Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
The Company is committed to providing equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals. Employment decisions will be made by the Company based on merit, qualifications, and abilities. The Company does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of veteran status, uniformed servicemember status, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age (40 and over), pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin or ancestry, citizenship or immigration status, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including testing and characteristics), or any other characteristic protected by applicable state, federal or local laws, including, but not limited to, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The Company will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act, religious accommodation requests under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, or pregnancy accommodation requests under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act unless doing so would result in an undue hardship.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, access to benefits and training.
In support of its commitment to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities, the Company provides training regarding its policies forbidding discrimination, harassment and retaliation to all employees, including its supervisors and managers. This training includes guidance on the requirements of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and other related laws and topics. The Company also evaluates the performance of supervisory and managerial employees based, in part, on their compliance with the Company’s Equal Employment Opportunity and Unlawful Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Policies.
From time to time, the Company may modify its Equal Employment Opportunity and Unlawful Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Policies. Each time these policies are modified, the Company will disseminate the modified policies to all employees.
Unlawful Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Policy:
The Company fosters and strives for a working environment where every employee feels productive and comfortable. It the Company’s policy and belief that all employees are entitled and able to work in a professional setting free from all forms of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
Discrimination:
It is a violation of Company policy and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to make any decision regarding any term or condition of employment based on based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin or ancestry. It is also a violation of Company policy and applicable laws to discriminate based on age, physical or mental disability, citizenship or immigration status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable state, federal or local laws.
Any employee found to have violated the Company’s policy forbidding discrimination will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination from employment. Such discipline will be documented in the offending employee’s personnel file.
Harassment:
Harassment can take many forms but is typically verbal or physical conduct that demeans or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of their veteran status, uniformed servicemember status, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age (40 and over), pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin or ancestry, citizenship or immigration status, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including testing and characteristics) (referred to throughout this policy as local, state, and/or federal protected classes) and that:
- Has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment;
- Has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance;
- Otherwise adversely affects an individual’s employment opportunities.
All such harassment is forbidden by the Company. Harassing conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Epithets, slurs, negative stereotyping, demeaning comments or labels, or threatening, intimidating or hostile acts that relate to local, state, and/or federal protected classes; and
- Written or graphic material that demeans or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group because of local, state and/or federal protected classes and that is displayed on walls, bulletin boards, computers or other devices, or elsewhere on the employer’s premises, or circulated in the workplace.
Any employee found to have violated the Company’s policy forbidding harassment will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination from employment. Such discipline will be documented in the offending employee’s personnel file.
Sexual Harassment:
Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination and may include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature, when such conduct creates an offensive, humiliating, hostile or intimidating working environment and prevents an individual from effectively performing the duties of their position. It also encompasses such conduct when it is made a term or condition of employment or compensation, either implicitly or explicitly, and when an employment decision is based on an individual’s acceptance or rejection of such conduct. Sexual harassment is not limited to persons of opposite sex — Both the victim and harasser can be of the same sex.
All sexual harassment is forbidden by the Company. Any employee found Sexually harassing conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Sexual jokes, calendars, posters, cartoons, magazines, derogatory or physically descriptive comments about or toward another employee;
- Sexually suggestive comments and slurs;
- Unwelcome touching or physical contact; and
- Negative sexual stereotyping, demeaning comments or labels, or threatening, intimidating or hostile acts that relate to sex.
Any employee found to have violated the Company’s policy forbidding sexual harassment will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination from employment. Such discipline will be documented in the offending employee’s personnel file.
Retaliation:
Retaliation occurs when an employee is punished, mistreated or harassed for engaging in a protected activity, including complaining of or reporting unlawful discrimination, harassment or retaliation pursuant to the Company’s Reporting Procedure, filing a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, exercising a right under any state or federal law prohibiting discrimination or harassment, or participating in, assisting with or providing testimony in an investigation of a complaint of discrimination, harassment or retaliation, including internal Company investigations or an investigation conducted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
It is a violation of Company policy, as well as applicable laws, for any employee to retaliate against any other employee for engaging in a protected activity.
Any employee found to have violated the Company’s policy forbidding retaliation will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination from employment. Such discipline will be documented in the offending employee’s personnel file.
Reporting Procedure for Suspected Discrimination, Harassment or Retaliation:
Employees who believe they or other employees have been subjected to discrimination, harassment or retaliation are encouraged to and should report their concerns to the Company’s HR Team, to a member of the Company’s Leadership Team or through the Company’s Employee Relations Hotline. Such employees should immediately report their concerns, verbally or in writing, in the language of the employee’s choosing. Compliance with the Company’s Reporting Procedure is necessary to ensure that the Company can effectively and appropriately investigate and respond to any such complaints and honor its commitment to provide a workplace free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
Reporting:
To report suspected discrimination, harassment or retaliation to the Company’s HR Team, an employee may:
- Call 205-251-0566 Extension: 10451
- Send an email to [email protected]; or
- Mail a written complaint to Security Engineers, Inc., ATTN: HR Department, P.O. Box 10231, Birmingham, Alabama 35202.
To report suspected discrimination, harassment or retaliation to a member of the Company’s Leadership Team, an employee may email the Executive Leadership Team at [email protected].
Complaints can also be reported via the Company’s Employee Relations Hotline which is (888) 408-7576.
The Company will not store or maintain any documentation or data relating to the employee’s report of discrimination, harassment or retaliation in the employee’s personnel file.
Investigation:
Upon receiving reports of discrimination, harassment or retaliation, the Company will conduct a prompt, fair and reasonable investigation. The investigation will be conducted by the Company’s HR Team or a member of the Company’s Leadership Team, any of whom will have received training on investigating allegations of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. The investigation will be conducted in accordance with the Company’s Serious Incident Investigations Guidelines.
The Company will protect, to the extent possible, the confidentiality of employees who report or participate in the investigation of reports of discrimination, harassment or retaliation.
Retaliation against any employee who, in good faith, reports or participates in an investigation of a report of unlawful discrimination, harassment or retaliation will not be tolerated. Any employee found to have retaliated against an employee for reporting unlawful discrimination, harassment or retaliation will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a governmental agency that accepts and investigates charges of unlawful discrimination, harassment or retaliation free of cost. Employees can find additional information regarding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on its website at https://www.eeoc.gov.