Anti-Discrimination Policy

As a company that delivers learning experiences, we have a duty to be a living example of best practices. The Anti-Discrimination Policy is shared with our team, trainers, clients, and stakeholders. It is also publicly available on our website.

Our anti-discrimination policy explains how we prevent discrimination and protect our team, trainers, clients, and stakeholders from offensive and harmful behaviors. This policy supports our overall commitment to creating a safe and happy workplace for everyone.

The Training Refinery complies with all anti-discrimination laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). We explicitly prohibit offensive behavior, including derogatory comments about people of a specific gender or ethnicity.

Scope

This policy applies to all team members, trainers, clients, and stakeholders.

Policy Elements

Discrimination is any negative action or attitude directed toward someone because of protected characteristics, such as race and gender. Other protected characteristics include:

Age
Religion
Ethnicity or nationality
Disability or medical history
Marriage or civil partnership
Pregnancy, maternity, or paternity
Gender identity or sexual orientation
Discrimination and harassment

The Training Refinery’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies go hand-in-hand. We will not tolerate any kind of discrimination that creates a hostile and unpleasant environment for team members or clients.

This is not an exhaustive list, but here are some instances that we consider discrimination:

Making comments to repeatedly harass, threaten, or intimidate someone.
Comments that publish someone’s information as a call for others to harass them. This personal information may include their address, phone number, employer, email address, username, banking details, or information about their family members.
Unsolicited comments that are random or controversial are made in order to provoke emotion.
Comments that contain pornography, sexual language, or abusive language.
Language based on an ethnic or racial background, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability of a person or a group of people should not be made unless they are essential to the content of a conversation.

Team members who harass their colleagues will undergo The Training Refinery’s disciplinary process, and we may reprimand, demote, or terminate them based on the severity of the offense.

We recognize that discrimination can be unintentional, as we may all have unconscious biases that can be difficult to identify and overcome. If we conclude that a team member is unconsciously discriminating, The Training Refinery will support them through training and counseling and implement processes that mitigate bias, as outlined in the next section. However, if this person shows unwillingness to change their behavior, we may demote or terminate them.

We will not be lenient in cases of assault, sexual harassment, or workplace violence, whether physical or psychological. The Training Refinery will terminate team members who engage in such behavior immediately.

Actions to Prevent Discrimination

To ensure that our conduct and processes are fair and lawful, The Training Refinery:

Uses inclusive language whenever possible.
Sets formal, job-related criteria to hire, promote, and reward team members.
Makes every reasonable effort to accommodate people with disabilities.

We will also consider additional measures to prevent discrimination, such as organizing training on diversity, communication, and conflict management to improve collaboration among team members of different backgrounds.

What to Do in Cases of Discrimination

If you believe that you are the victim of discriminatory behavior, or if you suspect that others are being discriminated against, please contact the CEO of The Training Refinery as soon as possible. The CEO is responsible for hearing the claim, investigating the issue, and determining appropriate action.

If you decide to make a claim to a regulatory body, The Training Refinery is committed and legally bound not to retaliate against you.

How We Address Discrimination Complaints

The CEO of The Training Refinery is proactive and responsive in determining whether discrimination has occurred. For example, we:

Review similar claims involving the same individual or process to determine whether discrimination may be systemic.
Conduct discreet interviews and gather relevant information.
All claims are investigated confidentially. The Training Refinery will never disclose the identity of the individual making a complaint or share information that could reasonably identify them, such as their department or role.
We all share responsibility for preventing and addressing discrimination. Be mindful of implicit bias and speak up whenever you or your colleagues experience discrimination.