OA Discipline and Proscribed Conduct

Discipline: The first disciplinary steps for OAs are oral or written warnings or reprimands. In cases where probable cause exists for a more severe sanction, the disciplinary procedure involves a hearings process that is outlined in the Faculty Handbook, Chapter 3, General Conditions of Employment (http://academicaffairs.uoregon.edu/handbook/Chapter03.html).

Proscribed Conduct: The State Board of Higher Education in OAR 580-022-0045 has set forth a list of behaviors that are considered to be unacceptable on the part of any staff member. If an OA is found to have engaged in the conducts listed below, the university may bring an action against her or him for cause and impose sanctions including suspension or termination of employment.

Obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures, or other institutional activities, including the institution's public service functions or other authorized activities on institutionally owned or controlled property;
Obstruction or disruption interfering with freedom of movement, either pedestrian or vehicular, on institutionally owned or controlled property;
Possession or use of firearms, explosives, dangerous chemicals, or other dangerous weapons or instrumentalities on institutionally owned or controlled property, in contravention of law or institutional rules;
Detention or physical abuse of any person or conduct intended to threaten imminent bodily harm or endanger the health of any person on any institutionally owned or controlled property;
Malicious damage, misuse, or theft of institutional property, or the property of any other person where such property is located on institutionally owned or controlled property, or, regardless of location, is in the care, custody, or control of an institution;
Refusal by any person while on institutional property to comply with an order of the president or appropriate authorized official to leave such premises because of conduct proscribed by this rule when such conduct constitutes a danger to the personal safety, property, or educational or other appropriate institutional activities on such premises;
Unauthorized entry into or use of institutional facilities, including buildings or grounds;
Illegal use, possession, or distribution of drugs on institutionally owned or controlled property;
Inciting others to engage in any of the conduct or to perform any of the acts prohibited herein. Inciting means that advocacy of proscribed conduct that calls on the person or persons addressed for imminent action, and is coupled with a reasonable apprehension of imminent danger to the functions and purposes of the institution, including safety of persons and the protection of its property.

Cause for Sanction: In addition to the proscribed behaviors listed above, the state board has developed the following definition of "Cause for Sanction" in its rule OAR 580-021-0325:

"Cause" shall mean:

Conviction of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude during the period of employment by the Department (or prior thereto if the conviction was willfully concealed in applying to the Department for employment);
Conduct proscribed by OAR 580-022-0045; as described in the preceding sections, or
Failure to perform the responsibilities of an academic staff member, arising out of a particular assignment, toward students, toward the faculty member's academic discipline, toward colleagues, or toward the institution in its primary educational and scholarly functions and secondary administrative functions of maintaining property, disbursing funds, keeping records, providing living accommodations and other services, sponsoring activities, and protecting the health and safety of persons in the institutional community." ("Department" means OUS and its member institutions.)

" Evidence which demonstrates cause under the standard set forth above may include, but is not limited to: evidence of incompetence; gross inefficiency; default of academic integrity in teaching; research or scholarship; intentional or habitual neglect of duty; or a failure to perform adequately for medical reasons."

Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment (including Sexual Harassment): The university has added discrimination and discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment, to the list of proscribed behaviors through its administrative rule OAR 571-003-0025. The university considers such behavior to be unprofessional, an abuse of one's position of authority, and a violation of the trust relationship between faculty and students or between colleagues. The university's definition of sexual harassment includes harassment based on sexual orientation as well as on gender. Employees found to have engaged in discrimination or discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment, are subject to disciplinary sanctions. Applicable sanctions may include the termination of any appointment.

Written reprimands regarding discrimination and discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment, will be maintained in the departmental personnel files. To protect privacy, the names of complainants and victims will be removed from the material included in the personnel file. Materials related to sexual harassment are maintained for seven years.

OAs who believe they are the victims of discrimination and/or discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment, or who learn that discrimination or discriminatory harassment may be adversely affecting the students or colleagues around them, should contact the Office of Affirmative Action & Equal Opportunity for advice.