128.00 HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION

1. The College is committed to upholding standards which promote respect and human dignity in an environment fostering learning and professionalism. It is the policy of the College to maintain an educational and work environment free from all types of discrimination and harassment. Accordingly, all forms of discrimination against or harassment of any member of the College community, whether based on race, color, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, political affiliation, disability, or veteran status, or other characteristic recognized legally as unacceptable, are prohibited.

2. Harassment is verbal or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion to a person’s race, color, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability, national origin, political affiliation, veteran status, or other characteristic recognized by that person as important to his/her culture or lifestyle. It is harassment if the conduct also includes one or more of the following:

a. Has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or learning environment;

b. Has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or study performance;

c. Otherwise adversely affects an individual’s employment or educational opportunities;

3. Sexual harassment occurs in a variety of circumstances that tend to share a common element, which is the introduction of sexual conduct or comments in the work or educational setting. Often, sexual harassment involves relationships of unequal power and contains elements of coercion, as when compliance with requests for sexual favors or sexual attention becomes a condition of employment, work, education, study or benefits. Sexual harassment may also involve relationships among equals, as when repeated sexual advances or demeaning verbal or physical behavior have a detrimental effect on a person’s ability to study or work at the College.

Examples of sexual harassment include, but are not limited to these actions:

a. Physical assault, indecent exposure, physical contact of a sexual nature, or realized sexual encounters;

b. Direct or implied threats that submission to sexual advances will be a condition of employment, work status, promotion, grades, or letters of recommendation;

c. Direct propositions of a sexual nature;

d. A subtle pressure for sexual activity or a pattern of conduct intended to upset, distress, or humiliate through sexual comments, statements, questions, jokes, anecdotes, or sexually explicit visual/auditory material;

e. A pattern of conduct that would upset, distress, or humiliate a reasonable person of either the same or the opposite gender as the person to whom the conduct was directed. The pattern of conduct may include one or more of the following actions: unnecessary touching, unwanted staring, patting, hugging, or brushing against a person’s body; remarks of a sexual nature about a person’s clothing or body; remarks about sexual activity, or speculations about previous sexual experience.

4. Complaints addressed under this policy include complaints based on the conduct of College students, faculty, administrative and staff members and other persons acting in official College capacities. Individuals who believe that they have been harassed or discriminated against should address their concerns to the appropriate administrative official at the College as set forth below:

If the appropriate administrator is the subject of the harassment or discrimination allegations, the complaint should be made to one of the other appropriate administrators.

Official allegations of harassment or discrimination are to be made to the appropriate administrator in writing within 30 calendar days of the allegedly harassing or discriminatory event. The complaint must include the following information: name, address and telephone number of the complainant; the nature of the complaint; date(s) and location(s) of the alleged occurrence(s); known witnesses; evidence on which the complaint is based; and the redress sought by the complainant.

The appropriate administrator shall have 30 calendar days in which to conduct an investigation of the complaint. The appropriate administrator may act as investigator or may arrange for another individual to act as investigator in the matter. The investigator shall be familiar with the appropriate sanctions that might be imposed against the individual against whom the complaint is made in the event that harassment or discrimination is found to have occurred. The investigator’s report will be provided to a College officer or supervisor with the requisite authority to impose such sanctions.

The purpose of the investigation is to establish: (1) whether there is a reasonable basis for believing that the alleged violation of the policy has occurred; (2) the factual circumstances surrounding the complaint; and (3) the appropriate sanction to be imposed on an individual found to have engaged in prohibited conduct. The investigator shall promptly provide the person against whom the complaint is made with a copy of the formal complaint and shall notify the appropriate College officer or supervisor of the nature of the complaint and of the identity of the parties.

In conducting the investigation, the investigator should interview the complainant, the person against whom the complaint is made, and any other persons believed to have pertinent factual knowledge. At all times, the investigator shall take steps to maintain strict confidentiality. The parties and any notified College officer or supervisor shall maintain strict confidentiality as well.

The investigation shall afford the person against whom the complaint is made an opportunity to respond to the allegations of the complaint. The investigator shall be in communication with the complainant until the complaint is resolved.

Upon the expiration of the 30 calendar day period, the investigator shall have an additional 10 calendar days to produce a written report summarizing the findings of fact and providing recommendations as to the appropriate administrative action to be taken. This report will be provided to the parties, to the appropriate administrator, and to the President of the College. If sanctions are imposed, this report will become a part of the personnel file of the individual against whom the complaint was made.

Recommended sanctions may include, but not be limited to, written reprimand of the person against whom the complaint is made, suspension or dismissal of the person against whom the complaint is made, a change of grade or other academic record, a change of course section, a change of reporting line for an employee, or any other appropriate sanction(s) under the circumstances.

A complaint may also be brought by a person outside the college community if the alleged offense occurred with regard to application for admission as a student, to inquiry of application for employment, to bidding for contracts by individuals or company representatives, or to any other official action by a member of the college community. The appropriate administrative official to whom such a complaint should be directed will be determined by the position the individual was attempting to obtain at the college.

5. If either party disputes the findings or is dissatisfied with the procedures or recommendations of the investigator’s report, the party may appeal such findings by filing a written appeal with the President within 15 calendar days of receipt of the written report. The President will review the record of the matter and will make a final written determination as to any action to be taken within 10 calendar days of receipt of the appeal.

6. Retaliation of any kind against anyone filing a complaint of harassment or discrimination is prohibited. Initiating a complaint of harassment or discrimination will not affect a complainant’s employment, compensation or work assignments or, in the case of students, grades, class selection, or any other matter pertaining to student status.

Distinguishing between harassing and discriminatory conduct and conduct that is purely personal or social without a harassing or discriminatory work or educational effect requires a determination based on all of the facts pertaining to the situation. False accusations can seriously injure innocent people. Initiating a false or bad faith harassment or discrimination complaint may result in disciplinary action. However, a finding for the accused does not constitute a finding that the complainant was acting in bad faith.

Adopted September 21, 1992
Revised July 21, 2003
Revised July 21, 2008