perceives to be hostile or abusive. Other circumstances, including the frequency of the alleged harassing conduct, its severity, whether it is physically threatening or humiliating, and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee's work performance must be considered.

ANSWER: Quid pro quo harassment generally consists of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, or (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual.

ANSWER: Retaliation is adverse treatment which occurs because of opposition to unlawful workplace harassment.

ANSWER: Yes, as stated earlier, the State's policy guarantees employees the right to work in an environment free from unlawful workplace harassment and retaliation.

ANSWER: Former employees, full-time or part-time employees with either a permanent, probationary, trainee, time-limited permanent or temporary appointment.

ANSWER: No, applicants are not covered under the State statute, but are covered under other State and Federal Civil Rights Acts.

ANSWER: The employee must submit a written complaint to the employing agency within 30 calendar days of the alleged harassing action.

ANSWER: The employing agency shall provide a written response to the employee within 60 calendar days from the receipt of the written complaint.

ANSWER: After the agency's 60 calendar day response period has expired, the employee may appeal directly to the Office of Administrative Hearings and the State Personnel Commission within 30 calendar days if not satisfied with the agency's response to the complaint.

ANSWER: Yes

ANSWER: An employee may file charges with the EEOC within 300 days of the discriminatory act.  However, the clock starts ticking as soon as the employee files a complaint with the employing agency. If an employee takes 30 days to file a complaint with his/her agency and the agency takes 60 days to respond to the employee's complaint, then the employee has 210 days to file a complaint with the EEOC should he/she not be satisfied with the response from the employing agency.  Therefore, an employee who has an unlawful complaint may want to consider filing a complaint with the EEOC at the same time he/she files with the employing agency.

ANSWER: Yes, the employee has the right to bypass any step in the applicable agency procedure involving review of or decisions by the alleged harasser.

ANSWER: (1) When an employee has a grievance concerning a denial of employment, promotion, training, or transfer, or concerning a demotion, layoff, transfer or termination due to discrimination based on age, sex, race, color, national origin, religion, creed, political affiliation or handicapping condition as defined by G.S. 168A-3.  (2) When an employee has a grievance based on retaliation for opposition to alleged discrimination.

ANSWER: No, EPA employees are exempt from coverage by any policy stemming from the State Personnel Act.  However, they may be protected from unlawful harassment and other discriminatory practices under State and Federal Civil Rights Laws and Statutes.