As representatives of Grand Rapids City Gym, all trainers and staff are held to the highest standards of professionalism, safety, and ethical conduct. Staff Members are expected to understand that their actions both inside and outside the facility — including on social media and digital platforms — reflect upon the Gym and are subject to this Agreement.

SECTION 1: PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES

Staff Members must maintain clear professional boundaries with all members at all times. The following conduct is strictly prohibited:

•Engaging in unwanted romantic, sexual, or flirtatious interactions with members, whether in-person, online, or outside the gym.

•Placing members in uncomfortable, coercive, or compromised positions through the exploitation of power dynamics inherent in a trainer-client or staff-member relationship.

•Initiating unwanted personal, romantic, or non-professional contact with members through any social media platform or digital channel.

•Continuing to contact a member after a message or communication has been left unanswered. Repeated contact following no response constitutes harassment and is a direct violation of this Agreement.

SECTION 2: COMMUNICATION STANDARDS

All communication with members must be respectful, appropriate, and fitness-related. The following conduct is prohibited in all forms of communication, including in-person, written, digital, and social media:

•Making comments on a member’s body outside of a professional coaching or injury-assessment context.

•Making jokes, remarks, gestures, or engaging in behavior that could reasonably be interpreted as sexual, suggestive, personal, or demeaning.

•Using gym communication systems, equipment, or platforms to pursue personal, sexual, or non-work-related conversations.

•Sending sexual, suggestive, or inappropriate texts, direct messages, emails, or digital content to members or coworkers.

•Sharing pornography, sexual memes, or offensive images through any workplace communication channel or group thread.

Staff Members are reminded that they represent Grand Rapids City Gym in all public-facing communications. Personal social media content that is unrelated to the Gym must be clearly separated from any professional trainer or staff identity associated with the Gym.

SECTION 3: HARASSMENT POLICY — DEFINITIONS & PROHIBITED CONDUCT

Grand Rapids City Gym maintains a zero-tolerance policy for harassment of any kind. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or training environment, or that affects employment decisions. The following non-exhaustive examples constitute violations of this policy:

3.1 Verbal Conduct

•Sexual jokes, stories, or comments about a person’s body, appearance, or perceived attractiveness.

•Inquiring about an employee’s or member’s sex life, relationships, or sexual orientation.

•Repeated requests for dates or personal interaction after being declined.

•Sexualizing comments about appearance (e.g., “You’d look hot in…”).

•Using sexual nicknames, pet names, or terms of endearment such as “baby” or “honey” in a workplace context.

•Making sounds, gestures, or remarks that are sexually suggestive or intended to demean.

3.2 Physical Conduct

•Any unwanted touching, hugging, rubbing, patting, grabbing, or pinching of any body part.

•Blocking a person’s movement, cornering, or intentionally invading personal space.

•Brushing against someone intentionally in a sexual or intimidating manner.

•Attempting to kiss or physically restrain another person without consent.

•Any physical contact that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, threatening, or sexually motivated.

3.3 Visual & Non-Verbal Conduct

•Displaying sexual images, memes, posters, screensavers, or other visual material in the workplace.

•Looking a person up and down in a sexualized, prolonged, or objectifying manner. Extended, deliberate staring at any part of a person’s body in a way that causes discomfort constitutes harassment.

•Making sexual hand gestures or facial expressions directed at another person.

•Sending or displaying sexually suggestive emojis, GIFs, or images through any channel.

3.4 Written & Digital Conduct

•Sending sexual, suggestive, or harassing texts, direct messages, or emails.

•Commenting sexually on a coworker’s or member’s social media connected to or visible through their work identity.

•Pursuing sexual or romantic conversations through workplace communication systems.

3.5 Quid Pro Quo Harassment (Power-Based)

It is a violation of this Agreement for any Staff Member in a position of authority to:

•Suggest or imply that promotions, favorable scheduling, raises, or other opportunities are contingent upon dating or sexual favors.

•Threaten discipline, unfavorable shifts, or termination as a consequence of rejecting personal or sexual advances.

•Make implied or explicit statements such as “You’d go further here if you were nicer to me” or similar.

3.6 Hostile Work Environment

Even when not directed at a specific individual, the following behaviors may constitute a hostile work environment and are prohibited:

•Regularly making or tolerating sexual jokes, commentary, or banter in a shared workspace.

•Ranking, rating, or discussing coworkers or members based on physical attractiveness.

•Discussing the bodies of members or coworkers in a sexual or demeaning context.

•Encouraging or normalizing a culture of flirting, sexual commentary, or behavior that causes discomfort to others.

•Dismissing legitimate complaints with statements such as “it’s just a joke” or “you’re being too sensitive.”

3.7 Retaliation

Retaliation against any person who reports harassment, files a complaint, or participates in an investigation is strictly prohibited and constitutes an independent violation of this Agreement. Retaliation includes but is not limited to:

•Disciplining, demoting, or altering the work conditions of a person who reported an incident.

•Excluding a person from meetings, communications, or opportunities following a complaint.

•Gossiping about, isolating, or otherwise targeting a person who has made a report.

SECTION 4: CREATING A SAFE & INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT

Every Staff Member is personally responsible for actively contributing to a gym culture that is safe, inclusive, and welcoming to all members regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or background.

•Staff must remain attentive to member comfort, particularly new members, minors, and individuals training alone.

•Staff who observe a member appearing uncomfortable, harassed, or unsafe are obligated to either intervene appropriately or report the situation to management immediately.

•Staff are held to a higher standard of conduct than general members. What may be acceptable among peers outside the workplace may not be appropriate in a professional gym environment.

•Minors present in the facility must be treated with an elevated duty of care. Any interaction with a minor that could be perceived as inappropriate must be avoided entirely.

SECTION 5: SOCIAL MEDIA & PUBLIC CONDUCT

Staff Members acknowledge that their public-facing conduct, including activity on social media platforms, reflects upon Grand Rapids City Gym and is subject to this Agreement when it involves the Gym, its members, or their identity as a Staff Member.

•Staff Members must clearly separate personal social media content from any content or identity associated with their role at the Gym.

•Posting, sharing, or commenting on content that is sexual, harassing, discriminatory, or otherwise unprofessional in a context connected to the Gym is prohibited.

•Staff Members may not post photographs, videos, or identifying information about members without explicit written consent.

•Staff Members who use their gym affiliation to market personal training services must do so professionally and in accordance with Gym policy.

SECTION 6: MANDATORY REPORTING

Any harassment, boundary violation, safety concern, or conduct contrary to this Agreement must be reported to management immediately upon becoming known. Staff Members who witness or become aware of a violation and fail to report it are themselves in violation of this Agreement.

•Reports may be made verbally or in writing to the Gym Manager or Owner.

•All reports will be treated confidentially to the extent permitted by law.

•Staff Members making good-faith reports will not be subject to retaliation.

•False or malicious reports made in bad faith are also a violation of this Agreement and may result in disciplinary action.

SECTION 7: ENFORCEMENT & DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Violations of this Code of Conduct will be addressed promptly and may result in one or more of the following actions, at the sole discretion of management based on the severity of the violation:

•Formal written warning and documented corrective action plan.

•Termination of employment or contractor engagement.

•Permanent removal from the facility.

•Referral to law enforcement where conduct constitutes a criminal offense.

Management reserves the right to bypass progressive discipline for severe violations including, but not limited to, physical assault, sexual assault, or conduct involving minors.

SECTION 8: Final Note

Staff Members are reminded: if you find yourself questioning whether a comment, action, or interaction might be inappropriate, that uncertainty itself is a warning sign. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and professionalism. It is always better to maintain stricter boundaries than to risk making a member or coworker uncomfortable or unsafe.