American Apparel Managers - A U.S. T-shirt retailer has revealed a new policy on sexual harassment, which bars it's managers and subordinates from having relationships.
The new American Apparel sexual harassment policy unveiled on Wednesday comes only a month after the company's founder and CEO Dov Charney was fired over a series of allegations of misconduct with female employees.
The new policy bars all forms of "discriminatory slurs, or any other remarks, jokes or conduct that, in the judgment of the Company, create an offensive or hostile work environment or otherwise constitute abusive conduct."
Additionally, the new policy especially prohibits American Apparel managers from casual dating or engaging in a sexual relationship with any subordinate.
"No management level-employee may make sexual advances, welcome or unwelcome, toward any subordinate, regardless of whether the subordinate reports to the management employee, either directly or indirectly," the code read.
"Employees who fail to report a personal and/or romantic relationship as required by this policy will be subject to discipline. While confidentiality cannot be guaranteed, Human Resources will handle such disclosures in a discreet manner," the policy read.
The news of the American Apparel new sexual harassment policy is not very surprising considering the fact that the company made a loss of $19.2 million in the third quarter of last year. Around the same time, Mr. Charney was being investigated for sexual harassment accusations, which came from employees.
"It would not be appropriate for Mr. Charney to be reinstated as CEO or an officer or employee of the company," an American Apparel statement read in December regarding the dismissal it's founder.
According to reports, several employees are still rallying for Dov Charney to be brought back. They deny the accusations as much as the accused himself who described them as 'baseless'.
Many of these employees are American Apparel managers and other low-level staff who post anonymous messages of support for Charney.
"Without Dov Charney, you've not just assumed the reigns of a fielding powerhouse, but you've extracted a vital pillar which keeps the brand afloat," an employee wrote in a statement online."It is not normal that a CEO is involved in daily business as much as Doc is, he knows what's happening on the other side of the world and stays in contact with even the smallest employees."
