Code of Conduct

We want Bloom to be a safe, welcoming, and inclusive culture. Everyone at Bloom should be able to do their best work in an environment that is respectful and kind. We also want our team and workplace culture to reflect and celebrate the diversity of the communities we serve.
This Code of Conduct summarizes anti-harassment law and Bloom policy. We use plain language whenever possible to promote a culture of inclusion and respect.
We expect all Bloom employees and contractors to exhibit these behaviors and abide by applicable federal, state/provincial, and local laws.
What we expect and why
We strive to create an open, inclusive, and thoughtful culture that empowers people to provide outstanding service for our partners, clients, and members of the public who use what we build. It would be impossible to list everything staff can do to create a welcoming space, and we know this team will find ways to include their colleagues that we haven't even thought of. When in doubt, we encourage you to look to these principles for guidance:

• Practice empathy. Try to treat others how they would like to be treated.
• Bring care and curiosity about others’ experiences and how your actions impact them.
• Be respectful of different opinions and viewpoints. Share your ideas and opinions, even if they're different from the majority. Our work depends on divergent as well as convergent thinking.
• Give and accept constructive feedback with generosity.
• When you make mistakes or find that your actions have affected someone negatively, accept responsibility and make amends. When you know better, do better.
• Ask questions and listen carefully and actively.
• Assume competence in your colleagues, clients, and the public.
• Bring humility about the limitations of your own experience and perspective.
• Treat others’ identities and cultures with respect. Make an effort to say people's names correctly and refer to them by their stated pronouns.

We have a variety of communication tools and forums, including Slack, Zoom, Google Meet, and in-person events, and our code of conduct applies in all of them.
We encourage everyone at Bloom to help uphold our expectations for inclusive, welcoming, and professional behavior. If someone makes a mistake or misspeaks, tell them clearly, kindly, and directly. Follow appropriate escalation paths to work towards resolving conflicts or issues constructively. If you need support in giving feedback to a coworker, talk to your manager.
Unacceptable behavior
We do not tolerate unwelcome verbal, written, visual, or physical conduct based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, parental status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national orientation, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, military status, or ethnicity. This is called harassment (including sexual harassment), and it is both illegal and against Bloom policy. Discrimination is also illegal and undermines Bloom’s mission, values, and work.
The following behaviors violate Bloom policy and undermine our culture of respect, regardless of whether they rise to the legal definition of harassment:
Touching people without their affirmative consent
Sustained disruption of meetings, talks, or discussions, including online
Mocking someone’s real or perceived accent or first language
Repeatedly interrupting or talking over other people in meetings
Negative or offensive remarks based on gender expression, mental illness, socioeconomic status or background, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, or body size
The use of sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind
Trolling, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
Making assumptions about others’ intelligence or ability based on appearance, accent, or education
Using emojis and memes for unacceptable behavior
Violence of any kind
It's impossible to name every action or all words that could be interpreted as harassment. The examples listed here aren't an exhaustive list of objectionable behavior. Make a point of paying attention to others' reactions and stated requests and preferences, respecting their wishes, and treating them in a professional manner. Whenever possible, we want to help each other be kinder, more generous humans while forging a positive culture together.
Integrity
We have a duty as a partner, vendor, and subcontractor to responsibly care for the intellectual property, security, and integrity of our work. If you become aware of any irregularities indicating actual or suspected loss, fraud, embezzlement, or similar impairment of funds or property, or other suspicious activity, it is your responsibility to report it to a member of the management team.
Similarly, if you question the propriety of a transaction or activity that involves Bloom or employees/contractors of Bloom, or a client, talk to your manager or People Ops.
Violations
If you believe someone (a coworker, manager, partner, or even a client) is violating the code of conduct, report the violation to any manager or, if you prefer, to safespace@bloomworks.digital. While we can’t hold partners and clients accountable to our code of conduct, we do want to know if their behavior or actions are not to our standards so we can support you and have the context we need to choose who we work with.
We may ask you some questions to better understand the scope of the violation. In non-harassment situations where direct feedback hasn’t been tried and might resolve the issue (such as interrupting a few times in meetings), we may work with you to try that first. For harassment or sustained issues, we will include People Ops immediately and open an investigation.
We will protect the confidentiality of employees who report harassment or participate in a harassment investigation as much as we can. We expect participants in the investigation to be discreet and respect the confidentiality of the process.
Employees will not be punished for reporting discrimination or harassment, or for participating in any investigation (either internal or by a state or federal agency). Retaliation for asserting Equal Employment Opportunity rights is illegal.
If you believe that you have experienced or witnessed retaliation, you should immediately report your concern to a manager, People Ops, or Bloom’s owners. Any employee who engages in retaliation will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, as well as possible legal consequences.
Managers must report any suspected harassment or retaliation to People Ops. Reports of suspected harassment will be acknowledged and assigned a point person within 3 business days. When Bloom receives a report of suspected harassment, here’s what we do:
Designate a person in Bloom leadership (director-level or above) as a point person. This must be someone not named in the allegation. Ideally, this person will not be in the affected parties’ reporting structures.
Investigate by gathering statements from those involved and witnesses (written or in person). All employees are expected to cooperate fully in any investigation.
Determine consequences and next steps.
Whenever possible and appropriate, employees who file internal complaints will be notified about the status of their complaint, the results of the investigation, and any corrective or preventive action taken.
Any employee determined to be responsible for unacceptable behavior will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. We may also take additional steps to prevent further violations of this policy.
Some behaviors named in this Code of Conduct are illegal at the local, state, provincial, or federal level (particularly harassment, sexual harassment, and retaliation). In addition to employment consequences, offenders may also be personally liable, in the event of litigation, for damages, attorney's fees, and other costs of litigation.