When a harassment claim arrives, the first document the EEOC or TWC asks for is the policy. Its existence is not enough — the agency looks at whether it defined prohibited conduct, gave employees multiple ways to report, promised an investigation, and prohibited retaliation. An employer’s ability to defend itself often rises or falls on those elements.
This sample provides all of them: a policy statement grounded in Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code; a scope section covering employees, contractors, applicants, events, and communication platforms; definitions with examples of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; protected characteristics under Texas law; and the reporting, investigation, and corrective-action procedures that make the policy operational rather than decorative.
Who should use this policy template
- Texas employers writing their first formal harassment policy
- HR managers replacing a one-paragraph handbook mention
- Nonprofits and municipalities updating policies for current law
- Employers responding to a complaint who discover their policy is thin
What it helps prevent
- Harassment claims with no policy defense to point to
- Reporting procedures that dead-end at the accused supervisor
- Complaints about conduct at events or on messaging apps falling outside policy scope
- Retaliation exposure from managers who were never told what retaliation is
- Inconsistent investigation practices invented per complaint
What’s inside
- Policy statement and purpose with federal and Texas legal grounding
- Scope — employees, temps, contractors, applicants, vendors; premises, events, platforms
- Definitions and examples of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
- Protected characteristics under federal law and Texas Labor Code Chapter 21
- Reporting procedures with multiple channels
- Investigation, corrective action, and non-retaliation commitments
Before you process payroll, terminate, classify, deduct, or respond to a claim, get the decision reviewed.
Faulkner HR Solutions helps Texas employers, nonprofits, municipalities, and growing businesses fix the people systems behind recurring workplace problems. If this resource raised a risk flag, do not guess your way through the next step.