2022-2023 Bulletin: Policies and General Information 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Bulletin: Policies and General Information [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Responsible Employee Policy


A Responsible Employee is any university employee who is not a confidential employee. A “responsible employee” is an employee:

  • Who has the authority to take action to redress sexual harassment/violence, or
  • Provide supportive measures to students; or
  • Who has been given the duty of reporting incidents of sexual harassment/violence or any other misconduct by students to the Title IX Coordinator or other appropriate school designee, or
  • That a student/employee could reasonably believe has either the authority or the duty listed above
  • Student-employees are considered Responsible Employees when disclosures are made to them in their capacities as employees

It is considered official notice to the institution if a responsible employee “knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known” about the harassment/violence. This includes incidents that are reported directly, are witnessed, or are reported by a third party, posted on fliers around campus, published in a local newspaper, etc. - all of these should be reported to the Title IX Coordinator.

Examples of harassment/violence:

Sexual Misconduct

  • Sexual Assault/Non-Consensual Sexual Penetration
  • Sexual Assault/Non-Consensual Sexual Contact
  • Stalking
  • Sexual Exploitation
  • Sexual Harassment or Gender-Based Harassment
  • Sexual Discrimination or Gender Based Discrimination

Intimate Partner Violence

  • Dating Violence
  • Domestic Violence

For Title IX compliance, all Claremont Graduate University employees who are designated as supervisors, with the exception of mental health counselors and Ombud’s officers, are considered “responsible employees.” This includes some select graduate student employees such as community assistants (CAs). 

Also considered responsible employees are all Campus Safety Officers, student affairs staff, human resources staff, academic advisors, faculty, instructors, graduate teaching assistants, research assistants, graduate students that are supervising other students, and individuals designated as Campus Security Authorities.

“Responsible employee” includes, but is not limited to, those individuals with any of the following positions or substantially similar positions or job duties, regardless of the specific title the institution may attach to the position:

  • Title IX coordinator or other coordinator designated to comply with and carry out the institution’s responsibilities under this section.
  • Housing directors, coordinators, or deans.
  • Student life directors, coordinators, or deans.
  • Coaches of any student athletic or academic team or activity.
  • Faculty and associate faculty, teachers, instructors, or lecturers.
  • Graduate student instructors, while performing the duties of employment by the institution.
  • Laboratory directors, coordinators, or principal investigators.
  • Internship or externship directors or coordinators.
  • Study abroad program directors or coordinators.

 

The role of a responsible employee is to report allegations of sexual harassment/violence that takes place on or off campus to the Title IX Coordinator to maximize the institution’s ability to investigate and potentially address and eliminate sexual harassment/violence. The responsible employee should NOT attempt to determine if the harassment/violence actually did occur, or if a hostile environment is being created.

Responsible employees interacting with a person disclosing an incident of Sexual Misconduct and Other Prohibited Conduct of a sexual nature should explain their obligation to provide CGU’s Title IX Coordinator with all relevant details, and provide assurance that only people who need to know will be told about the incident.

The information that will be reported includes all the relevant information that the individual has shared and that may be useful in the investigation. This includes names of the alleged perpetrator, the student/employee who experienced the alleged harassment/violence, any other student/employee involved, and the date, time, and location of the alleged incident.

Exemptions

  1. Counseling and Psychological Services
  2. Student Health Services
  3. Ombudsman
  4. Empower Center

Pastoral counselors (if associated with and recognized by a religious order or demonstrated as someone who provides confidential counseling and is functioning within the scope of that recognition as a pastoral counselor)

  1.