Responsible Employees

When someone discloses an incident of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation based on any protected status, sexual assault or sexual violence, sexual exploitation, interpersonal violence, or stalking to a Responsible Employee, that employee must report that information to any EOC professional staff member. They must share as much information as they know, such as the date, time, and location of the incident, the names of the parties involved; a brief description of the incident; and whether the incident has already been reported to someone else. However, Responsible Employees need not ask prying questions if the individual is not comfortable sharing information. Simply report the details you know.

A Responsible Employee can make a report in person, by telephone, electronically, or by email. You can make a report by contacting staff in EOC, Rebecca Gibson, the University’s Director of Report and Response within EOC, or the University’s Report and Response Coordinators. If you feel most comfortable submitting a form online to EOC, click here to access the report form.

The purpose of reporting an incident is to help ensure the safety and well-being of the person(s) affected. When EOC receives a report, either a Report and Response Coordinator, the Title IX  Coordinator, or an EOC staff member will reach out to the affected person via email to let them know about their rights to seek medical care and notify law enforcement, and their options for seeking support and reporting the incident to the University. If the report involves a student, the Report and Response Coordinator will reach out to the student. If the report involves an employee, another staff member from EOC will contact the employee. The affected person can choose whether they want to meet with someone from EOC to discuss supportive measures (e.g., no contact orders, changes to housing, changes to work schedules, academic accommodations) and reporting options, but they are not required to do so.

Responsible Employees must complete the online training every year, and receive a score of 10/10 on the associated quiz. The employee’s annual Responsible Employee training requirement has been met when the training and quiz are complete. The training and quiz are available online through Carolina Talent: hr.unc.edu/carolinatalent. Once you log in with your ONYEN, navigate to the “Learning” page. There you will find the trainings assigned to you.

If you have questions or technical issues, please contact:

• Rebecca Gibson (she/her)
• Director of Report and Response
• rmgibson@unc.edu
• (919) 445-1578

Responsible Employees are one of the ways members of our community can make the University aware that prohibited misconduct may have occurred. UNC is a large community, and the response to a report of prohibited misconduct shouldn’t depend on where someone works or in which department they’re studying. All members of our community should receive the same information on resources, support, and reporting options if they experience harassment or discrimination based on protected status, sexual violence, relationship violence, and/or stalking. Responsible Employees help the University provide information to impacted individuals in a timely and consistent manner. Responsible Employees share any information they receive related to the misconduct with the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office (EOC), and trained EOC staff will then reach out to the impacted individual to share resource and reporting options.Responsible Employees cannot keep information confidential when they are made aware of harassment or discrimination based on protected status, sexual violence, stalking, or interpersonal (relationship) violence.

Every employee who has been designated a Campus Security Authority (CSA), who has administrative or supervisory responsibilities for other employee and students, who accompanies students abroad or is a local contact for student abroad, and/or who serve as an advisor to registered student organizations is a Responsible Employee.The criteria for Responsible Employee designations are set out in guidance from the federal government and include any employee who has the authority to take action to redress sexual violence, has been given the duty of reporting incidents of sexual violence or any other misconduct by students to the Title IX Coordinator or other appropriate school designee, and/or an employee whom a student could reasonably believe has this authority or duty. Consistent with this federal guidance, UNC’s Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment and Related Misconduct (PPDHRM) requires identification of Responsible Employees.

Employees who have no supervisory responsibility for other employees or students, faculty who advise or supervise students in their academic studies but do not supervise them in an employment capacity, and employees who serve as confidential resources (such as Counseling and Psychological Services, the Ombuds Office, and the Gender Violence Services Coordinators).

Responsible Employees are required to complete an online training and quiz every year and are notified by email. If you believe you meet the criteria and have not been contacted to complete this training, please email responsibleemployee@unc.edu.

They must share all known information about any situation that could be protected-status harassment or discrimination, as well as all forms of sexual misconduct, interpersonal violence, and stalking. This information must be reported to the EOC immediately after receipt.

Specifically, all known information related to the following must be reported to the EOC: discrimination or harassment based on any protected status (i.e., age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status);  sexual violence; interpersonal violence; sexual exploitation; stalking; or related misconduct (i.e., complicity, retaliation, violation of a no contact order).

Submit information through the EOC online report form, contact the Report and Response Coordinators (reportandresponse@unc.edu, 919-445-2759) or Title IX Coordinator (titleixcoordinator@unc.edu).

Share your role as a Responsible Employee early on in your professional or educational relationship with someone. This can be in your first staff meeting, on your syllabus and in your first class meeting, on a new employee’s first day of work, or when you’re sharing information about campus resources. It is critical to make sure others know you cannot keep information confidential if you hear about situations related to harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct.

If you sense someone is about to share information with you that you might need to report to the EOC, be upfront with them about your role as a Responsible Employee. You can say something like this:

“Before you go any further, I care about what you have to say, but I want you to know that I am required to share any information you tell me about potential incidents of discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct with the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office. I cannot keep what you tell me confidential. If you don’t want information to go to the EOC, I can help you connect with confidential resources instead of sharing information with me.”

When someone continues to share information with you, thank them for what they have shared and let them know they can expect to receive an email from the EOC within 24 hours. Tell them it is their choice to respond to that email, but it will have a lot of information about resources and support, as well as reporting options and an invitation to meet with the EOC by phone, video, or in person.

When the EOC receives information about a potential incident, that case is assigned to a Report and Response Coordinator (RRC). The assigned RRC will reach out to the Responsible Employee to thank you for the information and ask if you have any needs or questions. The RRC will send an email to the impacted person and offer to speak with them and connect them with a variety of support and reporting options. It is up to the impacted person whether they respond to the RRC or whether they take advantage of any of the support or reporting options.  Impacted individuals can receive support without moving forward with a formal investigation of a report.

Listen without judgement, reflect their language, and respect the choices they make. Do not attempt to investigate or ask prying questions. Be aware that not everyone is comfortable reporting to the EOC or to law enforcement, and everyone reacts to these types of incidents in different ways. Consider participating in a HAVEN training to learn skills on how to respond to someone who has experienced gender-based violence and harassment: https://safe.unc.edu/awareness-and-education/

The short answer is yes. It doesn’t matter when the incident occurred, when a Responsible Employee learns of behavior that could be prohibited under EOC policy the information needs to be shared with EOC as soon as possible. We want to do our best for all members of our community to receive consistent information about resources available to them. We also don’t want Responsible Employees to have to investigate to decide on their own what is or isn’t reportable. For some people, sharing an experienced today that happened to them in the past could mean they are in need of resources or they may have current, on-going concerns related to what happened. Remember, you are always encouraged to reach out to the EOC when you’re not sure what needs to be shared as a Responsible Employee.

Responsible Employees are required to complete an online training and pass the associated quiz every year with a score of 10/10. This is mandatory, and employees will be alerted annually when it is time to complete the course. Departments or units can also request a live training with EOC staff by emailing: responsibleemployee@unc.edu

All employees, regardless of their RE designation, are strongly encouraged to contact the EOC if they are aware of harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct. Making a report ensures that the person experiencing the harm receives important information about their resources and options for addressing their needs.

All CSAs are Responsible Employees, but not all Responsible Employees are CSAs.

Responsible Employees are required to report conduct prohibited by EOC policies. CSAs are required to report certain crimes in compliance with the Clery Act. All CSAs are Responsible Employees and must complete training on both sets of responsibilities. There are many Responsible Employees who are not CSAs. The training for Responsible Employees will help CSAs understand their additional reporting requirements.

Rebecca Gibson, Director of Report and Response: rmgibson@unc.edu, 919-445-1578

Title IX Coordinator:  titleixcoordinator@unc.edu