NON-DISCRIMINATION AND ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY
Cleveland Yoga is committed to creating an environment in which all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. Everyone has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits unlawful discriminatory practices, including harassment. Therefore, Cleveland Yoga expects that all relationships among persons in our studio, in our classes, restrooms, common areas or in any of our programs, including teacher trainings and off-site events will be free of bias, prejudice and harassment.
Cleveland Yoga has developed this policy to ensure that its employees, teachers, and students can enjoy an environment free from harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Cleveland Yoga will ensure that any complaint in violation of such policies will be investigated and resolved appropriately. Cleveland Yoga will keep details regarding such an investigation confidential, to the extent possible. Corrective action will be taken for violations of this policy, up to and including termination of employment. Cleveland Yoga also reserves the right to cancel memberships of any student found in violation of this policy.
Equal Employment Opportunity
All employees and applicants for employment are judged on their merits. Cleveland Yoga is committed to providing an environment free of discrimination of any kind, and does not base any employment decisions on race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, religion, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, genetic information, military or veteran status, height, weight, or any other category protected under applicable federal, state, and local law.
Anti-Harassment
Cleveland Yoga strictly prohibit managers, employees, teachers, independent contractors, students, or others from harassing any other person because race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, religion, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, genetic information, military or veteran status, height, weight, or any other category protected under applicable federal, state, and local law. Harassment includes epithets, slurs, name calling, negative stereotyping, insults, intimidation, ridicule, threatening, intimidating or hostile acts, denigrating jokes, and display of written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group based on their protected characteristic. Petty slights, annoyances, and isolated minor incidents may not rise to the level of harassment.
Sexual Harassment and Misconduct
Cleveland Yoga does not tolerate sexual harassment in our studio, in our classes, restrooms, common areas or in any of our programs, including teacher trainings and off-site events. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, visual or physical conduct of a harassing nature will constitute harassment when a person involved feels compelled to submit to that misconduct in order to keep their position, to receive appropriate pay, or to benefit from certain employment decisions. If this type of misconduct interferes with an employee’s work or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, it may also be considered harassment.
Sexual harassment may take many forms. The following examples are intended to be guidelines and are not exclusive when determining whether there has been a violation of this policy:
• Innuendoes, suggestive comments, jokes of a sexual nature, sexual propositions, lewd remarks and threats
• Requests for any type of sexual favor (this includes repeated, unwelcome requests for dates)
• Verbal abuse
• Distribution, display or discussion of any written or graphic material that is sexual in nature or shows hostility towards someone because of sex, including calendars, posters, or cartoons
• Suggestive or insulting sounds
• Obscene gestures
• Written communications that are sexual in nature or hostile on the basis of sex, including text messages, e-mails, notes, and Internet postings or comments
• Unwelcome physical contact: including touching, tickling, pinching, patting, brushing up against, hugging, cornering, kissing, fondling, or forced sexual intercourse or assault
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Students, staff and all guests should avoid making comments on others' appearance that could be perceived as sexually oriented or suggesting an attraction. All persons should avoid making comments that idealize or assume a specific body type or image.
Courteous, mutually respectful, and non-coercive interactions between employees that are appropriate in the workplace and welcomed by both parties are not considered to be harassment.
Employees are encouraged, provided they feel comfortable doing so, to inform an individual whenever that individual’s behavior is unwelcome, offensive, in poor taste, or inappropriate.
Anti-Retaliation
We will not retaliate against any person for having reported or threatened to report harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or violations of policies, or for participating in an investigation into any of the foregoing. Anyone who retaliates against a person will be subjected to immediate dismissal.
Reporting Discrimination, Harassment and/or Retaliation
If you feel you have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation, please immediately report the matter directly to Tami Schneider or Samantha Garcia-Stiggers. Complaints in writing are preferred, but all complaints of discrimination will be investigated quickly and fairly. We will not tolerate retaliation of any kind for reporting instances of discrimination and/or harassment.
