Procedure:    Harassment, Sexual: Formal Complaint Process
Department:   Academic and Student Affairs
Contact:         Dennis Carr, 541-463-5585         carrd@lanecc.edu

Purpose

The formal sexual harassment complaint process is designed to resolve complaints that cannot be resolved through the informal report and resolution process or that the complainant chooses to have investigated and judged in a formal setting.  Although the process is confidential, the complainant's identity cannot be withheld from the person they are accusing.

Timelines

The formal complaint procedure is set up to take no more than 80 working days in order to allow access to the legal remedies available under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972 (Title 20 USC Sections 1681-1688). To have remedy under this formal complaint process, complaints must be filed within three years of the last incident.  Complaints filed more than three years after the last incident will not be accepted.

Impartial Decision Makers

Complainants who do not feel that they have access to impartial decision makers under the procedure outlined below should immediately notify a trained contact person of their concerns.

In the event that the college president, a vice president or member of the Sexual Harassment Hearings Committee is identified as the accused, the contact person will arrange to have an impartial replacement designated for the purposes of this procedure.

Trained Contact Persons

A list of trained contact persons can be obtained from the office of the vice president Academic and Student Affairs, Human Resources, the Women’s Center, the Multicultural Center, the Counseling Center or the Associated Students of Lane Community College office by phone or in person.

Record Keeping

All records of the formal complaint process, including the complaint form and all reports and findings, will be forwarded to Affirmative Action for compliance review.

A Sexual Harassment Incident Report that summarizes all formal complaints and informal reports by type of incident, department or division, and the relationship of those involved will be forwarded to the college president, vice presidents and unit managers on a periodic basis.  No information that would identify the complainant or the accused will be included in this report.

How to File a Formal Complaint

Step 1:  The complainant completes a Sexual Harassment Complaint Form.

Copies of the form are available from the office of the vice president Academic and Student Affairs, Human Resources, the Women's Center, the Multicultural Center, the Counseling Center, the ASLCC office or from any of the trained contact persons.

Trained contact persons are available to assist in preparing the form and to provide support during the formal complaint process.

Step 2:  The complainant submits a Sexual Harassment Complaint Form and all three copies to the vice president Academic and Student Affairs (if a student) or the director of Human Resources (if an employee).

The vice president Academic and Student Affairs (for complaints filed by students) or director of Human Resources (for complaints filed by employees) will sign and date the form to document the date of receipt and will distribute the form and the three copies as follows:

 
original:  investigating vice president
pink:       complainant
canary:   contact person (if indicated on complaint form)
gold:      director of Affirmative Action
 

Step 3:  The investigating vice president provides written notification of the complaint to the accused and the department administrator of the accused, if the accused is an employee.

Both the accused and the department administrator will be provided a copy of the complaint form and the attached written statement of complaint within five working days of the day the complaint is received in the investigating vice president's office.  Sanctions resulting from this complaint will be applied only after the complaint has been fully investigated as described in the following steps.  During this process, the complainant and the accused are not to contact each other about the complaint.

Retaliation against the complainant is expressly forbidden.  Sanctions will be applied for all violations of this rule.

Step 4:  The investigating vice president undertakes a complete and full review of the complaint.

The vice president or an approved outside (non-Lane) investigator will interview individuals having first-hand knowledge of the incident, including the complainant and the accused.  Other evidence will be reviewed as determined appropriate by the investigator and vice president, and an investigator's report will be prepared.  All persons interviewed by the investigator will be provided the opportunity to review the investigator's record of their own statements before the final report is prepared.

If additional investigation is required, the president may grant the vice president an extension of up to 10 working days beyond the 20 working days provided for investigation.  The investigating vice president will notify both the complainant and the accused if an extension is granted and will advise of any other timeline changes that will be necessary as the result of this extension.

Further distribution of the investigator's report will be limited to persons with a need to know of developments in the investigation.  The statements of witnesses contained in the investigator's report will be kept as confidential as possible.

The investigator appointed by the vice president to conduct interviews and determine facts at this step in the complaint review process will be selected from an established pool of trained individuals who have been approved by the director of Affirmative Action as qualified to conduct a sexual harassment investigation.  The investigator's function is fact-finding.  The investigator will prepare an executive summary of the facts for the vice president.  Decisions about findings will remain the responsibility of the investigating vice president.

Step 5:  The investigating vice president reviews the investigation report and notifies the complainant and the accused of the findings.

Written notice of findings will be provided to the complainant and the accused within 20 working days of the date of receipt of the Sexual Harassment Complaint Form by the college in Step 2. The notice of findings will include an explanation of the basis for the vice president's decision and will be kept as confidential as possible.  Copies will be distributed only to those individuals who have a legitimate need to know the results.  After notification to the complainant and the accused is completed, the vice president will forward the official complaint file to the college president.  If the complainant does not request an appeal hearing under Step 7 (below), the president will forward the complaint file to Affirmative Action.

Step 6:  The complainant reviews the vice president’s written notice of findings to determine if they are satisfied with the results.  If not, and they wish to pursue the complaint further, proceed to Step 7.

Step 7:  The complainant may ask the college president for an administrative review hearing if they are not satisfied with the findings.

If the complainant is not satisfied with the vice president's findings and wants the Sexual Harassment Hearings Committee to review the evidence and the vice president's findings, they must notify the college president in writing.  The complainant must ask for an administrative review hearing within five working days of the date they receive written notification of the vice president's findings.

Step 8:  The college president convenes the Sexual Harassment Hearings Committee.

Upon receipt of the written request, the president will contact the chair of the Sexual Harassment Hearings Committee.  The chair will convene an administrative review hearing within 20 working days of receipt of the written request.

Step 9:  The hearings committee conducts a confidential administrative review hearing.

The hearings committee's administrative review process is intended to provide an independent check on the validity of the vice president's findings through a review of the official record of the complaint.

Normally, the official record will include the following items: the original complaint; the investigator's report (including statements of witnesses) and the vice president's notice of findings and remedies.

Before adjourning to executive session for its deliberations, the hearings committee will take brief written or verbal statements from the complainant and the accused.  The hearings committee will not hear witnesses or statements from other parties.  Both the complainant and the accused may bring one support person or legal counsel to the administrative review hearing for support and advice.  Confidentiality will be maintained with regard to the hearing and the complaint in order to protect the due process rights of both parties.

The hearings committee may develop additional procedural guidelines of which the complainant and the accused will be notified in advance.

Step 10:  The hearings committee submits a written report of findings and recommendations to the college president.

The hearings committee will have up to 10 working days from the date of the hearing to submit a written report of its findings to the president.  The findings will address the vice president's application of sexual harassment policy and law to the facts of the situation.  If the facts of the situation are unclear due to an inadequate fact finding process, the hearings committee will recommend that additional fact finding take place. The hearings committee will not conduct this fact-finding.  It will be conducted under Step 4 and proceed through the remaining steps.

The hearing committee's report may include both majority and dissenting opinions.

Step 11:  The college president notifies the complainant and the accused of the decision.

The president has up to 10 working days to review the hearing committee’s report, make a decision about the complaint and send written notification of that decision to the complainant and the accused. If the president accepts a hearing committee recommendation for additional investigation, the president will notify the complainant in writing that the process will return to step 4 and continue according to the procedure and timelines indicated for that and subsequent steps in the process.

Notification of the president's decision may be delivered to the complainant directly by a representative of the college or by the US Postal Service, depending upon the circumstances and the complainant's location.