The following messages were sent via email to employees designated as confidential employees, assisting employees, and designated reporters according to UO policy.
Update Feb. 4, 2022: Questions about reporting responsibilities can be emailed to oicrc@uoregon.edu.
January 19, 2022
Dear colleague,
The University of Oregon is committed to fostering a culture of safety and respect. Ensuring a safe and inclusive learning and working environment is fundamental to our mission as an institution.
This fall, a new policy for reporting prohibited discrimination and harassment, went into effect. The new policy replaces the university’s two prior reporting policies.
As a Designated Reporter under the new policy, you are obligated to:
- Report disclosures of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by students and employees using the online reporting form.
- If a student discloses sex or gender-based harassment or violence, after you have met with the student, complete the Designated Reporter Checklist to document your conversation and retain it for your records.
- Provide resources relevant to the situation, such as SAFE.uoregon.edu for students reporting sexual harassment and violence and the employee assistance program for faculty and staff. A full list of resources can be found on the OICRC website.
- Consider including approved language about your reporting status in your email signature or course syllabi.
I also encourage you to review the new policy. Employees who fail to comply with the policy and meet their obligations may be subject to disciplinary action. In addition, as a Designated Reporter, you are also a Campus Security Authority (CSA). You will soon receive a separate notice concerning your responsibilities as a CSA.
Human Resources will soon be launching a new required training for all employees to help you understand your obligations. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office at icrcinfo@uoregon.edu. Thank you for being a key part of our efforts to respond to prohibited discrimination and harassment.
Sincerely,
Nicole Commissiong
Associate Vice President, Chief Civil Rights Officer, and Title IX Coordinator
Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance
Dear colleague,
The University of Oregon is committed to fostering a culture of safety and respect. Ensuring a safe and inclusive learning and working environment is fundamental to our mission as an institution.
This fall, a new policy for reporting prohibited discrimination and harassment, went into effect. The new policy replaces the university’s two prior reporting policies.
Your position has been classified as an Assisting Employee under the new policy. This means when you receive information about prohibited discrimination or harassment, you are obligated to:
- Provide resources relevant to the situation, such as SAFE.uoregon.edu for students reporting sexual harassment and violence and the employee assistance program for faculty and staff. A full list of resources can be found on the OICRC website.
- Inform the person of reporting options, including the option to report to the Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance.
- Explicitly ask the person making the disclosure whether they want assistance submitting a report, and then follow the person’s wishes in either making a report for them, assisting them in making the report, not reporting, and/or referring them to confidential resources.
- Consider using the Assisting Employee Checklist to document your conversation if a student discloses sex or gender-based harassment or violence. Please do not record the student’s name on the checklist.
- Consider including approved language about your reporting status in your email signature or course syllabi.
Assisting Employees should not report disclosures of prohibited discrimination unless the person making the disclosure so requests with two exceptions noted below.
First, assisting employees are required to report information that suggests a threat to the health or safety of any person, or where otherwise required by law (e.g., in the case of child abuse).
Second, if you are a supervisor (defined as someone who has the power to take tangible employment actions against an employee) or a Human Resources professional within a department or college, you are required to report discriminatory misconduct by employees, i.e., any incident where an employee has allegedly engaged in prohibited discrimination or retaliation. You will meet your reporting obligation by completing the university’s online reporting form.
I encourage you to review the new policy. Employees who fail to comply with the policy and meet their obligations may be subject to disciplinary action. In addition, some Assisting Employees are also Campus Security Authorities (CSA). If you are a CSA, you will soon receive a separate notice concerning your responsibilities as a CSA.
Human Resources will soon be launching a new required training for all employees to help you understand your obligations. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office at icrcinfo@uoregon.edu. Thank you for being a key part of our efforts to respond to prohibited discrimination and harassment.
Sincerely,
Nicole Commissiong
Associate Vice President, Chief Civil Rights Officer, and Title IX Coordinator
Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance
Dear colleague,
The University of Oregon is committed to fostering a culture of safety and respect. Ensuring a safe and inclusive learning and working environment is fundamental to our mission as an institution.
This fall, a new policy on reporting prohibited discrimination and harassment went into effect. This policy replaces the university’s two prior reporting policies.
Your position has been classified as a Confidential Employee under the new policy. This means that when working within the scope of your position as a confidential employee you will not share information disclosed to you with others without the express permission of the person making the disclosure or as required or permitted by applicable law or professional codes of ethics (such as cases involving imminent risk of serious harm or child abuse for persons under 18 years of age).
As a Confidential Employee:
- Provide resources relevant to the situation, such as SAFE.uoregon.edu for students reporting sexual harassment and violence and the employee assistance program for faculty and staff. A full list of resources can be found on the OICRC website.
- Inform the person of reporting options, including the option to report to the Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance.
- If a student wants you to make a report to the Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance or to connect the student with the Care and Advocacy Program (previously Crisis Intervention), or both, contact the appropriate office while the student is with you if possible, but no longer than 24 hours after the student expressed this wish. If the student does not give consent to make such a connection, then you should not disclose the information but you may consult with the Care and Advocacy Program without disclosing the student’s name.
- Consider including approved language about your reporter status in your email signature.
Please note that if you are a supervisor or Human Resources professional within a department or college, you are required to report discriminatory misconduct where an employee is alleged to have engaged in prohibited discrimination or retaliation involving another employee. You will meet your reporting obligation by completing the university’s online reporting form.
I also encourage you to review the new policy. Failure to comply with the policy and meet your obligations may be subject to disciplinary action.
Human Resources will soon be launching a new required training for all employees to help you understand your obligations. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office at icrcinfo@uoregon.edu. Thank you for being a key part of our efforts to respond to prohibited discrimination and harassment.
Sincerely,
Nicole Commissiong
Associate Vice President, Chief Civil Rights Officer, and Title IX Coordinator
Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance