Global Respectful Workplace and Harassment, Discrimination and Bullying Prevention Policy

Policy Owner: Legal Last Revised: July 27, 2022
Policy Authors: Senior Legal Counsel, Privacy & Employment Approved By: VP Talent & People & Head of Legal

Purpose

Sourcegraph is committed to ensuring everyone within Sourcegraph, and who interacts with Sourcegraph Teammates, feels welcomed and included regardless of their background. The purpose of this Global Respectful Workplace Policy (the “Policy”) is to be clear about the way all Teammates should treat each other and third parties who interact with Sourcegraph, and the remedies available in the event anyone feels they are not being treated with respect. **Sourcegraph treats allegations of harassment, discrimination and bullying seriously. **

All Teammates are owners of this policy, and it is every Teammate’s responsibility to support Sourcegraph’s commitment to ensuring a respectful workplace and preventing harassment, discrimination and bullying.

Scope

  • Who is Covered: This Policy applies to all Teammates globally (full-time, part-time, temporary, and independent contractors). It also applies to interactions between Sourcegraph Teammates and any third-parties (applicants, customers, vendors, suppliers, and partners).

  • Sourcegraph’s Workplace: As a globally-mobile, remote-first company, Sourcegraph’s workplace exists beyond the physical space where you work. Harassment, discrimination and bullying are prohibited in any location where you are working or Sourcegraph business is being conducted, where you are interacting with work colleagues, and where you are interacting with third parties in the scope of your (or their) work for or with Sourcegraph. This includes team and company offsites, conferences, customer/vendor meetings, and virtual spaces like Slack, text and email, among others. All of these places are considered the “Workplace” under this Policy.

Prohibited Conduct Under This Policy

The following sections define the categories of conduct prohibited by this Policy, in support of Sourcegraph’s commitment to ensuring a respectful workplace for all Teammates.

Harassment

Sourcegraph prohibits harassment of any kind, including sexual harassment, and will take appropriate and immediate action in response to good faith complaints or knowledge of alleged Policy violations.

  • What is harassment?

    Harassment includes all inappropriate and disrespectful conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, or otherwise unreasonably interferes with work performance. Harassment also includes any conduct designed to threaten, intimidate, or coerce. Any conduct considered harassment under local law is prohibited by this Policy.

    Prohibited harassment includes any unequal treatment of an individual in any aspect of employment based solely or in part on the individual’s protected category. Protected categories include: race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, protected medical leaves (requesting or approved for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the California Family Rights Act, or other local family leave law), domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or country law.

  • What is sexual harassment?

    Sexual harassment is harassment specifically based on sex or gender, and includes unwelcome verbal or physical conduct that is sexual in nature. Conduct can constitute sexual harassment even when it’s not motivated by sexual desire and regardless of the individuals’ gender or gender expression. It is irrelevant whether the victim is the same sex as the harasser or not. Conduct may constitute sexual harassment regardless of the individuals’ positions within Sourcegraph.

    Sexual harassment is generally categorized into two types: Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Work Environment.

    • Quid Pro Quo (“this for that”) sexual harassment exists when submission to sexual conduct is made explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or eligibility for an employment-related benefit, or when submission to or rejection of sex-related conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting the individual.
    • Hostile Work Environment sexual harassment exists when workplace conduct of a sexual nature or based on a person’s sex unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance and/or creates an intimidating, hostile or otherwise offensive work environment.

  • Conduct constituting harassment:

    Conduct constituting harassment, including sexual harassment, can be verbal or nonverbal, and may include the following examples (these examples are not exhaustive and other conduct may constitute harassment violating this Policy):

    • Racial slurs, derogatory remarks about a person’s accent, display of racially-offensive symbols;
    • Derogatory, demeaning or insensitive comments, jokes, pranks or remarks;
    • Displaying or distributing offensive posters, symbols, cartoons, drawings, computer displays or emails;
    • Physically threatening another person, blocking someone’s way, and unwelcome physical conduct (whether or not sexual);
    • Unwelcome sexual advances or requests for dates, kissing, groping or massaging;
    • Non-verbal behavior such as leering, whistling, and inappropriate gestures;
    • Unreasonably or unjustifiably excluding someone from normal workplace conversations or interactions, and making them feel unwelcome;
    • Intimidating, bullying or threatening;
    • Offensive comments about appearance or other personal or physical characteristics, such as sexually charged comments or comments on someone’s physical disability, race, ethnicity, age, or other characteristic;
    • Innuendos or veiled threats;
    • Threats or demands that a person submit to sexual requests as a condition of continued employment or to avoid some other negative consequence, and offers of work-related benefits in return for sexual favors; and
    • Any other conduct that shows hostility toward, disrespect for, or mistreatment of a person or class of people.

    “I was joking”, “I didn’t mean it that way”, “this is acceptable where I come from”, “no one has ever complained about this before” and other similar rationalizations are not excuses for harassment, nor is being under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

Discrimination

Sourcegraph prohibits discrimination of any kind and will take appropriate and immediate action in response to good faith complaints or knowledge of violations of this Policy.

  • What is discrimination?

    Discrimination is the unfair denial of equal treatment and opportunity to individuals or groups, with respect to the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, including discrimination based solely or in part on the individual’s protected category. Terms, conditions and privileges of employment may affect all aspects of employment, including but not limited to: hiring, firing, promoting, disciplining, scheduling, training, or deciding compensation. Any conduct considered discrimination under local law is prohibited by this Policy.

Bullying and Abusive Conduct

Sourcegraph prohibits bullying and abuse of any kind and will take appropriate and immediate action in response to good faith complaints or knowledge of Policy violations.

  • What is bullying and abusive conduct?

    Bullying and abusive conduct includes behavior that creates a risk to health and safety of others, including both physical and psychological safety. Bullying and abusive behaviors may take different forms and may be obvious or subtle. In order for conduct to rise to the level of bullying or abusive, it typically must be (1) malicious; (2) unwanted; (3) repetitive; (4) unreasonable; and (5) outside the scope of the company’s legitimate interests. Examples of workplace bullying may include the following:

    • Intimidating or undermining Teammates by demeaning their work standards, not giving them credit, setting them up for failure and constantly reminding them of old mistakes;

    • Threatening Teammates’ personal self-esteem and work status;

    • Unreasonably excluding or isolating Teammates from opportunities, information and interaction with others;

    • Sending aggressive communications; and

    • Any other malicious, abusive and repeated actions that are not within the company’s legitimate interests and contribute to creating a work environment that is not suitable for a reasonable person to perform their duties.

      These examples are not exhaustive and other conduct may constitute bullying or abusive conduct in violation of this Policy. Any conduct considered bullying under local law is prohibited by this Policy.

Retaliation

Sourcegraph prohibits retaliation of any kind and will take appropriate and immediate action in response to good faith complaints or knowledge of Policy violations.

  • What is retaliation?

    Retaliation is any adverse employment action taken against a Teammate because the Teammate engaged in activity protected under this Policy or applicable law. Protected activities may include (but are not limited to): reporting or assisting in reporting suspected Policy violations, cooperating in investigations or proceedings arising out of a violation of this Policy, or exercising a right under this Policy or applicable law.

  • What is an adverse employment action?

    Adverse employment actions include conduct that materially affects the terms and conditions of an individual’s employment status or is reasonably likely to deter a Teammate from engaging in a protected activity. Whether something constitutes an adverse employment action is considered based on the totality of the circumstances.

Expectations for Managers & Supervisors

As leaders in the company, managers and supervisors set the tone for Sourcegraph’s culture and play a critical role in ensuring all Teammates experience a respectful workplace. In addition to the obligation to report incidents, all Sourcegraph managers and supervisors must:

  • Foster a respectful work environment for your team(s), free of discrimination, harassment and bullying;
  • Read, understand and comply with this Policy and ensure your team understands and complies with this Policy;
  • Ensure that your team knows how to report complaints of known or suspected Policy violations;
  • Reinforce Sourcegraph’s commitment to No Retaliation, including by encouraging and supporting your team in making reports or participating in investigations, and never engaging in any form of retaliation;
  • Treating all Teammates fairly and reasonably, even if you know or believe they have made a complaint (and even if that complaint may be about you);
  • If necessary, take action to stop ongoing harassment, discrimination or bullying; and
  • Avoid investigating reports on your own – instead, promptly notify HR or Legal.

Reporting Suspected Misconduct Under this Policy

The company’s ability to maintain a respectful workplace and prevent prohibited conduct is directly tied to our knowledge of conduct that may violate this Policy. Teammates who believe they have experienced or witnessed a Policy violation, or otherwise have a good faith belief that a Policy violation has occurred, are strongly encouraged to report such conduct. Reports may be made in any of the following ways:

People Manager & Supervisor Reporting Obligations

People managers and supervisors who become aware of an actual or likely violation of this Policy, or who receive a complaint or allegation of a violation of this Policy must report the complaint to an appropriate member of the People Team or Legal, promptly and without delay. A manager’s or supervisor’s failure to comply with this reporting obligation is considered a violation of this Policy and may be subject to discipline, up to and including termination of your professional relationship with Sourcegraph.

Investigations

Sourcegraph will promptly investigate any reports of alleged Policy violations, reasonably and practicably based on the information provided, and with attention to ensuring due process for all individuals involved. Even absent a formal complaint, Sourcegraph may investigate where we have reason to believe that a Policy violation has occurred. It is up to Sourcegraph to determine whether and to what extent to investigate, regardless of the reporting Teammate’s preferences (meaning that a Teammate will not be able to withdraw a complaint once it has been made). When a report is made anonymously, Sourcegraph will determine based on the available information to what extent an investigation is appropriate and reasonable and proceed accordingly. Sourcegraph’s investigations will be conducted fairly, timely, and with impartiality by qualified personnel. If an alleged or suspected Policy violation is substantiated upon conclusion of an investigation, Sourcegraph will take appropriate remedial measures.

Reporting Outside of Sourcegraph

We strongly encourage Teammates to report suspected misconduct internally and allow Sourcegraph the opportunity to resolve the matter before filing a formal complaint. However, Teammates and applicants may also file formal complaints of discrimination or harassment with the applicable government agency if they choose to do so. Individuals who wish to pursue filing with these agencies should contact them directly for information on processes and time limits. U.S.-based Teammates can find contact information for their respective state government agencies here, or may make reports directly to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission here.

No Retaliation

We have a strict commitment not to retaliate and not to allow retaliation against any Teammates who make a good faith report of a suspected Policy violation, or participate in an investigation of a suspected violation of this Policy. We understand that sometimes Teammates will find it difficult to make reports or participate in investigations, and our commitment to no retaliation is intended to encourage Teammates to come forward and participate openly without fear of retaliation or retribution.

Importantly: it is a Policy violation for anyone to retaliate against a Teammate or applicant for making a good faith report, expressing an intent to report, or participating in an investigation. If you feel you have been retaliated against, or believe another Teammate has been retaliated against, such conduct should also be reported under this Policy so we may take appropriate action.

Confidentiality

When you make a report, we make best efforts to keep your identity confidential, except to the extent reasonably needed to investigate a report, take any necessary corrective action, or to comply with laws. If you are concerned about remaining anonymous, it is better to make an anonymous report through Convercent, than not to report at all. People who are asked to participate in an investigation may be directed not to discuss the matter with others, and the failure to comply with a confidentiality directive may result in disciplinary action.

Training

Sourcegraph Teammates are required to participate in respectful workplace training (including harassment, discrimination and bullying prevention), in accordance with applicable laws. The specific frequency and duration of required training varies, and different Teammates may be trained more or less frequently, based on their work location and role as a manager or supervisor. Questions about your training obligations should be directed to people-ops@sourcegraph.com.

Violations and Enforcement

Any Teammate found to have violated this Policy may be subject to appropriate disciplinary and/or corrective action, up to and including termination of the Teammate’s employment or other professional relationship with Sourcegraph, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Examples of disciplinary and corrective action may include (but are not limited to) letters of reprimand, suspension, demotion, final written warnings, last chance agreements, and termination. In some jurisdictions referral to an appropriate governmental authority for review for possible violation of local laws may also be required. Depending on the nature of the violation, civil liability could be imposed on the violator as well as Sourcegraph.

Changes to this Policy

Sourcegraph has the right to amend, change or update this Policy in its sole discretion and without prior notice, unless otherwise provided for by law. Nothing in this Policy constitutes an agreement for continued employment or modifies the nature of your employment or engagement with Sourcegraph, as provided in your offer letter or contract.

In the event of a conflict between this Policy and local laws, local laws control.

Contact

If you have any questions about this Policy, you can contact the People Team (people-ops@sourcegraph.com) or Legal (legal@sourcegraph.com).