A complaint (grievance) is defined as the claim of a current employee (the “complainant”) that they have been negatively affected by a violation of the General Rules of Conduct for Employees and policies of Hartwick College. Concerns related to discrimination, harassment and retaliation are not addressed as part of the conflict resolution procedure. To address such concerns, see the Nondiscrimination and Non-Harassment Policy. The procedures described below provide both informal and formal mechanisms for resolving complaints and may be invoked by any employee who believes they have been adversely affected by another employee’s actions that violate Hartwick College’s rules or policies. They are designed to ensure consistency and fairness in the College’s relations with its employees. No employee’s status within the College will be adversely affected because they utilized these procedures, provided that any allegations by the employee are not knowingly false when made. The investigation of the employee’s complaints will be handled in a confidential manner by Hartwick College. The College, in turn, expects that during and following the investigation of any employee complaint, all individuals involved in the investigation will respect the confidentiality of the process and the privacy of others. Any individual who intentionally breaches the confidentiality of this process and/or violates the privacy interest of others will be subject to disciplinary action.

Relationships between people in the workplace involve occasional problems. In most instances, all parties will benefit if problems can be resolved promptly, in an atmosphere that encourages cooperative efforts toward an amicable resolution without resorting to formal complaint procedures. For this reason, employees are urged to identify problems and seek resolution in an informal manner whenever possible.

Unless the problem arises from the action of the complainant’s supervisor and the complainant reasonably believes discussions with her/his supervisor would be futile, initial consultation between the complainant and her/his supervisor is appropriate and expected. If the supervisor is involved in the alleged violation and the complainant reasonably believes discussions with her/his supervisor would be futile, the complainant should consult that person’s supervisor or the Vice President for Human Resources, Inclusion and Compliance (when the alleged transgressor is staff) or the Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs (when the alleged transgressor is faculty). These administrators will evaluate the validity of the complaint and the degree of seriousness of the offense and seek, to the extent possible and appropriate, to informally resolve the matter. An informal resolution might take the form of clarifying to the offending party the kind of behavior that may be deemed objectionable and securing the cessation of such behavior; it might also take the form of clarifying to the complainant that the incident does not constitute a violation of Hartwick College rules and policies or that the incident occurred too far in the past to be profitably discussed.

Hartwick College has established formal complaint procedures that may be invoked if a complaint remains unresolved following the use of informal complaint procedures, or if the complainant elects to forego the informal complaint process. The formal procedure begins when the complainant presents her/his written complaint – citing this policy — to the Vice President for Human Resources, Inclusion and Compliance (when the alleged offender is a staff member) or the Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs (when the alleged offender is a faculty member). After receipt of the written complaint, the appropriate administrator will provide the alleged offender with a copy of the statement and the identity of the person making the complaint.

Although no particular format is required, the complainant is expected to include the following information in their written complaint:

• Descriptive statement of facts and circumstances that provide the basis for the complaint, including the identity of any person(s) involved or with knowledge of facts or circumstances underlying the complaint.
• Dates of the incident(s) and time period of the complaint.
• Descriptions of any attempts to resolve the complaint on an informal basis and the results of the attempts.
• A brief statement of desired resolution.
• Signature of the employee and the date of submission of the complaint.

The alleged offender will have five working days from receipt of the complaint to respond, in writing.

The College will respond to complaints and take steps to resolve problems as expeditiously as possible. Any decision by the Vice President for Human Resources, Inclusion and Compliance or the Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs will be in writing and provided to both the complainant and the alleged offender. The decision of the Vice President for Human Resources, Inclusion and Compliance and/or the Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs on any grievance matter will be final and no further appeal will be available.