DC Government will not tolerate any acts of unlawful discrimination or harassment. The District will lead by example, and is committed to providing employees, contractors, and the public with a safe environment.
Under the DC Human Rights Act, it is unlawful for an employer or employee in the District to create a hostile environment based on any protected characteristic covered in the law.
The DC Department of Human Resources will ensure that every DC Government employee is clear about the expectations, policies, and laws relating to unlawful discrimination or harassment. To do this, DCHR:
- Distributed the updated Mayor’s Order;
- Identified a Sexual Harassment Officer (SHO) at every agency to investigate allegations of sexual harassment;
- Trains all employees on related laws and policies; and
- Provides response training for all managers and supervisors.
Sexual harassment violates the District's values, the DC Department of Human Resources takes all claims of harassment seriously, and will remain committed to providing a safe working environment for all employees.
About the Order
On December 18, 2017, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an updated Mayor’s Order on sexual harassment that discusses, among other things, what constitutes sexual harassment, how to report and respond to sexual harassment, and various protections available to employees involved in a sexual harassment complaint. All District Government employees have received a copy of this policy and have received clear guidance that sexual harassment is strictly prohibited in District government.
Copies of the Mayor’s Order putting forward this enhanced policy is attached at the bottom of this page.
How to File a Complaint
If you are a victim of sexual harassment, you need to file a report with your Agency's Sexual Harassment Officer (SHO). Below is a list of agency SHOs.
DC Victim Hotline
Complainants of sexual assault or other possible crimes should contact the DC Victim Hotline. The Hotline, 1-844-443-5732, is available 24/7 by telephone, text or online chat to seamlessly connect victims of crime to free resources to help them navigate the physical, financial, legal, and emotional repercussions of crime. In particular, through the Hotline, victims may be matched with an advocate who can help them decide whether to pursue a matter through the criminal justice process.
Training
Mandated Compliance Training
To access the Harassment Prevention course for managers/supervisors and employees, please follow these instructions to log in to dchr.percipio.com.
The assigned specific Harassment Prevention course(s) will appear under "Assignments/Compliance" in Percipio on your landing page to access and complete.
- Harassment Prevention for US Employees-Office 1 (WBT)
- Harassment Prevention for US Managers – Office 1 (WBT)
For specific instructions on accessing Percipio from a desktop or electronic device, please click on the following User Navigation Video link.
Desktop Percipio User Navigation
Percipio Mobile App User Navigation
DCHR will provide ongoing technical support to agencies to ensure full compliance with the employee and manager/supervisor courses. Additionally, DCHR will offer instructional troubleshooting access to the Percipio courses through the designated Training Coordinator (TC) and Human Resources Advisor (HRA). If your agency requires additional support to ensure training is completed by January 31, 2022, contact the Center for Learning and Development Percipio Helpdesk at [email protected] or Kristina Savoy, Associate Director for the Center for Learning and Development at [email protected].
Sexual Harassment Training (this area is only accessible to DC government employees on the DC wide area network)