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Board Policies 4000 - Personnel
Board Policy 4185 - Workplace Bullying

Board Policy 4185 - Workplace Bullying

I.  Policy Statement

The Prince George’s County Board of Education is committed to an organizational culture of respect in Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). Members of the school community are expected to treat each other with civility and mutual respect, in recognition of the rich diversity that makes up our community.

The Board affirms its belief that any workplace bullying behavior is unacceptable and diverts organizational energy from the core mission of PGCPS. The prevention of workplace bullying, as well as the prevention of retaliation against individuals who report acts of workplace bullying, require a system-wide effort involving prevention, intervention, reporting, investigation and resolution.

II.  Purpose

This policy establishes a framework for preventing, addressing and correcting workplace bullying with processes to prevent, identify, report, investigate, and resolve instances of workplace bullying, with corrective actions, as needed.

III.  Definitions

For the purposes of this policy, the following definitions apply:

  1. Employee – a person employed by Prince George’s County Board of Education and/or Prince George’s County Public Schools for wages or salary, without regard or consideration to collective bargaining unit status.
  2. Good faith – Conduct that is honest or sincere based on information available at the time a report is submitted under this Policy.
  3. Humiliation - Conduct that causes an employee a painful loss of pride, self-respect or dignity.
  4. Intimidation - Conduct that forces an employee into or deters an employee from some action by inducing fear.
  5. Peer-to-peer conduct – Actions between employees who do not have managerial or supervisory authority over one another.
  6. Retaliation - The act of taking revenge or getting back at an employee for exercising his or her rights under this Policy.
  7. Subordinate-to-supervisor conduct - Actions by an employee against his/her manager or supervisor.
  8. Supervisor-to-subordinate conduct – Actions by an employee against another employee over whom he/she has managerial or supervisory authority.
  9. Threat - A statement or indication of an intent to harm or injure another
  10. Workplace Bullying - Repeated, deliberate, hurtful mistreatment, either direct or indirect, whether verbal, physical or otherwise, conducted by one or more employees against another employee or employees.

IV.  Standards

  1. Workplace bullying may include conduct that is:
  1. threatening or intimidating, occurring at the work place and/or in the course of employment via any means of communication, including electronic communication, social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.), on or off district premises;
  2. severe or pervasive alterations to the conditions of an individual’s working environment or work assignment;
  3. supervisor-to-subordinate, peer-to-peer or subordinate-to-supervisor conduct; or
  4. acts of humiliation, intimidation, sabotage of work performance and related conduct that adversely impacts an individual’s physical or psychological well-being, or work performance and advancement
  1. Employees are encouraged to report instances of workplace The Chief Executive Officer will develop an administrative procedure that implements the requirements of this Policy and provides the reporting process employees may use to submit reports to the Office of General Counsel or its designee.
  1. PGCPS may not take or refuse to take any personnel action as retaliation against an employee who in good faith files or provides information relating to a workplace bullying report in accordance with this Policy.

V.  Implementation Responsibilities

  1. The Chief Executive Officer will develop and implement training protocols for periodic and ongoing professional development designed to increase understanding and awareness of the prevalence, causes, and consequences of workplace bullying. Training will include guidance for supervisors and coworkers to identify workplace bullying, encourage reporting concerns to the appropriate authorities and to support affected employees.
  2. The Chief Executive Officer shall provide an annual report to the Board regarding the number of workplace bullying reports received; the number of reports resolved; trends or patterns among the reports; and recommendations on policy, procedure or practice changes to better address workplace bullying.
  3. In accordance with State law, applicable policies, procedures and negotiated agreements:
  1. The Chief Executive Officer will take appropriate disciplinary action against any employee who is found to have committed an act of workplace bullying, or an employee who is found to have retaliated against another employee for filing in good faith a workplace bullying The discipline may include warning, reprimand, suspension, transfer, demotion or termination of employment.
  2. The Board will act in a quasi-judicial capacity to make rulings in cases of employee appeals.

VI.  References

Board Policy 0109 - Fraud, Waste and Abuse Board Policy 0125 - Nondiscrimination

Administrative Procedure 2200 - Fraud, Waste and Abuse and Whistleblower Protection Administrative Procedure 4170 - Discrimination and Harassment

Administrative Procedure 4176 – Employee Dispute Resolution

VII.  History

Policy Adopted 6/25/20

About This Policy

Updated June 25, 2020

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