POLICY & PROCEDURES

Policies and Procedures to Prevent Sexual Harassment

La. R.S. 42:343 requires that all public servants receive a minimum of one hour of education and training each year on preventing sexual harassment and that each agency post on its web site its policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment. Below are the policies and procedures of the Acadia Parish Clerk of Court’s Office.

POLICY TO PREVENT SEXUAL HARASSMENT

It is the policy of the clerk of court to prevent and prohibit sexual harassment of any employee by another employee, by supervisors, by customers, or by vendors. The clerk’s office WILL NOT TOLERATE SEXUAL HARASSMENT. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, physical or inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when the conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment or the holding of office, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment and shall not be tolerated. Violations of this policy may result in harsh discipline including termination of employment. Sexual harassment does not refer to the behavior or occasional compliment of a socially acceptable nature. It refers to behavior that is unwelcomed, personally offensive, fails to respect the rights of others, lowers morale, or interferes with work effectiveness.

Prohibited Conduct

Sexual harassment includes any unwelcome physical contact, the use of sexually explicit language or gestures, and any uninvited or unwanted sexual advances (either physical or verbal) which create an overall offensive environment. Examples of sexual harassment include, but are not limited to, the use of vulgar language, the presence of sexually explicit photographs or other materials, the telling of sexual stories or jokes, and the uninvited or unwelcome touching of another person. Both men and women can be victims of sexual harassment. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex of the alleged offender.

Reporting, Investigating, and Resolution of Complaints

Any employee of the clerk of court, who believes that he or she is a victim of sexual harassment, should report the matter to his or her immediate supervisor, or if circumstances do not permit, then to any supervisor. The supervisor to whom the report is made shall immediately have the reporting person reduce the matter to writing, which writing should include the name, department, and position of the person allegedly committing the harassment, a description of the incident, including the date and location of the incident, and the names of any potential witnesses. The supervisor to whom the report is made shall also immediately document in writing that a complaint has been received and notify the director of personnel of the complaint and provide the employee’s written complaint to the director of personnel. Any and all records maintained in a sexual harassment investigation are confidential, and access to these records is limited to those who need the records for official use with permission from the Clerk of Court’s Office.

If circumstances exist which do not permit the person who believes he or she is a victim of sexual harassment to report the matter to an immediate supervisor or other supervisor, then alternatively, that person should immediately report the matter to the director of personnel. If circumstances do not permit the person who believes he or she is a victim of sexual harassment to report the matter to an immediate supervisor, other supervisor, or the director of personnel, then that person should immediately report the matter to the Chief Deputy or Clerk of Court.

Complaints should be submitted immediately after the incident has occurred. The Chief Deputy or Clerk of Court shall investigate the matter in a thorough and prompt manner and shall take appropriate action to address the complaint. Complaints and investigations of complaints will be treated to the extent possible in a confidential manner, with information disclosed only on a need-to-know basis. The investigative process will be conducted expeditiously and professionally. The investigation should involve only those employees or others who have actual knowledge of the circumstances, including the person making the complaint, the person accused, and witnesses or others possessing relevant information. Employees who are interviewed regarding the complaint will be instructed that the complaint and investigation are to remain confidential.

The complaint, the investigation of the compliant, and any resulting disciplinary action shall be documented. Employees who are found to have violated this policy are subject to appropriate discipline. If an investigation results in a finding that this policy has been violated, the resulting discipline could include a minimum of a written reprimand, up to the maximum of the termination of employment.

When reporting a claim, the following should be provided in writing:

Name of complainant(s)
Name of offender(s); and
A description of the incident, action, policy, etc. which initiates this claim for noncompliance off EEO. Include date(s), day(s), time(s) of day, location(s), witness(es) name(s), number of occurrences, the nature of the harassment, the effect of the harassment on the claimant’s working environment, and any other relevant information regarding the situation(s).
Provide all information and documentation, including but not limited to emails, voice recordings, notes, texts, etc.

Prohibition Against Retaliation

This policy prohibits any retaliation against any individual for making a complaint, or for testifying or participating in any way in an investigation or other proceeding involving a complaint of sexual harassment.

Federal and State Laws

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates federal and state law. In addition to the policy and procedures provided in the Clerk of Court’s Policy to Prevent Sexual Harassment, there are federal and state laws related to sexual harassment in the workplace. Such laws can be found under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, and under Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 51:2231, et seq. (in effect), and La. R.S. 42:341, et seq. (effective 01/01/2019).

Employees may obtain additional information regarding procedures and deadlines for making claims associated with sexual harassment from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights (LCHR).

This sexual harassment policy shall be posted on our agency website and office policy manual.

Acadia Parish Clerk of Court
Social Media Policy

The Acadia Parish Clerk of Court’s social media pages are managed by the Director of Operations and are intended to provide the public with information about the Clerk’s Office and its services. These pages are not a forum for political views, individual court cases, or personal matters.

Comments posted by third parties do not reflect the views of the Clerk’s Office, nor does the Office endorse them.

Terms of Use:

By posting on this page, you agree to the terms outlined here.
Posts related to court cases may be removed. Posting such information could make you a witness in court proceedings.
For inquiries about specific cases, please contact us directly at 337-788-8881 rather than through social media.
A “like” or “follow” from the Clerk’s Office does not constitute an endorsement of the individual or their actions.
The Clerk’s Office reserves the right to remove or block users who post inappropriate content.

Inappropriate content includes, but is not limited to:

Defamatory, abusive, or harassing language
Hate speech, threats, or obscene content
Spam or commercial/political advertisements
Personal or private information of others
Copyrighted material without permission
Irrelevant or off-topic comments

If you have photos or videos to share, please send them via direct message for approval. Content may be removed for copyright, privacy, or other reasons.

Please note, our social media pages are not continuously monitored. By engaging with our pages, you agree to adhere to this policy.

RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR ELECTRONIC FILING AND STORAGE OF PLEADINGS, DOCUMENTS AND EXHIBITS IN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

In accordance with Louisiana law, the Louisiana Clerks of Court (hereinafter referred to as Clerks of Court) and Louisiana Clerks Remote Access Authority (hereinafter referred to as LCRAA) hereby establish a system to accept electronically transmitted pleadings, documents, and exhibits.

The Clerks of Court and LCRAA hereby implement the following rules and procedures for the electronic filing and storage of electronically transmitted pleadings, documents and exhibits to be filed therewith.

By use of any Clerk of Court online system, the Registered User agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of this agreement.
The Registered User agrees that the electronic data, copies thereof, and information accessed pursuant to this agreement will be obtained solely for the Registered User’s use in the ordinary course of business and that Registered User shall not engage in the business of reselling data. Registered User shall not sell, mortgage, encumber, donate, give, assign, transmit, or transfer the electronic data or copies of any data obtained pursuant to this Agreement without the express written consent of the Clerk of Court.
Any document which may be filed by conventional filing may be electronically filed with the Clerk of Court unless otherwise required by law.
All pleadings or document to be filed in an action or proceeding instituted or pending in a court and all exhibits introduced in evidence shall be filed in accordance with Louisiana law.
If a document is electronically filed, the electronic document constitutes the official court record of said document.
Electronic filings will be accepted by the Clerk of Court in a pending matter regardless of the form of filing of previous or subsequent documents in a case.
Each Submission shall be in PDF format. Adopted May 12, 2025
Each PDF file shall not exceed the filing limitation of the filing software or system of the receiving jurisdiction and should have a resolution of a minimum of 300 DPI.
PDF filenames shall: a. Contain only alphanumeric characters which are part of the Latin1 General character set; b. Include no special characters. c. Be 50 characters or less.
Each PDF file shall be transmitted without any security feature restrictions such as password protections or encryption.

No Submission may contain package PDF files.
No Submission may contain PDF files embedded in PDF files.

13.No Submission may contain embedded multi-media video, audio, or programming.

14.The filer is responsible for all documents filed, and any fees or costs incurred.

The filer shall refrain from including, or shall partially redact where inclusion is necessary, any personal data identifiers from all documents electronically filed, including exhibits in accordance with Louisiana Law.
Submission of any pleading, document or exhibit filing constitutes a certification by the filer that the Submission complies with all applicable laws relating to the form applicable to documents filed in legal proceedings. (For example, where the law requires documents to be signed in ink, certified or notarized, the filer further certifies that all pleadings, documents and exhibits in the submission are unaltered copies of the original documents.)
Filer acknowledges a pleading or document filed electronically is deemed filed on the date and time stated on the confirmation of electronic filing sent from the system if the Clerk of Court accepts the electronic filing. The original of any filed document or exhibits shall be maintained by the filing party as required by law.
The Clerk of Court shall store and maintain all pleadings, documents and exhibits received electronically as required by law. Adopted May 12, 2025
Litigants and attorneys who file pleadings electronically, shall sign pleadings in accordance with law.

20.Signatures on an electronically filed document shall have the same legal effect as any signature(s) on a conventionally filed document as provided by law.

E-Filing will be available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, except on occasions when it is unavailable due to system maintenance and causes beyond the control of the Clerk of Court, including but not limited to power failures, force majeure, natural disasters, malfunction, and/or failure of equipment, program, or system. The Clerk of Court does not guarantee e-Filing will always be operable.
The Clerk of Court may reject an electronically filed document for nonconformance with this Rule or any other Louisiana law or Uniform Rule of District Court including insufficient advance deposit funds.
If an electronically filed document is rejected by the Clerk of Court, the filer shall receive notification of the rejection along with a reason for the rejection.
Registered Users shall comply with all applicable Louisiana laws and all Rules of Court, including but not limited to the following: A.) Username and password are to be kept secure and never be disclosed to any unauthorized user. B.) The registered user shall assume responsibility for those persons having access to the username and password. C.) Antivirus software shall be installed and maintained on all computers used to access the Clerk of Court Online System. Adopted May 12, 2025