Anti-Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Policy

Relevant Excerpt

The University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) is committed to offering all employees, students and visitors, a campus environment free from all forms of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. All members of the University community should be treated with dignity and fairness without being subjected to conduct which stifles productivity and hinders academic and professional involvement. All employees and students will be held accountable for compliance with this policy and any violation of this policy may lead to disciplinary action.

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Harassment: unwelcome conduct directed against a person based on one or more of an individual’s protected status or characteristics which is so severe or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment. 

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Harassment consists of unwelcome and objectively offensive, physical, verbal or nonverbal conduct that unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work or educational activities and/or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment. Such conduct and harassment behavior is specifically prohibited by the university. 

Harassment does not refer to occasional compliments of a socially acceptable nature.

 Examples of harassment include:  Verbal threats, offensive jokes, epithets, derogatory comments, ridicule, mockery or slurs;  Derogatory visual displays such as posters, photographs, cartoons, drawings or gestures;  Unwanted physical contact such as touching, intimidation or blocking normal movement. Part or all of a complaint filed under this policy involving students and/or employees and contains allegations of sexual misconduct will be addressed in the Sexual Misconduct Policy and resolved accordingly. Portions of a complaint that do not constitute sexual misconduct and are considered harassment, discrimination or retaliation may be simultaneously addressed in accordance with this policy.