INTIMIDATION OF OTHER STAFF MEMBERS

Employees of HEC should under no circumstances, threaten, intimidate, or exploit other workers by word or deed, or engage in behaviors that infringe on the rights, privileges and responsibilities of one’s colleagues. If an employee feels that s/he is the victim of intimidation or harassment s/he should report this immediately to his/her supervisor.

DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR

Employees of Hillcrest should under no circumstances engage in activities with colleagues or students that lead to physical or psychological harm, or in which there is a high risk of harm, including but not limited to carrying intoxicants or weapons of any type while on duty.

WEAPONS

Carrying a weapon or concealing a weapon on agency property, or in one’s vehicle on agency property, or at agency-related events, whether on-duty or otherwise, is prohibited and may lead to termination of employment.

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE POLICY

HEC strives to maintain a safe work environment for all students, staff and visitors and to prevent workplace violence. Accordingly, HEC has adopted the following guidelines to deal with intimidation, harassment, and acts or threats of violence that may occur on HEC property or otherwise involve an HEC employee.

All employees must treat others with courtesy and respect at all times. Employees are expected to refrain from verbal or physical fighting, “horseplay”, or other conduct that might be dangerous or otherwise injurious or harmful to others. Firearms, weapons, and other dangerous, hazardous, or illegal devises or substances are prohibited from the premises of HEC, any location where the employee is on-duty, or in the presence of students at any time.

Conduct that threatens, intimidates, or coerces another employee, student, visitor, vendor or the public occurring at any time, including off-duty periods, will not be tolerated. Any such conduct may result in discipline up to and including termination of employment.

Employees must immediately report all acts or threats of violence, both direct and indirect, as soon as possible to their immediate supervisor or a member of management at HEC. This provision includes threats by and/or directed to employees, students, visitors, vendors or members of the public. When reporting a threat of violence, employees should be as specific and detailed as possible.

HEC promptly and thoroughly investigates all reports of actual or potential threats, violence, or other inappropriate conduct. Employees should raise concerns and make reports without fear of reprisal or retaliation of any kind. No employee will be subject to any form of retaliation or discipline for lodging any good-faith report of actual or potential workplace violence. In the course of handling reports, HEC will strive to maintain confidentiality to the extent practicable under the circumstances.

HEC encourages employees who apply for or obtain a protective or restraining order to notify
Human Resources.

Anyone determined to be responsible for acts or threats of violence or other conduct that is found to be in violation of these guidelines may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including immediate termination of employment.

LOST KEY POLICY – EXTERIOR DOORS

All campuses have lock and key systems for exterior doors to insure the safety and security of our staff and students. Lost or stolen keys present an immediate security risk to the entire campus community. Replacement of these keys is costly and time consuming and staff will be held accountable for keys signed out to them. Keys are considered property of HEC. Generally, loss of HEC keys by staff is addressed as follows:

• Should you lose a key, you will receive a written warning.
• Should you lose a key a second time, you will be suspended without pay for one day.
• Should loss occur again, the staff may be demoted or terminated.
• If you lose a key and find it within 24 hours, you must immediately report this to the
Program Director or designee.
• If you find the key later than 24 hours after reported loss, the disciplinary action will be
upheld.

If your employment with HEC should end, you will be required to return your key prior to your
last day of employment. Failure to do so may result in a deduction in your final check to offset the
costs associated with replacing the locks and/or distributing new keys.

SAFETY

At HEC student, staff and visitor safety are of primary concern.
Each work site has a Safety Committee. Staff are encouraged to participate in these committees
and to report any unsafe conditions or ideas regarding safety to their supervisors.

STAFF PARTICIPATION IN STUDENT ACTIVITIES

High profile/large participant activities should be supervised by a member of the Campus
Administration whenever possible.

Activity leader and participating staff will take the time (10 minutes) to warm up and stretch major muscle groups prior to the start of the activity.

Staff are required to attend the activities of their assigned students and to actively supervise students during all activities. Staff are not compelled to physically participate as players in sports related activities with students, but if staff chooses to play in the sport, they must engage in preparation for the sport (stretching, pre-teaching, etc.) with the students. Staff participating in sports related activities at any level is limited to therapeutic role modeling. Staff are not to engage in direct competitive athletic endeavors against students or other staff members.

Seasonal rules should be posted, when possible, in specific activity areas (i.e., softball rules/behaviors – softball field).

Emphasize:
• Therapeutic, not competitive environment
• Warm-up and stretching prior to activities.
• Pre-Teach – game & campus rules, expected behaviors, and hot tips to avoid behavioral pitfalls (i.e., use minimum equipment necessary).