Civil Rights Compliance

Responsible Employee FAQs & Resources

• Who is a Responsible Employee?

  Unless specifically designated as a confidential resource, all CWU professional staff and faculty, as well as designated student employees, are responsible employees.
  
  

  • For more information about University requirements to report behaviors of concern, see CWUP 2-35-075 Reporting Behaviors of Concern policy.

• What are expectations of Responsible Employee?

  Responsible Employees are expected to:
  

  • Promptly report experiences with or knowledge of sexual misconduct, regardless of when it occurred
  • Report all information disclosed, but DO NOT press for information or investigate the situation further
  • Respect the privacy of student or employee who disclosed-- only share on a need to know basis (like reporting to the Title IX Coordinator)
  • Be transparent about your Responsible Employee role (i.e., having to report sexual misconduct and involved other folks on campus to best support and assist them)

• How can I be transparent about being a Responsible Employee?

  If someone begins to disclose an experience with or knowledge of sexual misconduct, or you believe the conversation is heading in that direction, you should:

  1. Compassionately interrupt them
  2. Share that you are 1) NOT a confidential resource and 2) have to report it and involve other folks on campus to best support and assist them

  EXAMPLE: Before you share anything else, I want to let you know (or reiterate) that I am a Responsible Employee and am not a confidential resource; therefore, depending on what you share with me, I may have to involve other folks on campus as I assist you.
• What if I don't want to report what was disclosed?

  Reporting sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator ensures that members of the CWU community (i.e., the Reporting Party) know their rights, options, and resources; it also makes certain that CWU is responsive to knowledge of sexual misconduct.

  • After a report is received, the Title IX Coordinator will provide outreach to the Reporting Party (via email and/or phone)-- engaging with the Title IX Coordinator coordinate is entirely optional for the Reporting Party.
  • The Title IX Coordinator will respect the autonomy and choice of the Reporting Party (even if they choose not to respond to the outreach) and will neither pressure nor dissuade them from pursuing particular rights and options.

  To meet that goal of informed choice, all responsible employees are required to notify the Title IX Coordinator about any information disclosed regarding sexual misconduct.

• How do I report sexual misconduct?

  Responsible Employees can report sexual misconduct disclosures 1) using the online Concern and Support (reporting) form or 2) directly to a Title IX Coordinator in Civil Rights Compliance.

• How soon should I report sexual misconduct ?

  Responsible Employees should report any information about sexual misconduct as soon as possible, ideally within 24-hours of receiving the disclosure.

• What should I include in the report?

  Include all information known about the sexual misconduct, but do not press for more information than they are willing to share or attempt to investigate the situation on your own.

  Reports to the Title IX Coordinator could include:

  • Name of the Reporting Party/Person Harmed (if known)
  • Name of the Responding Party/Person Who Caused Harm (if known)
  • When the sexual misconduct occurred (if known)
  • Where the sexual misconduct occurred (if known)
  • Any details of the sexual misconduct incident shared (if known)
• What happens after I report?

  Once Civil Rights Compliance (CRC) receives a report of sexual misconduct, the Title IX Coordinator will review the report as well as (1) provide outreach to the Reporting Party/Complainant, (2) offer supportive measures, and (3) discuss the formal complaint process, investigative options, and resolution options, if appropriate. 

  Responding to the Title IX Coordinator is optional for the Reporting Party/Complainant.

  • For more information about what happens after Responsible Employees report sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator, visit "What Happens After a Report".
• What if someone else has already reported the information?

  Even if the person disclosing indicates that a report has already been made and/or the Title IX Coordinator has been made aware of the situation, Responsible Employees are expected to report the information as soon as possible.

  • We believe it is better to receive the information from multiple CWU employees, than have multiple employees know about the information but think someone else has already reported.
  • Once multiple reports are received, the Title IX Coordinator will review and combine multiple notifications about the same incident.

  If you have questions or concerns about this or a situation like this, utilize Civil Rights Compliance to talk through the situation.