Meeting & Agendas

The attorney responded to the questions that came up about this Administrative Rule. The Administration Rule was updated as a result. Please see questions to lawyer and the answers below: The following are the questions/concerns that SRRC have regarding the Sexual Harassment/Sexual Violence Administrative Rule: 1. Should there be a time limit set for complainants (students) to come forward with sexual harassment/sexual violence claims/allegations? If so, what is that time frame/limit? The College cannot set a time limit for filing complaints of discrimination or harassment. 2. Dr. Christensen you said you wanted these cases to have a \'\'turnaround of 3 days\'\'...does this mean a turnaround for college officials to begin investigations or is this \'\'3 days turnaround\'\' the total amount of time it should take the college to investigate and resolve? . The SRRC believes that a 10 business day turnaround is more appropriate/realistic. The basic question – Is there a legal turnaround time limit for student sexual harassment complaints? There is no legal requirement for the number of days in which a complaint of harassment or discrimination must be investigated. However, the case law makes clear that an employer who fails to take timely corrective action reasonably calculated to end harassment or discrimination may be liable. These complaints cannot be treated like any other employee complaint about the terms and conditions of employment. This is why I really recommend that all complaints of this nature be handled by the HR Department. It is critical that an initial assessment of the situation be made immediately because sometimes, depending upon the severity of the harassment, immediate action must be taken by the employer. The 3-day turnaround time that I have suggested is from the receipt of the complaint to the conclusion of the investigation and contemplates that there be some immediate analysis to determine whether action is required to separate the parties, protect the complainant, or otherwise impose an immediate remedy. That said, depending upon the circumstances (including the severity of the allegations), there may be times that the process takes longer. As long as the investigation is diligently pursued and the employer has not failed to take appropriate remedial action, there should be no adverse consequences to the employer. Taking longer should be the exception, not the rule. When I read this question and the next one, it appears that you are contemplating having an appeal process similar to that contained in the College’s current complaint and grievance procedures. This is not appropriate in the case of harassment and discrimination complaints. First, it would take too long. The process must be much more streamlined. A sole person needs to be designated to make the determination because the matter must be resolved and remediated (if the complaint was justified) right away. Final action cannot be delayed for an appeal process. 4. To protect students who do not want complaints to \'\'escalate\'\' past a certain level, should there be a Disclaimer that states that if students make a sexual harassment/sexual violent complaint, are college officials required to provide this information to the appropriate parties for investigation to ensure the safety of all parties involved? Any time a complainant (student or employee) requests that the matter remain confidential or only rise to a certain level, the complainant should be instructed that the College is required to conduct an investigation but that it will attempt to keep the matter as confidential as possible without jeopardizing the investigation. As for the level to which the complaint rises, see the second paragraph in the response to #2, above. 5. Counselors are here to be advocates for all students, however, there are certain ethical standards that they must uphold; does this exclude them from revealing information that they may be given by a student about sexual harassment claims if they (students) do not want to escalate the complaint? Whether a counselor is required by law to keep a matter confidential depends upon the relationship between the counselor and the student, the facts surrounding the disclosure, and other issues. I don’t think it is possible for me to say that every time a student tells a counselor that he/she has been sexually harassed that it is a confidential disclosure under the law. The counselor is in the best position to know whether his or her ethics and state law require nondisclosure. As a general rule, I would say that if a complaint of sexual harassment is made, the College must investigate it. If a counselor feels it is his/her ethical duty to keep the matter confidential, I am not sure that the information would be imputed to the College. This is something that I have not researched in the past and would have to look into. 6. Who are the college officials that must, by law, respond to student sexual harassment complaints? These questions seem to be a mixture of employee and student harassment complaints. The law does not designate any official when it comes to employee complaints of harassment. That is completely up to the College, but it should designate at least two individuals. Under Title IX, student complaints should be made to the designated Title IX Officer, but the College must also designate at least one alternative in the event that the Title IX Officer is the one being complained about. It is important to remember that just because a complaint is made to someone other than a person designated in the College’s rules, it doesn’t relieve the College of the responsibility for taking action. If a student complains to a teacher, the College has knowledge. Teachers and all other persons who might receive complaints must be instructed to report a complaint immediately to a designated individual so that the complaint can be investigated.