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400.00 Informal Complaint Procedures SECTION CONTENTS
400.00 Informal Complaint Procedures
410.00 Deadlines for Filing Informal Complaints
420.00 Disciplinary and Corrective Action
430.00 Responsibilities of University Faculty and Staff
440.00 Confidentiality
400.00 Informal Complaint Procedures
A person with concerns about discrimination may meet informally with HR/AA staff to discuss options available for dealing with those concerns. HR/AA staff will discuss formal and informal strategies for eliminating the discrimination and provide the electronic citation for these procedures. A hard copy will be provided upon request.
The complainant may elect to file a formal written complaint (see Section 500.00 of this policy) at any time during the informal complaint resolution process.
410.00 Deadlines for Filing Informal Complaints
Informal complaints or concerns may be brought to the attention of the HR/AA office at any time. Complainants are encouraged to bring concerns about discrimination to the office as soon as possible after the incident in question.
420.00 Disciplinary and Corrective Action
The University may take corrective action (see Section 360.00 of this policy) to stop discriminatory conduct and prevent its reoccurrence. The University may not take disciplinary action against a respondent as the result of an informal complaint of discrimination.
The HR/AA Director may encourage and facilitate resolution of informal complaints when appropriate and may notify the respondent's supervisor or unit administrator if necessary to facilitate resolution of the matter.
430.00 Responsibilities of University Faculty and Staff
Often individuals who experience discrimination and harassment will discuss their experiences with a trusted advisor, teacher, or administrator rather than with HR/AA staff. Department heads and deans are especially likely to receive such complaints and should be aware that complaints of discrimination are not like academic complaints in that complainants should not be referred back to the offending party. Instead, anyone who receives information about discrimination or harassment should:
- Take the report seriously and keep a written record of the contact;
- Refer the complainant and/or the complaint to the HR/AA office (406-994-2042) [http://www.hraa@montana.edu]; and
- Respect the complainant's confidentiality.
440.00 Confidentiality
The HR/AA Director shall make every reasonable effort to keep confidential the identity of the complainant, respondent and any witnesses during the informal complaint resolution process.
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