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Equal Employment Opportunity and Harassment Policies

1. Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

The Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI) is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity and are committed to making employment decisions based on merit and value. This commitment includes complying with all federal, state, and local laws providing Equal Employment Opportunities, as well as all laws related to terms and conditions of employment. We desire to maintain a work environment free of harassment or discrimination due to sex, race, religion, color, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship, physical or mental disability, marital status, familial status, ethnicity, ancestry, status as a victim of domestic violence, age, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws. Any individual at any time, even after separation of employment, who feels this policy has been violated, should use the reporting procedure established in the Section 4 below, How to Report a Violation of Policy.

2. Sexual Harassment Policy

MIRI prohibits sexual harassment of its employees and applicants for employment by any employee, non-employee, third party, or applicant. Such conduct may result in disciplinary action up to and including discharge. This policy covers all employees. MIRI will not tolerate, condone or allow sexual harassment, whether engaged in by fellow employees, supervisors, associates, or others who conduct business with MIRI. MIRI also will not tolerate harassment by employees of non-employees who conduct business with MIRI.

Sexual harassment is any behavior that includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or any other conduct of a sexual nature or that is gender based, when:

  1. submission to, or rejection of, such advances, requests or conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment or is used as a basis for employment decisions; or
  2. such advances, requests or conduct have the purpose or effect of substantially or unreasonably interfering with an employee’s work performance by creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

MIRI has a zero tolerance policy against any form of conduct that could constitute sexual harassment, regardless of whether such conduct rises to the level of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. Examples of conduct that violate this policy include verbal or written communications (epithets, derogatory statements, slurs, sexually-related comments, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors), physical actions (assault or inappropriate physical contact), or visual items (posters, cartoons, and drawings).

No manager or supervisor shall threaten or imply that an employee’s refusal to submit to sexual advances will adversely affect that person’s employment, compensation, advancement, assigned duties, or any other term or condition of employment or career development. Sexual joking, lewd pictures, and any conduct that tends to make employees of one gender “sex objects” are prohibited.

MIRI employees are entitled to work in an environment free from sexual harassment and a hostile or offensive working environment. We recognize sexual harassment as unlawful discrimination, akin to conduct that belittles or demeans any individual on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sexual preference, age, disability, or other similar characteristics or circumstances. Any individual at any time, even after separation of employment, who feels this policy has been violated should use the reporting procedure established in the Section 4 below, How to Report a Violation of Policy.

3. Anti-Harassment Policy

In addition to prohibiting sexual harassment, MIRI also prohibits harassment of any employee based on an individual’s sex, race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, physical disability, mental disability, marital status, familial status, military status, veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or any other personal attribute protected by federal, state, or local law. Harassing an employee may be grounds for immediate discharge. Managers, supervisors, coworkers, and third parties with whom employees come into contact are prohibited from engaging in unlawful conduct under the FEHA.

While it is not easy to define what harassment is, examples include verbal (including improper joking or teasing), or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion towards an employee because of his or her sex, race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital status, familial status, status as a victim of domestic violence, ethnicity, ancestry, or any other personal attribute protected by federal, state, or local law. An employee may be disciplined for violating this policy by engaging in such conduct, regardless of whether it rises to the level of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment Any individual at any time, even after separation of employment, who feels this policy has been violated, should use the reporting procedure established in the Section 4 below, How to Report a Violation of Policy.

4. How to Report a Violation of Policy

If you believe that someone has violated any employment policy (whether or not the alleged violator is a co-worker, manager, supervisor, contributor or third party), you should bring the matter to the immediate attention of MIRI’s Chief Operating Officer or Executive Director, who will promptly investigate the facts and circumstances of any claim of perceived harassment or discrimination in a manner which is timely, impartial, and documented. To the extent possible, MIRI will endeavor to keep the complaining employee’s concerns confidential. In the event you have not received a satisfactory response within ten (10) days after reporting any incident of what was perceived to be harassment or discrimination, immediately contact the Board Chair.

If misconduct is found after investigation, appropriate remedial measures will be taken.

No employee will be subject to, and MIRI prohibits any form of discipline or retaliation for, reporting violations of MIRI’s policies, including reporting incidents of harassment or discrimination in violation of MIRI’s employment policies, pursuing any such claim or cooperating in the investigation of such reports. MIRI is committed to enforcing these employment policies against all forms of harassment and discrimination. The effectiveness of our efforts, however, will depend largely on your telling us about inappropriate workplace conduct. If you feel that you or someone else may have been subjected to conduct which violates these policies, you should report it immediately. If employees do not report such conduct, MIRI may not become aware of possible violations of these policies and may not be able to take appropriate corrective action.

Retaliation is a serious violation of these policies and should be reported immediately. Any person found to have retaliated against another individual for reporting discrimination or harassment will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Download a copy of these policies here.