Something is off in the ivory tower.
Utah universities are grappling with labor issues in the wake of complaints of discrimination and hostile work practices filed against two different state campuses.
In recent months, both Utah State University and Utah Valley University have seen significant problems arise through their handling of Title IX cases — or, in the case of USU, their apparent not-handling.
The Logan campus ended up removing its Title IX coordinator, the staff member tasked with handling complaints related to the federal anti-discrimination policy, just weeks after an investigation found USU administrators had mustered only a weak response to a “pervasive culture of sexism” punctuated by multiple allegations of assault made against music faculty at the school. A fuller write-up of the situation is here.
Meanwhile, in Orem, the UVU situation has similar features — namely that the university as a whole is now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for potential Title IX violations. The campus coordinator for Title IX was fired by administration and is now suing the school. Her claims are substantiated at least in part in the contents of different lawsuit filed by a separate former UVU staff member who has accused university leaders of racism and religious discrimination. You can read more about these cases here.
So what can we learn from what we’re seeing at these universities? Many of their issues are stemming from provisions of Title IX, a law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational settings funded by the federal government. If you don’t fall into that category, the title may very well not apply to you. However, that’s not to say these developments are happening in a vacuum, as employers across the nation have been fielding similar complaints as part of the extended #MeToo movement. Not just limited to sexual assaults and harassment, the movement has inspired employees to come forward with stories about non-sexual abuse they feel they have experienced in the office.
The best approach to handling cases of this nature is a proactive one, but sometimes you’re pushed to a reactive mode. For either side of that, and from human resources consulting to legal counsel, we’re here to help. Give us a call to see what we can do for you.