DISCRIMINATION GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES ADMINISTERED BY OFFICE OF CAREER
SERVICES
Policy Statement
The policy of Georgetown University Law Center is to provide equal opportunity in its programs, activities, and employment practices; to prohibit discrimination and harassment in education and employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, handicap or disability, or sexual orientation, personal appearance, family responsibility, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, political affiliation, veteran’s status or any other factor prohibited by law; and to promote the realization of equality of opportunity in education and employment throughout the Law Center in accordance with the policy expressed in the University-wide Affirmative Action Plan
This internal grievance procedure has been established to provide a mechanism for any Law Center degree candidate who believes that under the standards stated in the above policy he or she has been the subject of discrimination by a prospective employer recruiting students to fill part time, temporary and full time positions.
Students who have a question about whether a particular action or statement might constitute improper conduct should speak with a counselor in the Office of Career Services or the Office of Public Interest and Community Service.
Requirements for Filing Grievances
Any degree candidate, enrolled as a student at the Law Center when the alleged discriminatory act occurred, has the right to file a discrimination complaint with the Office of Career Services.
Complainants must file a grievance within 30 days of the alleged discriminatory act. Earlier filing is encouraged, including a confidential statement of probable intention to file based upon specific allegations of misconduct. Later filing may be permitted for good cause shown.
A grievance must be filed with the Assistant Dean, Office of Career Services. The grievance may be filed using the grievance form available in the Office of Career Services and the Office of Public Interest and Community Service, but any written submission containing the information requested by that form will be satisfactory. In addition to briefly describing the event in question, the complaint should set forth as precisely as possible any allegedly offensive language that was part thereof.
Procedures for Processing Grievances
- Upon receipt of the complaint the Assistant Dean shall first determine whether the complaint states a violation of the Law Center non-discrimination policy set forth above. If the Assistant Dean finds that no violation has been stated, the student shall be promptly informed and may appeal the decision to the Dean, who may confirm the decision or forward the matter for handling under the next process described. If the complaint states a violation, the Assistant Dean shall immediately apprise the individual respondent(s) and the organization’s ultimate hiring authority of the charge and request a written response to the allegations.
- The Assistant Dean shall seek to resolve the complaint within 21 working days from the notification of the respondent. This office may conduct interviews with all relevant persons and seek information in any other relevant form. The Assistant Dean may delegate the interviewing and information seeking functions to the Law Center’s Legal Ethics Counsel.
- If a mutually acceptable resolution is achieved through the Assistant Dean’s efforts, the case shall be closed. A written notice shall list findings and indicate the agreement reached. The agreement shall be retained in the files of the Office of Career Services and copies provided to the complainant, the respondent and his/her ultimate hiring authority.
- If no mutually acceptable resolution can be achieved, the Assistant Dean shall make, and provide the parties with, a written finding on the merits of the complaints.
- Upon a finding adverse to the respondent, sanctions may be imposed depending on the severity of the offense, including but not limited to requesting a written apology or other conciliatory steps, issuing a reprimand to the individual and/or the organization, placing the individual and/or the organization on probation, or denying the individual or organization recruiting access to Law Center facilities and services for a specified time. The sanctions of probation or denial of individual or organization recruiting access may only be imposed by the Law Center Dean upon the recommendation of the Faculty-Student Placement Committee. Refusals of an individual or organizational respondent to issue an apology or take some other conciliatory step as may be called for by the Assistant Dean shall be referred to the Faculty-Student Placement Committee for a determination of appropriate further sanctions to be recommended to the Dean.
Appeal to the Dean
The complainant or the respondent shall have the right to file a written appeal of the Assistant Dean’s decision to the Dean of the Law Center within ten days of receiving the Assistant Dean’s decision. The notice of appeal shall indicate the reasons for the party’s appeal. The Dean may with written explanation affirm, or remand the matter for further consideration by the Assistant Dean.
Record
The Assistant Dean, Office of Career Services, shall submit to the Chair of the Placement Committee a bimonthly summary of all grievances filed during that period, and of further action taken with regard to all such cases previously pending. Confidentiality with regard to these summaries shall be maintained so far as is possible.
Nothing contained herein shall be considered as limiting a complainant’s right to pursue any other remedy provided by federal or local law, or as requiring the University to pursue any process other than those described by this code.
|
