 |
|
Article III
Human Relations Enforcement Procedures
- In order to identify policies or practices which may reflect discrimination, the Senate Human Relations Committee may request the Office of Human Relations Programs to conduct periodic review of the operation of any unit of the Campus. Units shall provide the information necessary for carrying out such reviews. This information shall be submitted through the President’s Office. Any such review under the authority granted in this statement of policy shall be undertaken only after specific authorization of the President. In the event that the President fails to authorize an investigation within a reasonable time of the request by the Senate Human Relations Committee, the Chair of the Committee shall report that fact, together with reasons as he/she may have received from the President concerning the matter, to the Senate.
- The Office of Human Relations Programs on its own motion shall identify policies, practices or patterns of behavior which may reflect discrimination prohibited by this Code or which may conflict with any other Campus policy concerning human relations or with the Campus Affirmative Action Plan, and shall call these to the attention of the appropriate officials of the unit involved and recommend appropriate action. Those subject to allegations of discrimination shall be afforded all the protection of due process. The Office shall endeavor by negotiation to eliminate the alleged discrimination. Where such efforts fail, the Office may on its own motion report the matter to the President and to the Senate Human Relations Committee. Documentation of the recommendations by the Office in all such cases shall be maintained on file by the Office.
- To the maximum extent consistent with the purposes of this Code, the confidentiality of personal papers and other records and the principle of privileged communication shall be respected by all personas involved in the enforcement procedures of this Code. Nothing in this Code shall be construed so as to conflict with the requirements of Article 76A of the Maryland Annotated Code. Persons giving information in connection with the procedures described in this Code shall be advised by the person receiving such information of the limits of confidentiality which may properly be observed in Code procedures and that all documents may be subject to subpoena in subsequent administrative or judicial proceedings.
- Any member of the Campus community who believes that he or she has been or is being discriminated against in ways prohibited by this Code may consult informally and confidentially with the unit EEEO Officer and/or the Equity and/or the Office of Human Relations Programs prior to filing a formal complaint.
- The Office of Human Relations Programs shall receive formal complaints from any member or group within the Campus community claiming to be aggrieved by alleged discrimination prohibited by this Code and/or any other Campus document or policy relating to human relations practices. Such complaints should give in writing the names of complainant(s) and respondent(s) and the time, the place, and a specific description of the alleged discrimination. Complaints shall be submitted to the Office of Human Relations Programs, or else to the unit EEEO Officer or the Equity Administrator. Complaints must be submitted within ninety (90) days of the alleged discrimination act(s), or within ninety (90) days of the first date by which the complainant reasonably has knowledge thereof. Complaints not submitted directly to the Office of Human Relations Programs within five (5) working days of their receipt. Copies of the complaint shall be forwarded by the Office of Human Relations Programs to the respondent and to the Appropriate unit Chair or Director, Dean, or Vice President.
- Complainants under this Code shall be required, as a condition precedent, to waive any alternative Campus administrative procedure that may then be available. A complaint which has been heard under some alternative Campus procedure cannot subsequently be heard under the procedure of this Code. In the case of a complaint heard under the Non-exempt Employees Grievance Procedure, this restriction shall apply only when the complaint has entered Step II of that procedure.
- The Office of Human Relations Programs and/or the Equity Administrator shall ensure that each complainant is informed of his or her right to file the complaint with the appropriate State and Federal agencies. Forms for complaints to State and Federal agencies will be provided or the complainant will be informed where they are available.
- All complaints of discrimination which are not connected with the official functions of the Campus or not falling within the scope of discrimination prohibited by this Code shall be referred to the appropriate Campus, Municipal, County, State, or Federal agencies by the Office of Human Relations Programs.
- After a complaint has been filed, the Office of Human Relations Programs shall promptly undertake an informal investigation in order to make a preliminary determination as to whether or not the subject matter of the complaint falls within the Code, and whether or not there is probable cause for the complaint. This finding shall be reported to the complainant, the respondent, the President and the Chair of the Senate Human Relations Committee. The burden of proof in this investigation and throughout these enforcement procedures rests with the complainant.
- If the finding is that there is not probable cause to believe that discrimination has been or is being committed within the scope of this Code, the Office of Human Relations Programs may dismiss the complaint. Such dismissal shall be reported to the complainant, the respondent, the President and the Chair of the Senate Human Relations Committee. The complainant in such a case may appeal the dismissal of the case to the Senate Human Relations Committee, which may direct that a Human relations Grievance Committee conduct a grievance hearing according to the procedures set forth herein, if in the judgment of the Senate Human Relations Committee there is probable cause to believe that discrimination has been or is being committed within the scope of this Code. The Senate Human Relations Committee shall have access to the complaint file for this purpose. A record of its deliberations shall be placed in the file according to the procedures established by the Office of Human Relations Programs. If the Committee finds no probable cause, it may dismiss the complaint and report such dismissal to the complainant, the respondent, and the President.
- If the finding is that there is probable cause to believe that discrimination has been or is being committed within the scope of this Code, the Office of Human Relations Programs shall endeavor to eliminate the alleged discrimination by conference, conciliation and persuasion. If by this process, an agreement is reached for elimination of the alleged discrimination, the agreement shall be reduced to writing and signed by the respondent, the complainant and the Director of the Office of Human Relations Programs. The agreement shall be available to the President, the Equity Administrator, and to the Chair of the Senate Human Relations Committee upon request.
- If a finding of probable cause is made but no mutually satisfactory solution can be reached under the the procedures outlined in Section K immediately preceding, the Office of Human Relations Programs shall initiate the following procedure: the Office shall notify the Senate Human Relations Committee of the failure to reach a mutually satisfactory solution, whereupon providing the complainant requests in writing a Human Relations Grievance Hearing, a Human Relations Grievance Committee shall be selected according to the procedures described in Article IV following. A Grievance hearing shall be closed unless both parties to the dispute agree that the hearing, or any part thereof, shall be open to the public. All parties to the dispute shall be sent within five (5) working days of the written request of such a hearing, written notification of the time and place of the beginning of the hearing and a specific statement of the charges. Hearings shall be held as promptly as is consistent with allowing adequate time for the parties to prepare their cases. Continuances may be granted within the discretion of the Office of Human Relations Programs. All parties shall have ample opportunity to present their facts and arguments in full during the hearing. All findings, recommendations and conclusions by the Grievance Committee shall be based solely on the evidence presented during the hearing, and shall be based on a preponderance of the evidence having probative effect.
The burden of proof rests with the complainant. The Grievance Committee may be assisted by an adviser. All the parties to the dispute and the Grievance Committee may invite persons to testify during the hearing. Each side shall have the right to cross-examine witnesses. Each party has the right to be represented by counsel or other representative, but the University has no obligation to provide such counsel for any party to the dispute. If a party intends to be represented by legal counsel during the hearing, he/she shall inform the Office of Human Relations Programs of this fat no later than 72 hours prior to the hearing, and that Office shall provide that information to the other party or parties. A verbatim record shall be kept of all sessions in which testimony and evidence is presented regarding the case, and this record shall be made available to all parties to the dispute at the conclusion of the proceedings. Upon request, the Chair of the Grievance Committee may, in his or her discretion, recess the hearing to permit review of the record by one or more parties in the conduct of their case.
The Chair of a Human Relations Grievance Committee with the advice of the adviser, if there is one, shall rule on all matters of procedure and admissibility of evidence. Any member of the Committee not concurring in the ruling of the Chair may request a closed session of the Committee for debate on the point. A majority vote of the Committee will determine the final decision. Formal rules of evidence shall not be applicable to any hearing before a Human Relations Grievance Committee, and any evidence or testimony which the Committee believes to be relevant to a fair determination of the complaint may be admitted. The Committee reserves the right to exclude incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial, and repetitious evidence.
- In cases of allegations regarding prohibited discrimination concerning academic employment matters, a Human Relations Grievance Committee shall not substitute its judgment of academic competence for the judgment of the appropriate colleagues of the complainant. The function of the Grievance Committee shall be to determine:
- whether there were clearly enunciated University, Campus and Departmental standards, policies, procedures and priorities by which to assess the merit of the complaint, and whether the complainant was given a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate his or her academic merit;
- whether the stated standards, policies, procedures and priorities were applied to the complainant in a nondiscriminatory manner.
- Within ten (10) working days after hearing all the evidence and arguments, the Human Relations Grievance Committee shall prepare a written decision based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing. This decision shall include summary of the evidence before the Committee and the Committee's findings as to whether or not a violation of the Code has occurred, and the recommendations of the Committee. Grievance Committees may recommend whatever forms of relief they deem appropriate, but must take cognizance whatever forms of relief they deem appropriate, but make take due cognizance of the limitations imposed by the State law and by the procedures established by the Board of Regents, for example, the procedures by which promotion in academic rank is achieved. Within five (5) working days after the decision has been filed in the Office of Human Relations Programs, the Director of that Office will formally notify all parties to the dispute, the President and the Senate Human Relations Committee of the decision.
- The President shall within ten (10) working days of his or her receipt of the decision of the Human Relations Grievance Committee issue an order specifying what actions, if nay, must be taken by individuals or groups found to be guilty of violating the provisions of this Code.
- When a hearing has been scheduled by an outside agency or court, the Office of Human Relations Programs may, with the approval of the Senate Human Relations Committee, prior to the convening of a Human Relations Grievance Committee to hear a case, postpone or terminate is in its judgment warranted by administrative considerations such as staff limitations and workload, or at the request of a party upon a showing that the Campus hearing will either conflict with the off-Campus hearing, or that participation in the Campus hearing will unreasonably burden a party's preparation of his or her case or otherwise work to his or her prejudice. Such postponement or termination shall be reported to the complainant, respondent and President. In any case where a complaint has been the subject of prior administrative or judicial resolution or where a complaint becomes the subject of such resolution during the course of proceedings under this Code, the procedures of this Code will not be applicable or will terminate, as the case may be.
- The President shall provide a written explanation of his or her order whenever that order is not in keeping with the findings and recommendations of the Human Relations Grievance Committee. This explanation shall be sent to all parties to the dispute, to the Chair of the Senate Human Relations Committee, to the Director of the Human Relations Programs and to the Chair of the Senate. The Chair of the Senate Human Relations Committee shall report to the Senate Executive Committee concerning the order and explanation at the next meeting of the Executive Committee, and that body shall put the matter on the agenda of the next meeting of the Senate.
- When required by law, copies of the Human Relations Grievance Committee's findings and recommendations and of the President's order and explanation, if any, shall be sent to the State and Federal agencies charged with enforcement of Article 49B of the Annotated Code of Maryland and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1968 or their successors.
- When a complainant receives a decision on his or her charge of discrimination from a Human Relations Grievance Committee that decisions hall not be subject to review under any grievance procedure in force on the Campus.
- No affirmative relief shall be made to a complainant by the University unless the complainant executes the following release as part of a settlement agreement:
The complainant hereby waives, releases and covenants not to sue the University of Maryland or its officers, agents or employees with respect to any matters which were or might have been alleged as charges filed under the Human Relations Code in the instant case, subject to performance by the University of Maryland, its officers, agents and employees, of the promises contained in this settlement agreement.
|
|
