The policy against sex discrimination states that CWRU will support students, employees and other members of the Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) community who experience or previously experienced, or who are reported or rumored to have engaged in, sex discrimination and/or sex-based harassment, including pregnancy or parental status discrimination. To ensure that everyone has as the support available to them, including understanding all of their options, people impacted by sex discrimination and/or sex-based harassment are strongly encouraged to contact the Office for Equity. Persons needing support may complete the form here to initiate outreach from the Office for Equity.
The policy against sex discrimination provides two separate, but similar, investigation processes. Both processes are fair and respectful to everyone involved in a matter in which sex discrimination and/or sex-based harassment is alleged. Which process applies depends on what happened and where it happened. The staff in the Office for Equity is available to help people understand which process affects them. Everyone – both persons who report experiencing sex discrimination and/or sex-based harassment, and those who are the subject of reports that they committed these things -- have the same rights in an investigation process. Here is a list of some of these rights:
· Participation: To participate or not participate in the investigation process, and to continue to participate, or to cease participating in an ongoing investigation. A decision not to participate doesn’t stop the process.
· Information: To have questions answered promptly and fully. To be given access to pertinent information that may impact you.
· Respect: To be treated with respect and courtesy.
· Privacy: Equity will keep your information private to the extent possible.
· Advisor: To the assistance and support of an advisor at meetings, investigation and during resolution proceedings and any hearing.
· Notification: Both parties will be simultaneously informed in writing of the outcome of the process.
· No retaliation: Both sides have the right not to experience retaliation. CWRU takes allegations of retaliation very seriously. If we don’t, people won’t use our process.
When Equity learns that someone may need help
When the Office for Equity learns that a student, employee or someone else in the CWRU community may need help and support because they experienced or are experiencing sex discrimination and/or sex-based harassment, or are being accused of it, the first step in the Equity response is to reach out to that person to offer support. Usually this outreach is by email, but, depending on the information learned by the Office for Equity, outreach may occur by text or phone to offer support, information and resources. Usually, Equity will reach out a couple times. Anyone who receives outreach from the Office for Equity may choose to respond or not to respond. Sometimes people keep Equity outreach email messages and then respond weeks or months later. No one who experienced sex discrimination or sex-based harassment, or who may be reported to have engaged in that conduct, is ever required to respond to outreach from the Office for Equity. To notify Equity that you may need information about your options or to learn about available support, complete this form or contact Equity at equity@case.edu.
Notice of an investigation
The Office for Equity never investigates anyone in secret. When an investigation is requested, or is determined to be necessary to protect someone in particular or the campus, generally, the first step for Equity is to tell the person whose conduct is being investigated that an investigation will be conducted.
Steps in an investigation
The policy against sex discrimination describes in detail the steps that occur in an Investigation, but those steps are summarized here:
· The parties involved are informed of the complaint that is being investigated.
· The parties are invited to meet with the Office for Equity to provide information.
· The parties are given the opportunity to provide the names of witnesses and other evidence (documents, electronic communication, text messages, photographs).
· The Investigator prepares an Investigative Report that summarizes the information gathered. The Investigative Report is shared with both parties in draft form, so that they comment on it, ask questions, offer additional information or point out concerns before it is finalized.
· The Investigator shares the final Investigative Report with the parties.
· The parties are given the opportunity to resolve the matter informally (this can occur at any time after a complaint is issued by the Office for Equity).
· Title IX Coordinator determines whether the information gathered during the investigation requires further process, which may be a hearing.
The Office for Equity has created visual flow charts of the process in the policy against sex discrimination. To view a "big picture" schematic of the process, click HERE. For a detailed description of the process, Click HERE. If you have questions about the process, please email or call Equity so we can answer your questions or describe the process in more detail.
Timetable
There is no deadline for seeking and obtaining support about the impact of an experience of sex discrimination and/or sex-based harassment. There is also no deadline for complaining about sex discrimination or sex-based harassment to the Office for Equity, or requesting an investigation. Sometimes, a long delay between a person's experience and when they seek an investigation may mean that the investigation is less effective or, if the person who may have engaged in the sex discrimination has graduated or left the employment with CWRU, cannot be conducted. Even in that case, however, support is available to a person who needs it.
The Office for Equity will begin an investigation immediately after it is requested, and will try to complete investigations as quickly as possible. From start to finish, an investigation and subsequent resolution process, such as a hearing or a resolution agreement, may take 60-75 business days. The investigator and the Title IX Coordinator are available to assist with understanding the timetable and the factors that can slow it down or speed it up. Anyone with a question about the timing of a matter impacting them should ask!
Investigators
Within the Office for Equity, allegations of sex discrimination and/or sex-based harassment, and other kinds of sex or gender discrimination, are investigated by the Equity Specialists & Investigators. When possible, the Equity Specialists & Investigators will work in teams of two. This gives students, employees and others options for developing a good relationship with someone they trust in the Office for Equity. At times, or in cases involving special circumstances, the Title IX Coordinator may elect to use trained external investigators to investigate allegations or may conduct an investigation.
Collecting Information Relevant to the Case
During an investigation, the Equity Specialists & Investigators will collect information to learn about what happened. They will speak to the person who experienced the reported sex discrimination, and the person who is reported to have engaged in that conduct. The Equity Specialists & Investigators will ask each person who else should the Equity Specialists & Investigators speak to. They will ask each person if they have other information they want to provide, such as screenshots, phone records, text messages, social media posts, recordings, journal entries, emails and anything else. All information provided by either person will be reviewed and assessed by the Equity Specialists & Investigators.
The Investigation Report
When the Equity Specialists & Investigators finish collecting information about what happened, they will write a draft investigation report that summarizes all of the relevant evidence and information learned in the investigation. The draft investigation report will be shared with the person who reported experiencing the sexual harassment or sexual violence, and the person who is reported to have engaged in that conduct. Those people will have an opportunity to review the draft investigation report and make comments about it to the Equity Specialists & Investigators. These comments can be disagreements with aspects of the report, providing additional information or explanation about something discussed in the report, commenting on the information provided by the other person, and any other thoughts about the draft investigation report. After all of the comments are received, the Equity Specialists & Investigators will review all of the comments, incorporate them into the report in some way, and then issue the Investigation Report in its final form.
Informal Resolution
An informal resolution is a decision to resolve a situation without completing an investigation or hearing process. Any person involved in an investigation, either as a person who has experienced misconduct or a person who is accused of violating the policy against sex discrimination, may request to explore the possibility of an informal resolution. An informal resolution is usually an agreement by the two parties in a matter to certain conditions, such as permanent No Contact Directives, or not to schedule classes together, or that neither person will say negative things about the other, in exchange for also agreeing that the Office for Equity should cease conducting the investigation. Another type of informal resolution is when the person accused of violating the policy against sex discrimination accepts responsibility for that conduct, and also agrees to accept a particular sanction. The person who experienced the reported misconduct also agrees to resolve the matter this way. Sometimes both people agree to a particular sanction or remedial steps to make sure the sex discrimination doesn't reoccur, or sometimes both people agree that, in lieu of something (such as having the Office for Equity finish its investigation or hold a hearing), a person who is trained on the policy against sex discrimination will decide the sanction. Interested in exploring informal resolution -- just ask!
Panel Hearing
In some cases, at the end of an investigation, the Title IX Coordinator will conclude from the information in the Investigation Report that a hearing is needed to make conclusions about what happened and what should happen to resolve a situation. "Panel" refers to the people who are trained on the policy against sex discrimination and its process, and who will makes these decisions.
A hearing involves the people with the most information about a situation in which the policy against sex discrimination may have been violated discussing what they know with trained Panel Members who will make a decision about what happened, and what should happen next to resolve and address the situation. At the hearing, the Equity Investigator (who conducted the investigation and wrote the investigation report), the person who experienced the reported sex discrimination, and the person accused of that conduct, and witnesses, will talk about what happened and answer questions in front of the Hearing Panel. Hearings are held by Zoom.
Here is a sample agenda for a hearing:
Sample Agenda for a hearing held pursuant to the policy against sex discrimination
[Full Date] [Time of Hearing]
This hearing will be held by Zoom.
I. Attendees:
A. Panel Members (panel members are trained on the Sexual Harassment Policy and how to serve on a Panel)
a. [Full Name] - Chair
b. [Full Name]
c. [Full Name]
B. Complainant (is the person who may have experienced sexual harassment or sexual violence) - [Full Name]
a. Advisor (this person may be a friend, family member, attorney or CWRU employee) - [Full Name]
C. Respondent (is the person who is reported to have committed sexual harassment or sexual violence) - [Full Name]
a. Advisor (this person may be a friend, family member, attorney or CWRU employee) - [Full Name]
D. Investigator - [Full Name]
E. Hearing Facilitator - [Full Name] (the hearing facilitator makes sure the technology for the remote hearing is working, that witnesses are let into the Zoom and that everything in the background runs smoothly)
F. General Counsel - [Full Name] (when the complainant or respondent has an Advisor who is an attorney, often an attorney from the CWRU Office of the General Counsel attends the Zoom hearing to observe)
G. Title IX Coordinator – [Full Name] (the Title IX Coordinator is responsible for making sure the process set out in the Sexual Harassment Policy is followed during the hearing)
II. Order of the Hearing:
A. Introductions of everyone present on the Zoom - [Hearing Chair]
B. Summary of Hearing purpose, procedures, and Standard of Proof - [Hearing Chair] (here, the leader of the hearing panel explains the purpose of the hearing and how the hearing will be conducted, and answers any questions that anyone has)
C. Summary of Investigation Report – [Investigator] (the Investigator answers questions about the investigation and the Investigation Report)
a. Questions from Panel Members
b. Questions from Complainant – [Either sent electronically by Complainant to the hearing Chair, and asked by the Hearing Chair, or asked by Complainant’s Advisor after the Hearing Chair approves the question]
c. Questions from Respondent – [Either sent by Respondent to the Hearing Chair, and asked by the Hearing Chair, or asked by Respondent’s Advisor after the Hearing Chair approves the question]
D. Statement by Complainant (optional statement, if the Complainant wants to make one)
a. Questions from Panel Members
b. Questions from Respondent – [Either sent by Respondent to the Hearing Chair, and asked by the Hearing Chair, or asked by Respondent’s Advisor after the Hearing Chair approves the question]
E. Statement by Respondent (optional statement, if the Respondent wants to make one)
a. Questions from Panel Members
b. Questions from Complainant – [Either sent by Complainant to the Hearing Chair, and asked by the Hearing Chair, or asked by Complainant’s Advisor after the Hearing Chair approves the question]
F. Questions for Witness – [Witness Name]
a. Questions from Panel Members
b. Questions from Complainant – [Either sent by Complainant to the Hearing Chair, and asked by the Hearing Chair, or asked by Complainant’s Advisor after the Hearing Chair approves the question]
c. Questions from Respondent – [Either sent by Respondent to the Hearing Chair, and asked by the Hearing Chair, or asked by Respondent’s Advisor after the Hearing Chair approves the question]
G. Final Questions
a. Final Panel Questions to Complainant
b. Final Panel Questions to Respondent
H. Discussion and deliberation - Panel Members only
This Sample Agenda is only an example. In some cases, the hearing will proceed slightly differently, depending on people’s schedules or the complexity of the case, or at the discretion of the Hearing Chair (the Hearing Chair is the panel member who is responsible for running the hearing). For example, some Hearing Chairs prefer to invite the person who experienced the sex discrimination, and the person accused of that conduct, to make a short statement before the Investigator is questioned.
At the end of the hearing, the Panel Members will meet privately to determine if the person accused of violating the policy against sex discrimination did, in fact, violate it or did not violate the Policy. If the Panel concludes that the allegations of a Policy violation were established by the hearing, then the Panel Members will privately determine what are the appropriate sanctions and supportive measures. There are three Panel Members on a Panel, and they need a simple majority vote to determine the outcome of the hearing. The Title IX Coordinator will share the Hearing Panel's decision with the people whose experience was the subject of the hearing.
Appeal
After the Panel issues its decision, the people impacted by that decision will have an opportunity to appeal. In addition, if one person doesn't appeal, but the other does, the Title IX Coordinator will let the person that didn't appeal know that the other person did. In some cases, the person that didn't appeal will decide to appeal on learning that the other person appealed. An Appeal Panel will be assembled and will decide the appeal based on the information provided by the person or persons appealing, any responses to the appeal that have been submitted, the decision of the Hearing Panel, the Investigation Report and any other information that was available to the Hearing Panel when it made its decision. The Appeal Panel doesn't hold a hearing or meet with either of the parties. The Appeal Panel will meet privately to discuss the appeal, and will issue a written decision which may be that the decision of the Hearing Panel remains unchanged, is modified, or is reversed.