Affirmative
Action/Equal Opportunity Updates
In September
of last year, the State Board of Higher Education Sub-Committee
on Sexual Harassment and Consensual
Relationships issued a report, with recommendations for all institutions
in the Oregon University System about their policies on Sexual
Harassment and Consensual Relationships.
Sexual Harassment
Policy
The Board recommended that University policy around harassment
contain several components:
- A
common definition of sexual harassment applicable to everyone.
- A
single source for assistance.
- Prohibition
of retaliation for bringing sexual harassment concerns forward.
- Campus-wide
educational programs.
- Reporting
and recordkeeping of all complaints received.
- Implementing
a routine survey to measure the effectiveness of the
policy.
At PSU, the
Affirmative Action & Equal Opportunity (AA/EO)
Office reviewed the existing Sexual
Harassment Policy.
The policy currently complies with all recommendations from the
Board as follows:
- Sexual
harassment is defined as any unwelcome and unwanted sexual advance
or request for sexual favor or other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature when:
A. Submission
to or rejection of such conduct is made either explicitly or
implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment,
participation in a sponsored educational program, participation
in services, or participation in sponsored activity, or
B. Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used either
explicitly or implicitly as a basis for any decision affecting
terms or conditions
of an individual’s employment, participation in a sponsored
educational program, participation in services or participation
in sponsored activity, or
C. Such conduct has the effect of unreasonably interfering
with an individual’s work performance, receipt of services or
academic activities, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive
environment.
- This definition
is applicable to faculty, staff, students and members of
the public, and prohibits any occurrence at or between
individuals associated with PSU.
- The AA/EO
Office has primary responsibility for investigating and resolving
reports of sexual harassment
and mandates that
any supervisor, manager, faculty member, network member, or other University
official
must notify the AA/EO Office if they receive any reports
of sexual harassment.
- The policy
states that retaliation of any kind, against anyone for reporting
sexual harassment or for participating
in any activity connected with the policy is prohibited.
- The AA/EO
Office conducts trainings every year for faculty, staff, students
and members
of the Sexual Harassment Resource
Network and maintains records of all complaints that are reported and investigated.
- A
survey is planned similar to the Harassment Survey conducted
each spring to measure the effectiveness of the
policy as perceived by members of the campus community.
Consensual
Relationship Policy
The Board
recommended establishing the following procedures for eliminating
conflicts of interest related to consensual relationships by
employees
or agents of the Institution:
- To
inform a higher level administrator of the relationship,
- To cooperate
in eliminating any conflict of interest,
- To
notify employees that they can express concerns about consensual
relationship(s),
- To identify
the risks and conflicts associated with consensual
relationships, and
- To prohibit
retaliation against anyone reporting concerns or involved in
the processes of
addressing consensual
relationship(s).
The
PSU Consensual
Relationships Policy meets all of
these requirements.
It requires the person
in the
relationship
with the greatest authority or responsibility
to report
the relationship to his or her supervisor or administrator
or to the
AA/EO Office.
However, the Policy does not prevent anyone
from raising a concern about such a relationship. It articulates
the
potential risks
and conflicts of interest in consensual
relationships where one party
has responsibility for, or authority over,
another
party and
provides for a confidential “need-to-know” process
to address the risks and conflict of interest
that involves competent third
parties acting in consultation with the director
of AA/EO.
Professional
Standards Policy
This Policy contains the clearest expression of our anti- "bullying” position.
It prohibits harassment of individuals associated with PSU, because
of, but not limited to, their race, color, religion, gender, sex,
age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status,
or national origin. The Policy contains a general description of
prohibited verbal and physical harassment directed at individuals,
and speaks directly to threatening behaviors, while making clear
that it is not to be interpreted as prohibiting the energized and,
at times, heated or emotional discussions that are a legitimate
part of life in institutions of higher education.
Questions
redarding these policies may be directed to Burt Christopherson,
Director of AA/EO, at extension 54432. |