2.7 Guidelines for Resolving Discrimination Complaints
2.7.1 General
The College shall respond to complaints of discrimination, including
sexual harassment, promptly, equitably, and in accordance with these guidelines.
Complaints by students against employees and complaints by employees against
other employees will be resolved using the formal and/or informal procedures
of the Ithaca College Guidelines for Resolving Discrimination Complaints.
When the individual accused of violating the policy is a student, complaints
will be resolved in accordance with relevant provisions of the Ithaca
College Student Conduct Code.
In extreme cases, when an employee's continued presence may seriously
and adversely affect the functioning of the College or jeopardize the
safety or welfare of any person, the employee may be suspended immediately.
In such cases the president will send a letter notifying the employee
of the employee's immediate suspension to the employee's home address
by registered mail with restricted delivery. If the return receipt is
not received within five days, the College will make additional efforts
to notify the employee.
Complaints should be brought to the Office of Assistant Counsel and Equal
Opportunity Compliance as soon as possible following emergence of the
problem, preferably no longer than one year after the most recent incident.
Any delay in the reporting of a violation of College policy could hamper
a successful investigation and resolution of the problem. Complaints received
after more than one year will be pursued only at the discretion of the
assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance.
Allegations of discrimination are extremely serious and involve highly
sensitive issues. All parties involved in the resolution of a complaint
are expected to treat information related to the allegations confidentially.
A demonstrated effort will be made to resolve allegations of discrimination
within 90 days of such incidents (excluding campus holidays) being reported
to the Office of Assistant Counsel and Equal Opportunity Compliance.
Ithaca College encourages resolution of complaints through informal means
when appropriate. Should informal means fail, or if the assistant counsel
and director of equal opportunity compliance determines that informal
approaches would be inappropriate or ineffective, the complainant may
request that the formal procedures be invoked.
Both formal and informal procedures are intended to provide an opportunity
for the internal hearing of complaints and resolution of problems. The
procedures are not legal proceedings, and do not preclude the affected
parties from seeking satisfaction through legal means outside of the College.
Parties may not bring legal counsel into either informal meetings or the
formal hearings.
2.7.2 Informal Approaches to Problem Solving
Ithaca College encourages informal problem-solving approaches when appropriate
in the resolution of discrimination complaints.
Informal approaches may include, but are not limited to, discussion of
the problem with the alleged offender individually or with the applicable
supervisor, mediation, and written communication from the complainant
to the alleged offender. Informal resolution should be attempted only
with assistance and guidance from the assistant counsel and director of
equal opportunity compliance.
The assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance shall
prepare a summary memorandum to document the process. A copy of the memorandum
shall be provided to the complainant and the alleged offender. A copy
will also be retained in the Office of Assistant Counsel and Equal Opportunity
Compliance files. The memorandum shall be kept separate from the employee's
personnel file.
If informal attempts at resolving the problem are unsuccessful or deemed
inappropriate by the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity
compliance, the complainant may request resolution through the formal
discrimination complaint procedures.
2.7.3 Formal Discrimination Complaint Procedures
2.7.3.1 General
The formal discrimination complaint procedures require a signed statement
of complaint specifying the nature of the problem. The statement of complaint
should be submitted to the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity
compliance as soon as possible, preferably within one year of the most
recent incident. Any delay in the reporting of a violation could seriously
hamper a successful investigation and resolution of the problem. Complaints
received after more than one year will be pursued only at the discretion
of the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance.
2.7.3.2 Reasonable Grounds Investigation
Following submission of the statement of complaint, the assistant counsel
and director of equal opportunity compliance will investigate to determine
whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that there has been a
violation of the College's nondiscrimination policy. Before conducting
an investigation, the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity
compliance will provide the respondent with a copy of the statement of
complaint, inform the respondent that the investigation is imminent, and
explain College policies and procedures.
If the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance
determines that reasonable grounds do not exist, the assistant counsel
and director of equal opportunity compliance will communicate that in
writing to the complainant and respondent, and no further action will
be taken by the Office of Assistant Counsel and Equal Opportunity Compliance.
If the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance
determines that reasonable grounds do exist, the assistant counsel and
director of equal opportunity compliance will communicate that finding
in writing to the complainant and the respondent and determine whether
a discrimination complaint review board will be convened.
2.7.3.3 Establishment of a Discrimination
Complaint Review Board
Each academic year the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity
compliance, in cooperation with staff council and the appropriate faculty
representative group within each school, will select a pool of individuals
to be available for appointment to a discrimination complaint review board.
Faculty members will be selected at the school level. Each school will
send three names to the affirmative action office, except for the School
of Humanities and Sciences, which will send six names. Similarly, staff
council will recruit and appoint 18 staff to the pool. Thus, the pool
will consist of a total of 36 individuals. The pool should, to the extent
possible, reflect the diversity of the Ithaca College workforce. It is
the responsibility of the staff council chair, faculty committees, and
the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance to
try to achieve this diversity.
The pool of appointees will receive training and information to be coordinated
by the affirmative action office on sexual harassment, discrimination,
and applicable College policies and procedures. Appointees must agree
to receive appropriate training to be eligible for appointment to a review
board. Appointees will serve three-year staggered terms.
Following a reasonable grounds finding and determination that a review
board should be convened, the assistant counsel and director of equal
opportunity compliance will select six individuals from the pool for possible
appointment to a review board. When the respondent is a faculty member,
four of the six will be faculty members and the remaining two will be
staff members; when the respondent is a staff member, four of the six
will be staff members and the remaining two will be faculty members.
The complainant and respondent may review the list of six names. If either
party believes that any of the individuals is not capable of performing
their duties in a fair and impartial manner, the complainant or respondent
may challenge that individual's appointment to the review board "for
cause." The assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance
will approve or deny the challenge, and the assistant counsel and director
of equal opportunity compliance's decision is final.
2.7.3.4 The Hearing
The assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance will
appoint three individuals from the list to the review board. When a staff
member is a respondent, the review board shall be composed of two staff
members and one faculty member. When a faculty member is the respondent,
the board shall be composed of two faculty members and one staff member.
The charge to the review board is to conduct a fact-finding hearing and
to determine, based on the preponderance of evidence, whether a violation
of the College policy of nondiscrimination has occurred.
The assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance will
establish a time and a place for the hearing. The hearing will occur no
fewer than 5 business days and no more than 30 business days from the
reasonable-grounds finding, unless the assistant counsel and director
of equal opportunity compliance deems that an earlier or later hearing
is necessary.
In preparation for the hearing, the complainant and respondent may provide
the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance with
the names and telephone numbers of any witnesses' whom they wish to appear
at the hearing, along with a brief explanation of why their testimony
is necessary.
The assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance will
convene the review board to explain action (if any) taken relative to
the allegations to date. The assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity
compliance shall provide each member with a copy of the complaint, any
statement of response from the respondent, summary memorandum of any informal
action, and list of complainant's and respondent's witnesses.
Drawing from the complainant's and respondent's list, as well as any
developed by the review board, the review board will decide which witnesses
(if any) may attend the hearing. When possible, the assistant counsel
and director of equal opportunity compliance will contact and invite those
witnesses to attend the hearing. Witnesses may, in the alternative, choose
to submit written, signed statements to the review board. Because it is
important that a reasonable effort be made to keep the allegations as
confidential as possible, the board should exercise discretion in determining
which witnesses are necessary to the investigation.
2.7.3.5 Rules for the Hearing
In addition to the review board members and the assistant counsel and
director of equal opportunity compliance, the following participants,
as called by the review board, are the only individuals entitled to be
present during the hearing: the complainant, the respondent, and witnesses.
However, at the discretion of the assistant counsel and director of equal
opportunity compliance, each party may be permitted to be accompanied
by another individual at the hearing. Such individual may not participate
in or interfere with the proceedings, but may provide moral support for
the parties affected.
Judgments regarding whether such an individual may accompany a party
will be made by, the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity
compliance, and the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity
complianc 's decision is final. In keeping with these guidelines, parties
may not bring legal counsel into hearings.
The review board will elect a member to chair the hearing and to speak
on behalf of the board. The assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity
compliance will provide guidance during the hearing regarding procedures,
the maintenance of order, and fairness.
The complainant and the respondent may offer testimony, introduce evidence,
and respond to questions from the review board. All parties have the right
to offer testimony without being in the presence of the complainant and/or
respondent. However, the complainant and the respondent have the right
to hear all testimony while it is being given. The assistant counsel and
director of equal opportunity compliance will ensure that equipment necessary
for this arrangement is provided.
Members of the review board may question the complainant, the respondent,
the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance, and
the witnesses. When addressing the review board, parties have the right
to respond to evidence presented by the opposing party and witnesses and
to suggest to the review board questions that should be asked. Otherwise,
parties may respond only to questions from the review board. If any party
fails to appear at the hearing, the review board may proceed in their
absence.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the review board will meet in closed
session to determine, based on the preponderance of evidence, whether
a violation of College policy has occurred. The review board's determination
must be unanimous. Only the three review board members will be present
for the closed session. The assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity
compliance will be available to the review board to answer any questions
and provide guidance as needed. The review board will then report its
finding to the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance,
and the assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity compliance
will discuss appropriate sanctions with the review board.
Within five business days of the hearing, the review board will report
its findings, including recommended sanctions, if any, in writing to the
complainant, respondent, assistant counsel and director of equal opportunity
compliance, and the executive officer overseeing the division in which
the respondent is employed. The review board's decision regarding whether
a violation of policy has occurred is binding on the executive officer.
The review board's recommendation for sanctions is not binding. Should
the executive officer determine that the recommended sanctions is inappropriate,
the executive officer will meet with the review board and explain the
executive officer's determination of the final sanctions. The executive
officer will then communicate the decision regarding the sanctions to
the complainant and the respondent within five business days of the executive
officer's meeting with the review board.
2.7.3.6 Final Review Process
If the complainant or respondent is not satisfied with the findings of
the review board and/or the sanction(s) imposed by the executive officer,
the complainant or respondent may seek final review by the President.
The request for final review must be submitted to the President in writing
within 10 business days of notification of the decision of the review
board and/or executive officer and must fully demonstrate one or more
of the following:
- that the hearing was inconsistent with established procedures; or
- that the sanction imposed was not appropriate; or
- that relevant evidence offered by the party was not reviewed by the
review board; or
- that new evidence is now available and should be considered; or
- that the process itself was fundamentally unfair and resulted in
an unfair outcome.
The President may dismiss the request for final review or order further
action based on it, the President's decision is final. |
