Duties of Employers.
Section 17
SEC. 17. Duties of Employers. — Employers or other persons of authority, influence or moral ascendancy in a workplace shall have the duty to prevent, deter, or punish the performance of acts of gender-based sexual harassment in the workplace. Towards this end, the employer or person of authority, influence or moral ascendancy shall: (a) Disseminate or post in a conspicuous place a copy of this Act to all persons in the workplace; (b) Provide measures to prevent gender-based sexual harassment in the workplace, such as the conduct of anti-sexual harassment seminars; (c) Create an independent internal mechanism or a committee on decorum and investigation to investigate and address complaints of gender-based sexual harassment which shall: (1) Adequately represent the management, the employees from the supervisory rank, the rank-and-file employees, and the union, if any; (2) Designate a woman as its head and not less than half of its members should be women; (3) Be composed of members who should be impartial and not connected or related to the alleged perpetrator; (4) Investigate and decide on the complaints within ten (10) days or less upon receipt thereof; (5) Observe due process; (6) Protect the complainant from retaliation; and (7) Guarantee confidentiality to the greatest extent possible; (d) Provide and disseminate, in consultation with all persons in the workplace, a code of conduct or workplace policy which shall: (1) Expressly reiterate the prohibition on gender-based sexual harassment; (2) Describe the procedures of the internal mechanism created under Section 17(c) of this Act: and (3) Set administrative penalties.