Fagin will not wait for EEOC

Interim President Claire Fagin said she will make a decision about whether to suspend Part II of the University's racial harassment code despite a nationwide Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proposal on workplace harassment which could mandate the so-called "speech code" for employees. According to the proposal, harassment is defined as "verbal or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of his/her race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, or disability." Although the EEOC guidelines are not yet law and are open for comment until November 30, if eventually implemented, the University – as an equal opportunity employer – would have to abide by the policy. The EEOC policy would apply only to employees. And it would seem unfair, said Associate General Counsel Neil Hamburg, to have two separate policies on harassment – one for students and one for employees. Fagin said, however, that she plans to make her decision before the EEOC proposal would go into effect. "Right now, my thinking is that [the EEOC proposal] should not affect my decision," she said. "We'll just set that aside for the time being. At least, that's the way I feel right now." Fagin said she still plans to announce her decision within the next week or so, but has not set an official deadline for her decision. She said she does not want to use the EEOC proposal – which would likely take months to implement – as a reason to put off her decision. "I could use this and say hold off," Fagin said. "But I don't want to use something that doesn't really address the student issue, or at least not directly, as an excuse." EEOC spokesperson Hope Williams said implementation of this policy depends on what kind of national response the EEOC receives in the next month. "If there aren't too many comments for change, then the policy will be put into effect immediately," she said. "If there are lots of objections or calls for change, then there's no telling how long it'll take." Williams said the proposed guidelines are not new. She said the EEOC "has officially recognized harassment as a violation [of section 703 of title VII] of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."