Informal and formal complaint procedures are available through the Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance to members of the University community for the resolution of complaints of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation.
These informal and formal complaint procedures are supplemental to, and are not intended to displace, other disciplinary procedures set forth in any applicable collective bargaining agreement or in the rules and regulations of the Faculty Senate.
Informal complaints may be oral or written. In many instances, informal discussion, counseling, and mediation can be useful in resolving perceived instances of discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. Problems are sometimes easier to resolve when an informal atmosphere encourages people to identify the difficulty, talk it out, and agree on how to deal with it.
Any person who believes that he or she is a victim of discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation may make an informal complaint to any EO Ombudsperson.
During informal resolution, all reasonable efforts will be made to insure the confidentiality of information received, including the identities of the parties.
Members of the University community who believe that they are victims of discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation also may bring a formal administrative complaint by filing a written complaint directly with the University's Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance. A person is not required to utilize informal resolution procedures before filing a formal complaint.
The Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance will be responsible for conducting a prompt investigation of a formal complaint. The purpose of the investigation is to establish whether there is a reasonable basis for believing that a violation of Temple policies has occurred. During such investigations, every reasonable effort will be made to protect the privacy rights of all parties, but confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.
The Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance will inform the parties promptly, in writing, about the outcome of the investigation.