Definitions from the Faculty Manual

Chapter 2: Nondiscrimination

Vanderbilt University does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of their race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, military service, covered veterans status, or genetic information in its administration of educational policies, programs, or activities; admissions policies; scholarship and loan programs; athletic or other university-administered programs; or employment. In addition, the university does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of their gender expression.

1. Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. It is illegal under state and federal law and is a violation of University policy.

Sexual harassment is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. In 1980, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission amended its sex discrimination guidelines under Title VII to include sexual harassment, defining the term as follows: “Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when 1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment; 2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; 3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.”

The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education issued a policy statement on August 31, 1982, defining sexual harassment under Title IX and setting forth procedures for handling sexual harassment complaints. According to this policy statement, sexual harassment “consists of verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, imposed on the basis of sex, by an employee or agent of a recipient [of federal funds] that denies, limits, provides different, or conditions the provision of aid, benefits, services, or treatment protected under Title IX.”

2. Racial and Other Harassment in the Work Environment

Harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin is a form of unlawful discrimination and is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains, in its 1980 “Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex,” that the principles for defining sexual harassment in the workplace apply as well to harassment based on race, color, religion, and national origin. Thus where harassment based on race, color, religion, or national origin has the “purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment” it rises to the level of unlawful discrimination. In addition, the courts have applied these principles to harassment on the basis of age and disability under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, respectively. Finally, the University applies these principles to harassment on the basis of military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, sexual identity, and gender expression.

B: Laws Imposing Special Obligations

A number of provisions of federal and state law, including those mentioned above, impose special obligations on the University and require particular attention. Among these are:

Titles VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act

The Equal Pay Act of 1963

Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended

Executive Order 11246, as amended

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973

The Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974

The Age Discrimination Act of 1975

Revenue Procedure 75-50 (1975)

Tennessee Fair Employment Practices Law of 1978

Governor’s Code of Fair Practices of 1979

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act of 2008

Chapter 7: Consensual and Familial Interpersonal Relationships

A: Prohibited Relationships and Disclosures

To ensure that the teaching, evaluation and supervision of students remain unbiased and professional, consensual romantic and/or sexual relationships between faculty and any pre-Baccalaureate students are prohibited and should not be initiated. If such a relationship predates the academic relationship this relationship must be disclosed to: 1) the Department Chair or Dean of the Faculty member’s school and; 2) the Provost (or Provost designee), or for faculty with primary appointments in a clinical department within the School of Medicine, the Dean of the School of Medicine (or Dean-SOM designee).

Consensual romantic and/or sexual relationships between a post-Baccalaureate (graduate or professional) student/trainee/housestaff and a faculty member who is in a position to exercise influence, power or authority over that student/trainee/housestaff are prohibited and should not be initiated. If such a relationship predates the academic relationship this relationship must be disclosed to: 1) the Department Chair or Dean of the Faculty member’s school and; 2) the Provost (or Provost designee), or for faculty with primary appointments in a clinical department within the School of Medicine, the Dean of the School of Medicine (or Dean-SOM designee).

Consensual romantic and/or sexual relationships between a faculty member and an employee⁸ when the faculty member is in a position to exercise influence, power or authority over the employee requires disclosure prior to initiation to the Department Chair or Dean of the appropriate school(s). Consensual romantic and/or sexual relationships between faculty members when either of the faculty members is in a position to exercise influence, power or authority over the other also requires disclosure prior to initiation to the Department Chair or Dean of the appropriate school(s).

B: Family Relationships and Disclosure

To ensure that the teaching, evaluation and supervision of students/trainees/housestaff remain unbiased, it is also necessary that family relationships between student/trainee/housestaff and faculty be disclosed in advance to the Department Chair or Dean.  Here, “Family” is as defined in Part III, Chapter 3, for purposes of Vanderbilt employment.

Chapter 3

Family or Family Member: Spouse, child, stepchild, parent, sibling of a Member of the University Community. For purposes of the employment of Family Members at Vanderbilt University, grandparent, grandchild, father-in-law, and mother-in-law are also included.

Investigator: The project director, Principal Investigator and any other person regardless of title or position who is responsible for the design, conduct or reporting of Research including sponsored Research or proposed sponsored Research.