scope:

Purpose

a. The overarching goal of the Anti-Harassment Program is to provide for early intervention and prompt resolution of allegations of harassing conduct. This NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) document establishes Agency-wide procedural requirements under which NASA employees, contractors, student interns, participants in Agency conducted programs, and other onsite personnel shall report allegations of harassing conduct. NASA has an affirmative obligation to maintain a harassment-free workplace and to take prompt and effective action when allegations of harassment arise. The NPR identifies roles and responsibilities for the coordination of anti-harassment efforts at the Agency and Center levels and provides guidance and instruction to NASA supervisors and managers on receiving, coordinating, reviewing, processing, and resolving allegations of harassing conduct. It is the Agency's intent to appropriately investigate and address a wide variety of alleged behaviors. While this NPR outlines one process of investigation and resolution for behaviors that may be deemed harassing, the Agency's goal is simply to ensure that employee concerns are addressed. The deciding official will determine, in conjunction with advice from the Center Anti-Harassment Team (CAHT) (see Section 1.8), to determine which process is best suited to address any individual allegation of harassment.

b. These procedures will assist NASA in fulfilling its obligations to:

(1) Provide a harassment-free workplace.

(2) Address harassment before it becomes "severe or pervasive."

(3) Conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into allegations of harassing conduct.

(4) Take immediate and appropriate corrective action when the Agency determines that harassing conduct has occurred.

(5) Provide a mechanism for coordinating resolution of employee complaints brought to management's attention, even if the alleged behaviors do not rise to the level of harassment pursuant to this NPR.

c. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its Management Directive (MD)-715, which requires that model EEO programs issue policies and procedures to address harassment in the Federal workplace. In its technical assistance document, "Model EEO Programs Must Have An Effective Anti-Harassment Program," EEOC directs Federal agencies to create work environments that are free from sexual and other forms of harassment. EEOC further states that anti-harassment policy and procedures do not exist for the same purposes as the EEO complaints process. The EEO complaints process is designed to make individuals whole for discrimination that already has occurred. For example, where discrimination is found to have occurred, make-whole relief may include damage awards and equitable relief paid by the Agency, designed in part to have the effect of preventing the recurrence of the unlawful discriminatory conduct. The internal anti-harassment process, on the other hand, is intended to take immediate and appropriate corrective action, including the use of disciplinary actions, to eliminate harassment regardless of whether the conduct violated the law.

d. This directive encompasses:

(1) conduct that is unwelcome, verbal or physical, regardless of whether it is based on an individual's race, color, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, status as a parent, genetic information, gender identity, or retaliation, when: (a) the behavior can reasonably be considered to adversely affect the work environment or (b) an employment decision affecting the employee is based upon the employee's acceptance or rejection of such conduct (see definition of "harassment," Appendix A).

(2) This directive is not intended to be the exclusive avenue for individuals to raise workplace concerns or issues, for example, other avenues include the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, Ombudspersons, and the Employee Assistance Program. The CAHT will advise management on whether to use the process established under this NPR or another internal administrative process, with the deciding official making the determination as to which process to use.

(3) A non-exhaustive list of illustrative examples of behavior inconsistent with NASA's anti-harassment policy include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Threatening that rejection of sexual overtures will affect appointments, promotions, transfers, or evaluations or affect any other employment-related actions.

(b) Making sexually suggestive comments or gestures, including offensive comments, jokes, or suggestions about an employee's gender or displaying nude or sexually suggestive objects, pictures, images, or cartoons.

(c) Belittling persons based on protected characteristics identified in (1) above, including repeated jokes, teasing, mimicking, or commenting on an individual's protected characteristic;

(d) Retaliating against an employee who raises a harassment allegation.

(e) Bullying, intimidating, or threatening behavior.

(4) This policy is not intended to cover matters delegated under other authorities, for example, allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse, which should be reported to the Office of Inspector General; concerns relating to security or clearance matters, which should be reported to the Office of Protective Services; misconduct, which should be reported to the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer; or other concerns for which an existing administrative mechanism exists (e.g., such as performance appraisals).

e. The process established under this NPR specifies management's obligation to address a claim of harassment regardless of whether the alleged harassee requests that the allegations be kept confidential or that no action be taken.

Applicability

a. This directive is applicable to NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers. This language applies to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center only to the extent specified or referenced in the applicable contracts. The Office of the Inspector General has statutory independence and may create a separate anti-harassment procedure that more effectively meets its needs.

b. In this directive, all mandatory actions (i.e., requirements) are denoted by statements containing the term "shall." The terms: "may" or "can" denote discretionary privilege or permission, "should" denotes a good practice and is recommended, but is not required, "will" denotes expected outcome, and "are/is" denotes descriptive material.

c. In this directive, all document citations are assumed to be the latest version unless otherwise noted.

d. This directive is applicable to NASA directives developed or revised after the effective date of this NPR.