Reports and Data 
March 12, 1999
(This report is available in alternate format upon request.)
REPORT FROM THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OFFICE:
DISCRIMINATORY HARASSMENT REPORTS FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 1997-98
Pat Gormley, Special Assistant to the President for Affirmative Action
The first enclosed chart is a summary of incidents and complaints brought or considered under the University's Discriminatory Harassment Policy for Academic Year 1997-98. The second is for incidents and complaints brought solely under the American With Disabilities Act (ADA) (and related statutes) compliance procedures. The Affirmative Action Office while previously providing reports in differing formats, has not had a consistent data-collection form or reporting instrument. We are now working to solve that problem and to have consistent year-to-year recording and reporting for informational and trend purposes.
As to the first chart (general discriminatory harassment), many cases brought to this office do not fit the criteria for discrimination or harassment based on any of the ten protected categories (such as race, sex or disability). Employees and students have assumed that anv harassment (such as mistreatment by a difficult supervisor) is encompassed by this policy, because of the nature of policy language taken out of the context of legal protections against the designated category discriminatory harassment. In workplace cases (both Affirmative Actioi-i and ADA), the Affirmative Action Office has tried to facilitate the involvement of the individual's supervisory chain and the Human Resources personnel officer responsible for that organization, and to inform employees about the complaint and grievance processes. (These cases are in the Other/Not Protected category.)
Resolution of cases that do fit the criteria is not always tidy and frequently does not reach closure officially. Sometimes there is a lack of follow-up to the Affirmative Action Office. (This may not be a problem if the complainant just needed someone to talk to.) Some cases are completed outside affirmative action procedures (such as faculty grievances filed with the bargaining unit). One case is totally "outside" LJNH processes, as it was filed before the Human Rights Commission by a former employee and decided in the University's favor. [Similarly, two cases listed on the second chart were assisted by the ADA Compliance Officer.] Other complaints that are technically outside the UNH processes include complaints by a former student and by the parent of a prospective student.
There were 40 complaints or issues brought by complainants or third-party advocates. [In some cases, more than one category was noted, so there are more complaints (40) than complainants (35).] Six of the cases were brought by or for faculty; 21 for staff, ten for students aid three “other”. The bulk of the cases or specific complaints dealt with sexual harassment, but there were issues involving sexual orientation, religion, disability (separate from those in the second chart), age, and race or ethnicity. The largest separate category is non-protected category harassment, discussed above (14 cases, primarily staff).
Situations in which there was demonstrable harassment were wide ranging, including discovery by students (SHARPP advocates) of visible pornography displayed at the library construction site; complaints against the failure to involve this office properly in the employee grievance process (for a RIF); concern expressed as to perceived racially-motivated treatment of a student; and a faculty complaint of mistreatment based on disability, to name a few.
The second enclosed chart deals with incidents and complaints brought solely under disability compliance statutes to the ADA Compliance Officer. That position was restructured and brought into the Affirmative Action Office late in the fiscal year, and most of the cases relate to that limited time period.
Complainants or third-party advocates (14 in number) brought a total of 28 incidents to the ADA Compliance Officer. Of the 12 founded incidents, ten were resolved informally and the remaining two were handled outside UNH processes by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with settlement decisions. The remaining 16 incidents were determined to be unfounded (two of them were handled outside LTNH processes by the Office for Civil Rights). Two incidents did not fit the profile for a person with a disability as defined by the ADA.
The Affirmative Action Office is committed to improving both the current complaint process and this reporting system. We hope to analyze data, process and outcomes on an ongoing basis to properly evaluate the Discriminatory Harassment Policy and to keep feeling the pulse of the varying aspects of campus climate.
The Affirmative Action Office welcomes suggestions and comments, and will be happy to answer questions on any case information that we can properly share. The Discriminatory Harassment Policy (which is discussed here), other materials on issues of discrimination and harassment (including information on disability issues) and educational, training and discussion material, is available through the office. Feel free to contact us at any time. Pat Gormley, Special Assistant to the President for Affirmative Action (pat.gormley@unh.edu) and Donna Marie Sorrentino, ADA Compliance Officer (dms@cisunix.unh.edu) both at 862-2930) (Voice/TDD).
FY98 Affirmative Action Incident/Complaint Report
|
|
Status |
FACULTY |
STAFF |
STUDENT |
OTHER |
TOTAL |
|
|
No. of Individuals |
6 |
17 |
9 |
3 |
35 |
| Type Claimed |
Sexual Harassment |
3 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
11 |
|
|
Sexual Orientation |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
Religion |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
Disability |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
Age |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
Ethnicity/Race |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
Other/Not Protected |
2 |
11 |
1 |
0 |
14 |
| Total Reported |
|
6 |
21 |
10 |
3 |
40 |
|
|
Sexual Harassment |
3 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
10 |
|
|
Sexual Orientation |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Type Founded |
Religion |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
Disability |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
Age |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Ethnicity/Race |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
Other/Not Protected |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| Total Founded |
|
3 |
4 |
8 |
1 |
16 |
| Total Unfounded |
|
0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
| Type of Notification to AAO |
Informal by Individual |
6 |
15 |
4 |
1 |
26 |
|
|
Informal by Third Party |
0 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
7 |
|
|
Formal |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Informal/Self-Solution |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
|
|
Informal/Assisted |
2 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
| Type of Process Implemented |
Referral/Assisted by Other Office |
2 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
10 |
|
|
Formal Action |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Other |
1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
| Action Taken |
Letter/Specific Action |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Oral/Informal Action |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
|
|
|
Termination |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
|
|
Other |
2 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
10 |
|
|
None/Unknown |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
Note: Numbers may not add up because some individuals had more than one type of claim. Some matters did not stay in the process long enough to be verified or judged as Unfounded or were not finally “resolved”; more than one process of handling and type of action may have been taken.
|
||||||
FY98 ADA Incident/Complaint Report
|
|
|
Status |
FACULTY
|
STAFF |
STUDENT |
OTHER |
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
Incident # |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Access to |
No. of Individuals |
2 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
14 |
|
|
|
Programs, |
Physical access |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
|
| Type |
Services, |
Accommodation |
1 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
|
| Claimed |
Activities |
Modification to Policy/Procedures |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Other/Not Protected |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
Incident Subtotal |
3 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
16 |
|
|
|
|
Harassment |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
|
Treatment |
Discrimination |
1 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
Other/Not Protected |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
Incident Subtotal |
1 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
9 |
|
|
|
Notice of Rights and Responsibilities |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
||
|
|
|
Total Reported |
4 |
11 |
8 |
5 |
28 |
|
|
|
|
Type Founded |
1 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
12 |
|
|
|
|
Type Unfounded |
3 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
16 |
|
|
|
|
Informal by Individual |
4 |
8 |
5 |
3 |
20 |
|
| Type of Notification to ADA |
Informal by Third Party |
0 |
8 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
||
| Complliance |
Officer |
Formal by Individual |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
Other |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
|
|
Type of Process Implemented
|
Informal/Self-Solution |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
| Informal/Assisted |
4 |
11 |
6 |
3 |
24 |
|||
| Referral/Assisted by Other Office |
1
|
7 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
|||
| Formal Action |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
| Other |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
|||
|
Action Taken |
Letter/Specific Action |
0 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
8 |
||
| Oral/Informal Action |
4 |
8 |
6 |
3 |
21 |
|||
| Termination |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|||
| Other/Unknown |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
|||
| None |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
|
|
ADD: attention deficit disorder LD: learning disability HI: head injury HE: hearing VI: visual MI: mental illness PHY: physical INT: physiological TMP: temporary OTH: other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
|
|
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|||
|
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|||
|
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|||
| Type of |
3 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
8 |
|||
| Disability |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|||
|
|
1 |
8 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
|||
|
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|||
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
| Note: Numbers may not add up because some individuals had more than one type of incident. Some incidents had more than one type of notification to ADA-CO, type of process implemented, and/or type of action taken. |
|
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