Highland Park Brewery is committed to providing an environment where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. We are dedicated to providing a safe, ethical, and secure work environment. This means acting in a responsible and professional manner and upholding standards for our employees, customers, vendors, and members of the community. Below is an outline of our values at Highland Park Brewery. These are meant to be approached as foundational tenets in how we conduct our work.

Our Values

Quality – Pursuing the highest standards in our work and products.

Innovation – Continuously seeking diversity of thought and collaboration to keep our pursuits, products, and business evolving.

Care – Actively contributing to the quality of life and betterment of our community through social and environmental stewardship.

Zero Tolerance Policy

Highland Park Brewery holds a zero tolerance policy. We prohibit harassment or discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We recognize that the only way an employer can achieve its goal of providing a discrimination-free and harassment-free work environment is with the assistance of its employees. Highland Park Brewery and its employees must therefore be partners in the commitment to provide a work environment that is free of unlawful discrimination and harassment.

Policy Against Unlawful Harassment

Highland Park Brewery is committed to providing a workplace free of sexual harassment (which includes harassment based on gender, pregnancy, childbirth, orrelated medical conditions), as well as harassment based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by the state or federal employment discrimination laws. This policy applies to all agents and employees of the employer, including supervisors, managers, coworkers, and non-supervisory employees, and to nonemployees and third parties with whom an employee comes into contact, who engage in unlawful harassment in the workplace. It also extends to harassment of or by vendors, independent contractors, and others doing business with the employer.

Furthermore, it prohibits unlawful harassment in any form, including verbal, physical and visual harassment, and prohibits retaliation of any kind against individuals who file complaints in good faith or who assist in a Company investigation. Violations of this policy will re- sult in corrective action, up to and including termination and referral of potentially criminal acts to government authorities.

Harassment Defined

Harassment includes, but is not limited to, verbal, physical, and visual conduct that creates an intimidating, offensive, or hostile working environment or that interferes with an employee’s work performance. Such conduct constitutes harassment when (1) submission to the conduct is made either an explicit or implicit condition of employment; (2) submission or rejection of the conduct is used as the basis for an employment decision; or (3) the harassment interferes with an employee’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

Harassing conduct can take many forms and may include, but is not limited to, the following: slurs, jokes, statements, gestures, assault, impeding or blocking another’s movement or otherwise physically interfering with normal work, pictures, drawings, or cartoons, based upon an employee’s sex, race, color, national origin, religion, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, family care or medical leave status, veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal or state laws.

Sexually harassing conduct in particular may include all of these prohibited actions, as well as other unwelcome conduct, such as requests for sexual favors, conversation containing sexual comments, sexual coercion, and other unwelcome sexual advances. Sexually harassing conduct can be by a person of either the same or another sex.

Policy Against Bullying and Other Abusive Conduct

Employees may not take any action that constitutes unlawful discrimination or harassment of any employee, job applicant, unpaid intern or volunteer. In addition, bullying or abusive conduct is prohibited. This consists of conduct in the workplace that occurs with malice or any other form of inappropriate intent that is hostile or offensive and unrelated to the Company’s legitimate business interests. Examples of abusive conduct that are prohibited include:

  • repeated infliction of verbal abuse, such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets;
  • verbal or physical conduct that is threatening, in- timidating, or humiliating, and;
  • the gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a per- son’s work performance.

Unless it is especially severe and egregious, a single, isolated act will not be considered abusive conduct.

Employees should also understand that this policy is not intended to alter the at-will policies that exist.The mistreatment or insensitive treatment of others in the workplace may result in disciplinary action, up to and possibly including termination, even if it does not rise to the level of bullying or abusive conduct.

Reporting and Investigating Harassing Conduct

Highland Park Brewery understands that victims of harassment are often embarrassed and reluctant to report acts of harassment for fear of being blamed, concern about being retaliated against, or because it is difficult to discuss sexual matters openly with others. However, no employee should have to endure harassing conduct, and Highland Park Brewery therefore encourages employees to promptly report any incidents of harassment so that corrective action may be taken.

Any incidents of harassment, including work-related harassment by any Company personnel or any other person, should be reported to a manager or ownership, who are responsible for investigating harassment complaints. Additionally, Highland Park Brewery has contracted with WeVow, an anonymous tip option for reporting incidents completely confidentially. Highland Park Brewery encourages employees to write down all details of the incidents, including a description of the incident, any attempts to try to stop the harassment, the location, date, presence of any witnesses, and the effect the incident had on the employee’s ability to perform work duties. The employee may also go through the incident verbally with management or ownership, and with the employee’s consent, a contemporaneous written account or audio recording will be made.

Any employee or other person who believes they have been harassed by a coworker, supervisor, manager, agent of the employer or a nonemployee should promptly report the facts of the incident or incidents and the names of the individuals involved to management or ownership. It is the responsibility of each employee, independent contractor, and other person to immediately report any violation or suspected violation of this policy to one or more of the individuals identified above. Failure to do so may, in some circum- stances, result in discipline.The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing also accept complaints.

Supervisors should immediately report any alleged incidents of harassment to management or ownership, who will promptly investigate all such claims and take appropriate corrective action, including appropriate options for remedial actions and resolutions, such as possible disciplinary action, when it is warranted. If reporting to management is inappropriate under the circumstances, the report may be made to Robert Kunz. Failure to make a full and complete report will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination. A complaint will be designated as confidential, to the extent possible, but cannot be kept completely confidential. It will lead to a fair, impartial, thorough, and timely investigation by qualified individuals, documentation and tracking for reasonable progress and timely closure based on the evidence collected.The complaining employee will be provided with a written disposition at the conclusion of the investigation.

Employees should feel free to report claims and participate in any investigation without fear of retaliation of any kind. Employees will not be subject to retaliation for registering a complaint of unlawful harassment, retaliation or discrimination. If you have any questions concerning this policy, please feel free to contact any member of management.