United States Department of Agriculture

Office of the Secretary 

Washington, D.C. 20250

April 29, 2021

USDA

ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY STATEMENT

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse, 

and inclusive workforce free of discriminatory harassment. In accordance with requirements 

established by the U.S. Supreme Court1, this policy applies to USDA employees in their working 

relationship with Federal employees, non-Federal employees, and the public. It also applies to 

contractors and individuals employed under other formal agreements with USDA.

All employees and contractors must help to prevent workplace harassment and take 

immediate and appropriate action when it occurs. I am committed to addressing harassing 

behavior at the earliest possible stage to avoid or limit potential harm to any employee before 

it rises to the level of unlawful harassment.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) based harassment is unwelcome conduct based on race, 

color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age (40 years of age or older), genetic information, 

sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, or retaliation for previous EEO activity. Marital 

status, familial and/or parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, and/or 

political beliefs are additional protected classifications covered by other Federal laws and 

authorities.

Harassment based on a protected classification becomes unlawful when tolerating the offensive 

conduct (verbal or physical) becomes a condition of continued employment, or the conduct is 

severe or pervasive and creates a work environment a person would consider intimidating,

hostile, or abusive. The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a coworker, or someone who is not an employee, such as a client or customer.

Other forms of harassment (including bullying) include any form of unwelcome conduct, pervasive, 

persistent, and unsolicited verbal, non-verbal, written, or physical conduct that is offensive and could 

alter the affected employee’s terms and conditions of employment.

Harassing conduct, whether directed at an employee or non-employee, includes but isnot limited 

to:

• Engaging in sexual harassment, an egregious form of prohibited harassment and a form of 

sex discrimination. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome conduct such as sexual 

advances, requests for sexual favors or dates, unwelcome remarks about an individual's 

appearance, discussions, remarks, or jokes of a sexual nature, and other verbal or

physical harassment of a sexual nature.

1 In Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998), and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998).
• Using derogatory words, phrases, epithets, gestures, pictures, drawings, slurs, or cartoons not 

otherwise protected by the First Amendment's guarantee of the right to freedom of speech and 

the right to religious free exercise.

• Using electronic devices or forms of communication (computers, cellular telephones, tablets, 

internet, email, and/or other technological equipment) to intimidate, harass, demean, or 

degrade another (i.e., cyberbullying). 

• Retaliation against any individual for reporting matters under this policy, or for an individual's 

involvement in an inquiry related to such a report. 

• Using negative comments regarding employees age 40 and over.

USDA considers allegations of harassment to be very serious. Employees who witness 

harassment should immediately report it to their manager, supervisor, any management official 

in their office or agency, or their Anti-harassment Coordinator, if applicable, before the 

harassment becomes severe or pervasive in the workplace. Individuals who believe they have 

been subjected to or witnessed harassment in the workplace are encouraged to inform the alleged 

harasser directly the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. Employees should also report 

harassment to management at an early stage to prevent its escalation. Reports of harassment need 

not beinwriting or conform to aformat. Allegations of EEO and non-EEO based harassment will 

be addressed by a management inquiry or investigation. Allegations of EEO based harassment 

may also be addressed concurrently as an EEO complaint.

Managers and supervisors must maintain confidentiality, to the extent possible, regarding the 

identity of those individuals reporting allegations of harassing conduct, witnesses who provide 

information about allegations of harassing conduct, and individuals against whom allegations are 

made, consistent with the need to investigate alleged incidents of harassing conduct, as required 

under applicable laws, regulations, and policies. Management officials will take immediate and 

appropriate corrective action upon receiving notice of a harassment allegation. 

Management Inquiry

The management official receiving the allegation will:

• Immediately contact Human Resources, the Agency’s Anti-harassment Coordinator, if 

applicable, or Mission Area and Agency Civil Rights Director regarding all allegations of 

harassment. Reports of harassment must be investigated and addressed in a prompt, thorough 

and impartial manner. Confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible and allowed 

by law. 

• Promptly, thoroughly, and impartially initiate a management inquiry of the allegation of 

harassment within 10 calendar days of the initial report. If the management official receiving 

the allegation is not in the alleged perpetrator’s chain of command, the management official 

will refer the allegation to the official within the chain of command. Management may need 

to undertake immediate measures before completing the inquiry to ensure that further 

harassment does not occur. 

• Report allegations of sexual assault or sexual violence to law enforcement as required by 

Departmental Regulation 4200-001, Workplace Violence Prevention and Response Program. 
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Complaint

In addition to the process summarized above, individuals who believe they have been subjected to EEO 

based harassment, including sexual harassment, or retaliation, or any other form of discrimination on the 

basis of a protected classification, may also file an EEO complaint by contacting their Mission Area, 

Agency, or Staff Office EEO Counselor within 45 calendar days of the alleged incident. Failure to do so 

may result in dismissal of the EEO complaint for untimeliness. The expiration of the 45 calendar-day 

period does not preclude the individual from reporting the incident to a management official for a 

management inquiry. 

Any individual who reports harassment, initiates a harassment complaint, or provides information 

related to a harassment complaint or inquiry will not be subjected to retaliation before, during, or 

after the inquiry or complaint process. Moreover, any individual who fails to follow the procedures 

outlined in this policy will be subject to appropriate corrective and/or disciplinary actions.

Directions on filing a grievance related to harassment under the administrative grievance system, 

may be found in Departmental Regulation, 4070-771, Administrative Grievance System.

Additionally, bargaining unit employees may file grievances related to harassment under applicable 

negotiated procedures for their represented Mission Area or Staff Office.

Every effort will be made to provide all USDA employees with a copy of this policy statement 

and complaint procedure and redistributed annually. USDA is dedicated to ensuring a workplace 

free of all forms of harassment and discrimination, a workplace where we all can personally and 

professionally thrive while serving the American public

Thomas J. Vilsack 

Secretary