EFFECTIVE: March 22, 2007
CANCELS:May 23, 2002
1. Preamble
The St. Jerome's University is committed to providing and maintaining a supportive study, work, worship, and recreational environment for students, staff, and faculty. All forms of harassment, discrimination, unfair employment practices, and other unethical behaviour are incompatible with the goals, principles, and codes of behaviour at the University. They can potentially affect adversely a person's work or study performance and most are prohibited by the Human Rights Code and other Ontario Statutes. The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination based upon race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family status, the receipt of public assistance, record of provincial offenses or pardoned federal offenses.
St. Jerome's University intends to work at preventing all forms of harassment, discrimination, and other unfair practices through a process of education and communication, and each member of the University community shares in the responsibility to create an environment free of these practices. At the same time it is recognized that power is not shared equally and those with more power need to exercise greater levels of responsibility and accountability. All members of St. Jerome’s have the right to work in an atmosphere that encourages free and active intellectual and scholarly discussion on a wide range of topics. They also have the responsibility to provide an inclusive and tolerant work and study atmosphere and to treat each other with respect.
The following policy and procedures are designed to provide for the ongoing education of the University community and to ensure that instances of harassment, discrimination, and other unfair practices are dealt with appropriately, fairly, and effectively. It applies to all members of the University Community--staff, students, and faculty--whether on or off campus, and to those who have no ongoing connection to the institution, but are on campus.
2. Definitions
2.1 a) Harassment: a series of offensive comments or actions related to one or more of the prohibited grounds that are known or might reasonably be known to be unwelcome, unwanted, offensive, intimidating, hostile, or inappropriate.
b) Sexual Harassment includes, but is not limited to:
i) any advances of a sexual nature by a person who knows, or ought reasonably to know, that such advances are unwanted.
ii) an expressed or clearly implied promise of reward or reprisal for complying or failing to comply with a sexually-oriented request.
iii) sexually-oriented behaviour or remarks, including sexist remarks, which might reasonably be perceived to create an offensive or hostile atmosphere for work, study, or recreation. This includes ongoing, repetitive behaviour that is clearly unwelcome to the recipient.
2.2 a) Discrimination: action(s) or behaviour(s) that results in the unfavourable or adverse treatment or preferential treatment related to the prohibited grounds. Discrimination includes prejudicial or differential treatment such as refusal to provide goods, services or facilities, exclusion from employment or employment benefits, refusal to work with, teach, or study with someone, failure to make reasonable efforts to provide physical access.
b) Sexism refers to the judging of people in terms of their gender or sexual orientation where neither is relevant. Sexist practice is commonly understood as individual or institutionalized discriminatory behaviour based on the perceived inferiority of a gender or sexual orientation.
2.3 Systemic Harassment/Discrimination: policies, practices, procedures, actions or inactions, that appear neutral, but have an adverse impact associated with one of the prohibited grounds, such as an exam schedule that conflicts with an important religious event. [Please see "Religious Holidays/Examination Schedule" regulation of the University of Waterloo Senate Regulations Governing Examination Procedures.]
3. Grievance Advice and Information Service
An Advice and Information Service will be established to coordinate all aspects of the University's response to issues of sexual harassment, discrimination, or other unethical behaviour as set out below:
a) Appointment:
The Vice-President and Academic Dean, in consultation with the Steering Committee of College Council, will appoint a Grievance Advisor for St. Jerome’s, and an alternate Advisor of the other gender, for a two (2) year renewable term. The initial appointment of the Alternate Advisor shall be for a one (1) year term to ensure that the terms of office expire in alternate years. The Vice-President and Academic Dean shall enquire of all candidates for the position of Grievance Advisor and Alternate Advisor if they have any experience in mediating grievance issues. Qualifications for these positions should include a high degree of personal integrity, excellent interpersonal skills, and sound knowledge of the issues involved and familiarity with the St. Jerome’s University Grievance Policy, Employment Policy and parallel University of Waterloo policies. The senior administrative officers of the University, i.e. the President, the Vice-President and Academic Dean, and the Associate Dean, are not eligible to serve as Grievance Advisor or Alternate Advisor.
b) Terms of reference:
The Grievance Advisor
i) is responsible for monitoring the University's grievance policy and procedures
ii) is responsible for ensuring that the University community is well-informed about harassment and discrimination issues, and other unethical practices and their consequences. This duty will be carried out with the assistance of a Grievance Committee (Section 3.3) and includes:
- making sure that this policy is easily available to the St. Jerome’s community.
- organizing regular workshops and/or other events designed to educate the University community about harassment, discrimination, and other related issues.
- responding to incidents of concern to the university community.
- ensuring that managers, supervisors, chairpersons and others in authority are aware of their rights and responsibilities under the policy and the Ontario Human Rights Code and of the various internal and external complaint procedures available.
iii) provides the first official contact in allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, or other unfair, unethical, or illegal practices
iv) functions as an impartial advisor to the parties when an allegation has been made. These duties may include:
- to advise or refer to other support services
- to assist the parties in determining the basis for a complaint
- to advise the parties of the options available through University policy
v) coordinates a resolution process in cases of harassment, discrimination, or other unfair practice which may include receipt of written statements and responses from both parties, and, if necessary, the choice of a mediator acceptable to both parties
vi) acts as liaison with related authorities in the University of Waterloo or other appropriate bodies
vii) maintains files concerning all reported cases. These files are confidential except where disclosure is required by this policy or the law and they shall not be destroyed until the expiration of any legal limitation period
viii) keeps pertinent statistics concerning all complaints, in matters of sexual harassment and sexist practice, at St. Jerome's University, and reports these annually to the Dean. [See also Section 9.3]
3.2 Alternate Grievance Advisor
The Alternate serves in place of the Grievance Advisor where the complainant perceives an impediment to open discussion with the Grievance Advisor or where a conflict of interest is perceived by either or both parties. The Alternate Advisor is ex-officio a member of the Grievance Committee.
3.3 Grievance Committee
The Grievance Committee assists the Grievance Advisor in providing an educational program for the University and participates in Formal Administrative Action in case of a grievance.
Membership: the Grievance Advisor (Chair); the Alternate Grievance Advisor; one (1) member of the faculty elected annually by the faculty and one (1) member of the staff elected annually by the staff, in an election conducted by the Steering Committee of College Council; and one (1) student selected annually by the Students’ Union. The senior officers of the administration are not eligible to sit on this Committee.
4. Principles
4.1 Fairness: Procedures under this policy are to be guided by the principle of natural justice and assurance that all parties will be treated in a spirit of fairness:
a) both parties have the right to a compassionate as well as an impartial consideration, and to seek reasonable remedies for any wrong that may have been done.
b) the respondent has the right to know both the allegations and the identity of the complainant, and the right to respond to the complaint(s).
4.2 Responsibility: At each stage of the process, the initiative rests with the complainant, except in cases where the Vice-President and Academic Dean of St. Jerome’s determines that it is appropriate to proceed, including cases where the Ontario Human Rights Code requires an institutional response.
4.3 Process: Wherever possible, complaints will be resolved through the informal process (Section 6). All complaints shall go through the office of the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate). Generally, Formal Administrative Action will be initiated only after an informal resolution has been attempted and has failed. Subject to Section 8: if the complainant elects not to proceed further then the complaint must be formally withdrawn.
4.4 Confidentiality: Due respect for confidentiality must be maintained by all parties at all stages of the process, except where disclosure is required by this policy or law.
5. Initiating the Complaint
5.1 At any stage of the proceedings a complainant or a respondent may be accompanied by a support person of his/her choice. If the advisor is legal counsel then the alternate party, the Grievance Advisor and the Vice-President and Academic Dean, must be apprised beforehand.
5.2 Complaints must be communicated to the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate) within ninety (90) days after the alleged incident occurred, except in extraordinary circumstances.
5.3 Normally, within two (2) weeks of the initial consultation with the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate), the complainant will do one of the following:
a) take no further action.
b) speak directly to the respondent.
c) write a letter of complaint to the respondent.
d) attempt to have the matter resolved informally with the help of the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate) (Section 6).
5.4 If informal procedures do not lead to a resolution within one (1) month of the initial complaint, the complainant may proceed to Formal Administrative Action (Section 7).
5.5 Both the complainant and the respondent are entitled to information on external avenues of redress available (through court, Human Rights Commission, etc.)
6. Informal Resolution
6.1 The complainant will give the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate) a written statement of the complaint, including, if possible, dates, times, places, and people involved.
6.2 Within one (1) week of the receipt of the above document or as soon as is reasonably possible, the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate) will write a summary of the complaint. This summary will be shown to the complainant who will have the opportunity to suggest changes to ensure that the summary is a fair representation of the complaint made, and will initial the summary to indicate agreement. The summary will be presented at this point to the respondent by the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate).
6.3 Within one (1) week of the receipt of the summary, the respondent shall present a written response to the complaint to the Advisor (or Alternate). Within one (1) week of the receipt of the written response to the complaint, the Advisor (or Alternate) will write a summary of the response. This summary will be shown to the respondent who will have the opportunity to suggest changes to ensure that the summary is a fair representation of his/her response and will initial the summary to indicate agreement. The summary will then be presented to the complainant by the Advisor (or Alternate).
6.4 Within three (3) weeks of notification to the respondent, the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate) will discuss the complaint with both parties. He/She may then either personally attempt to effect a resolution that is fair and acceptable to both parties, or appoint a mediator to do so.
6.5 If a resolution is reached, both parties will sign a statement to that effect which will be filed with the Grievance Advisor. No further action will be taken, unless the parties fail to comply with the terms of the resolution. If no resolution is reached, then Formal Administrative Action shall be taken.
6.6 The time frame specified in Section 6 is meant to be strictly adhered to. However, where circumstances necessitate delay the time may be extended, and all parties will be promptly and fully informed.
7. Formal Administrative Action
7.1 Within one (1) week of the decision to proceed to Formal Administrative Action, the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate) will report the particulars of the case to the Vice-President and Academic Dean and will provide him/her with all pertinent documentation.
7.2 Within one (1) week the Dean will:
a) inform both parties in writing that formal proceedings have been initiated
b) convene the Grievance Committee as constituted in 3.3 excepting that the Grievance Advisor or Alternate who has been involved in the case shall not form part of the Committee on that case. Provided no conflict of interest exists, the Alternate or Grievance Advisor not involved shall sit on the Committee. However, the Grievance Advisor and Alternate Advisor involved shall be present at all proceedings to provide the Committee with information concerning the case. The other Advisor will chair the committee and will participate as a voting member of the Committee. In case of conflict of interest, any member of the Committee shall withdraw or be asked to withdraw, and the Vice-President and Academic Dean will appoint a replacement.
7.3 Within a reasonable period of time, which shall normally not exceed thirty (30) days the Committee is to determine by majority vote whether harassment, discrimination, or other unfair practice has occurred and to make written recommendations concerning action to be taken. In order to achieve this, with the permission of the Vice-President and Academic Dean the Committee may seek legal counsel or interview either or both parties, who may be accompanied at the interview by a support person of their choice, and any other person deemed relevant by the Committee, as well as by any document deemed relevant by the Committee. Where minority opinion exists within the Committee, the final recommendation will include a minority report(s). The recommendations of the Committee may range from complete exoneration of the respondent to severe disciplinary action including expulsion from, or termination of employment by, the University or the commencement of proceedings under policy.
The Committee may also recommend that any decision concerning the complainant which may have been affected by harassment, discrimination, or unfair practice such as a grade, a merit increase, or a promotion, be reconsidered, and a range of redress options considered.
7.4 Within one (1) week after the Committee has reached its decision, the Vice-President and Academic Dean shall provide the President and both parties with a copy of the Committee's written report, including recommendations.
7.5 Within two (2) weeks either party may appeal the Committee's recommendation to the President.
7.6 At the end of the two (2) weeks, if no appeal has been brought forward, the President shall determine, after considering the recommendations of the Committee, what action(s), if any, will be taken. The President's decision concerning actions to be taken will be communicated in writing to both parties and to the members of the Grievance Committee.
7.7 Either party shall have the right to appeal the President's decision within thirty (30) days to a single outside arbitrator to be chosen by agreement between the parties, failing which agreement to be chosen by majority vote of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors. The arbitration shall be commenced by the delivery of a notice of appeal to the Dean of St. Jerome’s University. The arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitrations Act, RSO 1990, c.A.24 as amended, the costs of legal representation, if any, to be borne equally by each party. The costs of the arbitrator and the arbitration shall be shared equally by the parties and the decision of the arbitrator shall be final.
7.8 In instances where the President or the Vice-President and Academic Dean are a party to the complaint or where a conflict of interest exists the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors (excluding the President or the Vice-President and Academic Dean) will appoint a person or persons, including the possibility of a person from outside St. Jerome's University, to exercise all the functions of the Advisor, the President or the Dean under sections 7, 8 and 9 of this policy, except that a replacement for the President will make a recommendation to the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors for its action.
7.9 The time frame specified in Section 7 is meant to be strictly adhered to. However, where circumstances necessitate delay, the time may be extended, and all parties will be promptly and fully informed.
8. St. Jerome's University as Complainant
8.1 If the Grievance Advisor determines in his or her sole discretion that an allegation is of a serious nature or if the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate) detects evidence of repeated behaviour by an alleged offender in incident reports that have not resulted in official proceedings against that individual, the Grievance Advisor will communicate with the persons who reported the incidents to determine their willingness to provide testimony if St. Jerome's University were to proceed on their behalf against the alleged offender.
8.2 The Grievance Advisor will provide the Vice-President and Academic Dean with the particulars of all serious allegations and the names of any witnesses who agree to testify and any incident reports relating to possible testimony. The Vice-President and Academic Dean will determine in his/her sole discretion within two weeks whether St. Jerome's University will initiate a complaint against the alleged offender.
8.3 The Vice-President and Academic Dean will inform the Grievance Advisor of the decision to proceed with the complaint. Proceedings will follow the terms laid out in sections 6 and 7 of this policy, except that in this case the Vice-President and Academic Dean will act as complainant on behalf of St. Jerome's University and his/her functions under this policy will be exercised by a replacement chosen by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors as in Section 7.8.
9. Other Proceedings
9.1 Nothing in this policy and procedures established by St. Jerome's University concerning harassment, discrimination or other unfair practices prevent an individual from pursuing his or her rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
9.2 At the sole discretion of the Vice-President and Academic Dean, proceeding under this policy may continue even if proceedings in the courts or before the Ontario Human Rights Commission are commenced or pursued by any party.
9.3 If the Grievance Advisor (or Alternate) resolves two (2) or more complaints against the same respondent, the Vice-President and Academic Dean will be notified and furnished with all relevant documentation. After reviewing the cases, the Vice-President and Academic Dean will take appropriate action, the respondent being entitled to be heard as set out in Section 7.7.
9.4 Reprisals
Retaliation or reprisal, or threats of reprisal, against anyone for pursuing his/her rights under this policy, or for having cooperated in an investigation, or for having been associated with someone pursuing rights, or for acting in any role under the policy/procedure, shall be treated as in themselves acts of harassment and/or discrimination.
9.5 For vexatious or frivolous complaints
Frivolous, vexatious, or bad faith complaints will result in the same process and range of sanctions as for other complaints described in this policy.
9.6 Policy/procedure review
St. Jerome’s Grievance policy will be reviewed at five-year intervals by an external evaluator who will make recommendations for changes in the policy or procedures.
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