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Carteret Community College is committed to providing a learning and working environment free of unlawful harassment including sexual harassment, and retaliation. The College strongly disapproves of, and will not tolerate unlawful harassment and retaliation. This policy prohibits unlawful workplace harassment and retaliation in accordance with the definitions set forth below. Unlawful harassment is a form of discrimination that violates Title VII and IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This policy applies to unwelcomed or unsolicited speech or conduct occurring in the workplace and/or in other settings where College employees may be in connection with their work, including but not limited to, school trips and related social events. All persons are expected to refrain from engaging in conduct that may be construed as retaliation and unlawful harassment. Likewise, each person is expected to take the necessary steps to prevent and eliminate its occurrence.
The College’s Director, Human Resources shall serve as the authorized party to receive and process all complaints under this policy, involving College employees. If there is reason to believe the Director, Human Resources is implicated in or a party to the alleged harassing behavior, then the College President should be consulted.
In determining whether conduct constitutes unlawful harassment, the record as a whole will be considered, as well as the totality of the circumstances, such as the nature of the alleged conduct and the context in which it occurred. Any employee found to be in violation of this policy will be disciplined in accordance with the College Policy & Procedures Manual. Any student found to be in violation of this policy will be disciplined in accordance with student conduct disciplinary action in the College Catalog & Student Handbook.
Definition of Terms:
DEFINITIONS OF HARASSMENT AND EXAMPLES OF INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR COVERED BY THIS POLICY
- Unlawful harassment is unwelcome or unsolicited speech or conduct based upon race, sex, creed, religion, national origin, age, color, or handicapping condition as defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 168A-3 that creates a hostile work or learning environment or circumstances involving quid pro quo.
- Hostile work or learning environment is one that both a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive and one that the particular person who is the object of the harassment perceives to be hostile or abusive. Hostile environment is determined by looking at all of the circumstances, including the frequency of the harassing conduct, its severity, whether it is humiliating or physically threatening, and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work performance, or with a student’s academic performance and/or full benefit from College programs or services.
- Quid pro quo harassment consists of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct when:
- Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or other terms or conditions of employment.
- Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment or other decisions affecting such an individual.
- Examples of sexual harassment may include all activities that attempt to extort sexual favors, inappropriate touching, suggestive comments, and public display (including on or via computers) of pornographic or suggestive calendars, posters, or signs.
- Sexual harassment does not include personal compliments welcomed by the recipient, or social interaction or relationships freely entered into by participants. However, the College strongly discourages romantic and sexual relationships between faculty and student or between supervisor and employee even when such relationships appear, or are believed to be, consensual. The lines of power and authority that exist between the parties may undermine freedom of choice. If a charge is made by a party in a consensual relationship, the College will treat the charge the same as any other charge.
- Retaliation is an adverse treatment that occurs because of opposition to unlawful harassment. Retaliation by any employee of the college against a student or an employee for using the policy and its procedures in good faith is grounds for appropriate disciplinary action.
Unlawful Harassment Procedures
Initial Report and Preliminary Investigation: Any faculty, staff member, or job applicant who believes that he/she has been subjected to unlawful workplace harassment by another faculty or staff member or by a student is to report the incident to the Director of Human Resources. If the person reports the incident to any other administrator of the College, that administrator has the responsibility to inform the grievant that a grievance must be filed with the Director of Human Resources. The administrator is encouraged to support the grievant in this process.
The initial complaint may be verbal but the Director of Human Resources must insist that any such report be expressed immediately in writing. If the initial contact with the grievant was not person-to-person, within five workdays of the date of the receipt of the written complaint, the Director of Human Resources must confer personally with the complainant. The Director of Human Resources will expeditiously gather information concerning the alleged incident. At any time during the preliminary investigation, but no later than ten workdays after the date of the initial written complaint, the Director of Human Resources shall attempt to meet with the accused party to hear their response concerning the grievance. Thereafter, the Director of Human Resources shall conduct such further investigation as deemed necessary and proceed with the Informal Resolution process. If a complaint alleges facts of a serious nature that, if proven true, could result in dismissal, suspension, or demotion of an employee, the Director of Human Resources shall forego any attempt to settle the incident informally and proceed to the Formal Resolution process. Additionally, if the allegations have the potential to be considered a violation of Title IX, then the Human Resources Director will lead a formal Title IX Investigatory Term to conduct formal, structured interviews with the complainant, accused and all appropriate witnesses.
Informal Resolution: The Director of Human Resources is encouraged to attempt informal resolution through consultation and conciliation with the parties where a complaint of unlawful workplace harassment alleges relatively minor misconduct. Examples of informal resolution follow, none of which are to be construed as a “disciplinary action.”
- Counseling and/or mediation with the parties to discuss the perceived problem and potential solutions.
- Instructions to the accused party, coordinated with the accused party’s supervisor, to refrain from specified conduct.
- Consent agreement by the accused party, with or without an admission of violation of the policy, to refrain from a particular course of conduct. 4. Agreement of the accused party to seek professional help.
The Director of Human Resources shall still notify the grievant and the accused party of the terms of resolution by hand delivery or by Certified Mail, Return Receipt, Restricted Delivery within this ten work-days of reaching an agreement.
If the Director of Human Resources is unable to resolve the grievance through informal conciliation and consultation, notice of such must be sent to both parties by hand delivery or by Certified Mail, Return Receipt, Restricted Delivery within ten workdays from the date the Director of Human Resources meets with the accused party.
At this juncture, the grievant has the opportunity to appeal the matter to the President. The grievant must make the appeal in written form to the President within ten workdays from the date of the receipt of the notice of failure to reach informal resolution. Failure to give written notice of the appeal within the allotted time period shall constitute acceptance of the proposed informal resolution by the grievant with no further right of appeal.
Formal Resolution: A formal complaint alleging serious workplace harassment must be in writing and signed by the person making the charge and the President must be immediately informed At any time after being notified of an allegation of unlawful workplace harassment, the President has the authority to suspend the person charged. This suspension shall be with pay in compliance with the discipline portions of this manual.
Within five workdays of the date of the receipt of the written complaint, the Director of Human Resources must confer with the grievant. The Director of Human Resources will expeditiously gather information concerning the alleged incidents or incidents. At any time during the preliminary investigation, but no later than ten workdays after the date of the initial written complaint, the Director of Human Resources shall attempt to meet with the accused party to hear their response concerning the grievance. Thereafter, the Director of Human Resources shall conduct such further investigation as deemed necessary.
Within 20 workdays from the date of the complaint the Director of Human Resources must report the findings in writing and in detail to the President, together with recommendations for further action. Within 5 workdays from the date of the receipt of this report, the President must notify the grievant and accused party by Certified Mail, Return Receipt, Restricted Delivery, of his acceptance or rejection of the proposed resolution. The failure of the President to give the notice within 5 workdays shall constitute the President’s acceptance of the proposed resolution of grievance. Within 10 workdays of the receipt of the proposed resolution; or 5 workdays from the date of the receipt of the President’s acceptance or rejection of the resolution of the grievance, the employee may appeal the matter to the President. Notice of the appeal must be in writing, and failure to give written notice of the appeal within the allotted time period and in the proper form shall constitute an acceptance of the proposed resolution by the accused, with no further right of appeal.
Within five workdays from the date of the receipt of the letter of appeal, the President shall issue his decision. The decision may include a finding that the allegations are unsubstantiated, or a finding that the allegations are substantiated. If unsubstantiated, the President will dismiss the charges and so notify the parties. If the allegations are substantiated, the President can order such action as is necessary to eliminate the unlawful workplace harassment and can impose any discipline he deems necessary, up to and including dismissal. The notice sent by the President must be in writing and sent by Certified Mail, Return Receipt, Restricted Delivery.
The final appeal shall be determined by the President unless the President himself shall have been the subject of the allegations, in which case the appeal shall be to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. An appeal to the Chairman shall be determined by the Chairman of the Board, or by the Personnel Committee of the Board if he so desires.
Disciplinary actions resulting from the Formal Resolution process will be placed in the personnel file of the accused party. For any disciplinary action taken, the accused shall have the right to appeal as per the rights outlined in Conflict Resolution Policy.