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Discrimination Complaint Procedures

Definitions

COMPLAINT OF DISCRIMINATION: An allegation of different treatment, whether intended or unintended, based on age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran's status.

Informal Complaint: The process of gathering information either to help establish a suspicion of discrimination or to attempt to resolve a disagreement without following a formal complaint process.

Formal Complaint: The process of investigating a case of alleged discrimination and making a determination as to whether or not discrimination occurred and, where appropriate, providing a resolution to the complaint.

Non-Retaliation: An individual filing a complaint of discrimination in good faith shall not be subjected to any form of retaliation by the University. An individual may file a complaint alleging retaliation.

Informal Complaint

Who May File?

Students, employees, and others, where appropriate.

Procedure:

  1. The complainant completes the "Complaint of Discrimination or Harassment" form; the Office of Affirmative Action & Equal Opportunity (OAAEO) advises the complainant of her/his rights to file with state and/or federal agencies.
  2. The OAAEO may notify the appropriate administrator, dean, or director that an informal complaint has been initiated.
  3. The OAAEO contacts the individual/entity (respondent) accused of discrimination to discuss the alleged harmful act.
  4. The OAAEO develops a proposed resolution, if appropriate, within fifteen (15) calendar days of acceptance of the informal complaint. If appropriate, the complainant is advised that she/he may file a formal complaint.
  5. The OAAEO may notify the appropriate administrator, dean, or director of the final status of the complaint.

Formal Complaint

Who May File?

Students and student employees (undergraduate and graduate).

Procedure:

  1. The complainant completes the "Complaint of Discrimination or Harassment" form. The complaint must be filed within 180 days of the alleged harmful act, or within 365 days if the complaint alleges sexual harassment.
  2. The OAAEO acknowledges in writing the receipt of the formal complaint; the letter includes information on the complainant's right to file with state and/or federal agencies. Copies of the letter are sent to the respondent, the appropriate administrator, dean or director, the University legal advisor, and the Chancellor of the Oregon University System.
  3. The OAAEO conducts a thorough investigation of the complaint.
  4. Within thirty (30) calendar days of the receipt of the formal complaint, the OAAEO shall inform the complainant and all persons copied in #2 above of the final status and a resolution, where appropriate. The 30-day period may be extended for an additional 30 days with the approval of the Chancellor. The letter of determination identifies the available appeal Procedures for the complaint.

Applicable Board Rules OAR 580-015-0090, OAR 580-015-0100, OAR 580-015-0105
Students may appeal a decision to the Chancellor's Office in a written format within two weeks of the determination.

Who May File?

Classified employees.

Procedures:

  1. The complainant completes the "Complaint of Discrimination or Harassment" form. The complaint must be filed within 180 days of the alleged harmful act.
  2. The OAAEO acknowledges in writing the receipt of the formal complaint; the letter includes information on the complainant's right to file with the Union (for classified employees), and/or state and federal agencies. Copies of the letter are sent to the respondent, the appropriate administrator, dean, or director, the University Legal Advisor, and the director of the Office of Human Resources.
  3. The OAAEO conducts a thorough investigation of the complaint.
  4. Within fifteen (15) calendar days of the receipt of the formal complaint, OAAEO informs the complainant and all persons copied in #2 above of the final status and a resolution, where appropriate. If an extension of the 15-day time period is required, OAAEO shall notify the complainant of the anticipated date of completion of the investigation. The letter of determination identifies the appeal Procedures available to the complainant.

Applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 22

Who May File?

Faculty employees - faculty ranks as defined in the rules of the State Board of Higher Education and includes faculty without rank but with professional title.

Numbers refer to the Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR)

Informal Procedures, OAR 576-050-0020

  1. Prior to filing a formal grievance, a faculty member is encouraged to discuss the grievance with his or her supervisor (or dean, director, unit executive officer or Affirmative Action Director.) The immediate supervisor shall respond to the grievant within fifteen (15) days.
  2. The Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity must be notified of any grievance alleging discrimination, including sexual harassment. The Affirmative Action Director, if so requested by the grievant, will investigate any grievance alleging discrimination and attempt to help the parties resolve the issue.
  3. The faculty member or the Chair of the Grievance Committee, with the faculty member's concurrence, may request the Faculty Mediator to review and attempt to resolve all other grievances, including those the Affirmative Action Director determines not to be valid claims of discrimination.
  4. The Mediator may meet with the grievant and take what action he or she considers appropriate in attempting to resolve the grievance, including interviewing or consulting other persons. The Mediator and all parties to the grievance shall keep the mediation process confidential to the extent possible under law. Statements made in mediation shall not be admissible in a grievance hearing.
  5. Nothing in this rule shall require a faculty member to use informal grievance Procedures before filing a formal written grievance, provided that a faculty member must notify the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity of all claims of unlawful discrimination, including sexual harassment, before filing a written complaint.

Initiation of Formal Procedures, OAR 576-50-0025

  1. If a grievance is not resolved to the satisfaction of the grievant at the informal stage, or if the grievant chooses to bypass the informal stage, the grievant may file a formal written grievance. A grievance shall be filed with the dean, director, or the appropriate administrator in charge of the administrative unit, except a) where the grievant is a department chair in which case the grievance shall be filed with the Provost and Executive Vice President, or b) where the grievant alleges sexual harassment against the person in charge of the administrative unit, in which case the grievance shall be filed with the next higher administrator. The grievant shall file a copy of the written grievance with the Legal Advisor in the Office of the President. The formal grievance must be filed within sixty (60) days of the time the faculty member knew or by reasonable diligence should have known of the acts which gave rise to the grievance. Therefore, discussion or mediation at the informal stage should be initiated as soon as possible. The University shall extend the sixty-day filing requirement if the grievant is pursuing the complaint at the informal level and it appears that additional time would be beneficial in resolving the grievance. Extension by the University shall be in writing by the Legal Advisor.
  2. The written grievance must contain the grievant's name and address, the date and nature of the act or omission which gave rise to the grievance, any rule, policy or procedure alleged to have been violated or misapplied, and the remedy requested by the grievant.
  3. The dean, director, administrator, or the respective designee shall send a written decision to the grievant within twenty (20) days of receipt of the grievance.
  4. If the sole basis of the grievance is a claim of an unlawful discriminatory employment practice or practices, the grievant may waive in writing the right to file a formal grievance under this rule and may elect instead to file a formal complaint of discrimination with the OAAEO. If the grievant elects to file with the OAAEO, the grievant shall be entitled to that office's procedures and shall have no further rights to the procedures set forth in this Divison 50.

Appeal to the Faculty Grievance Committee, OAR 576-50-0030

  1. If the decision of the dean, director, or administrator is not satisfactory to the grievant, the grievant may file a written appeal with the Faculty Grievance Committee within ten (10) days of receipt of the written decision, stating why the response at the previous level was deficient. This step is optional with the grievant. The grievant may bypass the Committee and file the appeal directly with the President.
  2. a) The Committee shall send to the grievant a written notice of the time and place of the hearing at least seven (7) days prior to the hearing.
  3. b) At the Committee hearing, the faculty member shall present his or her case first, followed by the person or persons who are the object of the grievance. Thereafter, the faculty member shall have an opportunity to respond.
  4. c) Each party shall have a right to call and examine witnesses, to introduce exhibits or other documents. The members of the Committee may question any witness and may call additional witnesses.
  5. d) If the grievant so chooses, he or she may be accompanied by or represented at the hearing by any other person.
  6. e) Either party may provide for and obtain a sound recording of the hearing.
  7. f) The hearing shall be open to the public at the option of the grievant to the extent allowed by law. However, deliberations of the Grievance Committee shall not be open to the public or the parties.

Decision by the Committee and Appeal to the President, OAR 576-50-0035

  1. The Committee's decision shall be made in the form of a written recommendation to the President. It shall be based upon evidence presented at the hearing. The recommendation shall include description of the complaint, the evidence the Committee collected, and its conclusions and recommendations for disposition of the case. The recommendations shall be sent to the grievant, to the President, and to the dean, director, or administrator in charge of the unit out of which the grievance arose within sixty (60) days of receipt of the appeal to the Committee.
  2. The President or his or her designee shall review the decision of the Committee and the President shall deliver a written decision to the grievant, to the Grievance Committee, and to the dean, director, or administrator in charge of the unit out of which the grievance arose within thirty (30) days of receipt of the Committee's recommendation. Prior to issuing a decision, the President or designee may interview any person concerning the grievance to supplement the record whether or not the person testified at the hearing, provided the decision shall list each person so interviewed. In addition, the President or designee may review any documents, provided that the decision shall identify any such documents that were not introduced at the Committee hearing. The grievant shall be informed of any additional information obtained by the President and given seven (7) days to respond. If the President rejects or modifies the recommendations of the Committee, the reasons shall be stated in the decision.
  3. If the grievant chooses to appeal the decision of the dean, director, or administrator directly to the President, the President shall proceed to review the matter and reach a decision as set out in section ()2) of this rule, provided that all persons interviewed and all documents reviewed must be identified in the decision. The President shall issue a decision within thirty (30) days of receipt of the grievant's appeal.
  4. The decision of the President shall be final except as provided in OAR 576-050-0035(5).
  5. If the grievance is directed at the President as the immediate supervisor of the grievant or at the President in his or her administrative capacity (as contrasted to appellate capacity), the grievant may appeal to the Chancellor of the Oregon University System as provided in OAR 580-021-0050(10).

Effects of Time Limits, OAR 576-50-0045

If the University fails to respond within the time limits at any step in this grievance process, the grievant may appeal to the next step.

Non-Retaliation, OAR 576-50-0050

An individual filing a grievance in good faith or otherwise participating in any of the actions authorized under these grievance rules shall not be subject to retaliatory action of any kind by any employee of the University, the Oregon University System, or the State Board of Higher Education.

Two-Year Review, OAR 576-50-0055

Not later than two years from the adoption of these rules, the Provost and Faculty Senate Executive Committee shall jointly appoint a faculty committee to review the effectiveness of this grievance procedure and recommend changes.

Applicable Board Rule, Division 21