Ohio Administrative Code › Title 3342 - Kent State University › Chapter 3342-5 - Administrative Policies In General › Section 3342-5-16.1 - Administrative policy and grievance procedure regarding compliants of discrimination and harassment

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) Purpose. This policy sets forth the
			 expectations and responsibilities for maintaining a safe educational and
			 employment environment free of discrimination and harassment. This policy
			 prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, gender,
			 sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, genetic
			 information, age, and military or veteran status. Retaliation for reporting or
			 participating in the complaint process is also prohibited.
(B) Definitions.
(1) Office of compliance, equal opportunity,
			 and affirmative action (EOAA) and the office of gender
			 equity and Title IX (Title IX office). The offices that
			 administers this policy, including handling complaints of unlawful
			 discrimination. EOAA has also designated "affirmative action facilitators" at
			 each regional campus and in select university colleges and departments
			 
									and the Title IX office has designated "deputy Title IX
			 coordinators." These individuals may assist EOAA or the Title IX office with
			 investigations. The director of EOAA serves as the ADA Title II and
			 Rehabilitation Act Section 504 coordinator overseeing complaints of disability
			 discrimination. The gender equity director within 
									the division of
			 student affairs
									 serves as the
			 Title IX coordinator.
(2)
			 Complainant. The person, organization, or department that files a complaint
			 with EOAA or the Title IX office alleging that
			 they have been discriminated against.
(3) Respondent. The person, organization, or
			 department that the complaint is filed against. If the respondent serves in
			 more than one role on campus (for example, a respondent who is both a student
			 and an employee), the respondent's primary role in the occurrence of the
			 alleged action shall determine which investigative path below shall be
			 followed. Additional sanctions based on the respondent's secondary role may be
			 considered as appropriate.
(4)
			 Discrimination. Action based on a protected category that limits a group or
			 individual's ability to participate in the university's educational and
			 employment opportunities.
(5)
			 Harassment. A form of discrimination. Harassment is defined as action taken
			 without consent, based on a protected category, and either:
(a) Enduring the offensive conduct becomes a
			 condition of continued employment, academic success, or benefit; or
(b) Sufficiently severe or pervasive so as to
			 interfere with the individual or group's ability to benefit from university
			 employment, services, activities or privileges.
(6) Protected category. The following
			 personal characteristics are considered "protected categories." Discrimination
			 is prohibited based on the following:
(a)
			 Race;
(b) Color;
(c) Religion: sincerely held religious
			 beliefs;
(d) Gender or sex. This
			 includes discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression, gender
			 non-conformity, and pregnancy. Gender or sexual harassment also includes the
			 following:
(i) Sexual misconduct. Intentional
			 sexual touching with any body part or object, that is without consent. This
			 also includes:
(a) Sexual exploitation,
			 defined as taking non-consensual or abusive sexual advantage of another for
			 one's own benefit, or to benefit a third party; or
(b) Knowingly transmitting a sexually
			 transmitted infection without consent.
(ii) Stalking. Engaging in a course of
			 conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to
			 fear for their safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional
			 distress.
(iii) Domestic violence.
			 Felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed by a current or former
			 spouse or intimate partner of the victim, by a person with whom the victim
			 shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has
			 cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner, by a person
			 similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family
			 violence laws of the jurisdiction, or by any other person against an adult or
			 youth victim who is protected from that person's acts under the domestic or
			 family violence laws of the jurisdiction.
(iv) Dating violence. Violence or
			 intimidation committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship
			 of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. The existence of such a
			 relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the length of the
			 relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction
			 between the persons involved in the relationship. Dating violence includes, but
			 is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such
			 abuse.
(e) Sexual
			 orientation;
(f) National
			 origin;
(g) Ancestry;
(h) Disability. This category includes
			 protections for individuals with a physical or mental impairment that
			 substantially limits one or more major life activity; individuals with a record
			 of such an impairment; or individuals regarded as having such an impairment.
			 Complaints regarding a failure to accommodate a disability are also included
			 within this procedure. (genetic information of an employee or an employee's
			 family member);
(i) Age: over forty
			 years old; and
(j) Military or
			 veteran status.
(7)
			 Consent. An action defined as the voluntary, unambiguous and uncoerced
			 agreement to participate in an act, the nature and full extent of which is
			 understood by all parties. Silence or lack of resistance cannot be the sole
			 factor in determining consent. Consent may be given verbally or nonverbally.
			 All parties are responsible for confirming that their counterpart's consent is
			 maintained throughout the act and is present before engaging in a new act. A
			 person may be incapable of giving consent due to physical incapacitation,
			 physical or mental disability, threat, coercion, the influence of alcohol or
			 drugs, or age.
(a) Coercion. When an
			 individual unreasonably pressures another to engage in sexual activity, despite
			 responses that the conduct is unwelcome or unwanted. Coercion includes elements
			 of pressure, duress, cajoling, and compulsion. The pressure to participate may
			 also be considered unreasonable when the pressuring individual is in a position
			 of influence or authority over the other individual.
(b) Incapacitation. A state where a person
			 lacks the capacity to reasonably appreciate the nature or extent of the
			 situation because of their physical or mental status, developmental disability,
			 or alcohol or drug use.
(8) Retaliation. A retaliatory action is any
			 materially adverse action taken against a person because they
			 , or someone they are associated with, engaged in an
			 activity protected by this policy. Protected activity includes:
(a)
										filing a good
			 faith report or complaint of discrimination under this rule or under the law
			 ;
(b)
										participating in the process for investigating complaints of
			 discrimination made under this rule or the law;
(c)complaining of or
			 opposing discrimination as defined by this rule. A materially adverse
			 action is one that might deter a reasonable person from participating in the
			 protected
			 activity. It may include, but is not limited to, termination, discipline,
			 and harassment, but does not include petty slights, minor annoyances, or
			 trivial punishment.