Allegations of Discrimination: Definitions
Complaint - A complaint is an allegation by a complainant that a respondent has committed a written discriminatory act or has pursued a discriminatory policy against the complainant. The complaint must include a complete description of the alleged discrimination and the remedy being requested of the respondent or appropriate Colorado State administrative unit.
The complaint may be informal or formal:
- Informal Complaint - If the complainant designates the complaint as informal, he/she thereby requests the Conciliation Officer to investigate and conciliate the matter with the respondent most immediately involved in the alleged discrimination. The complaint must indicate whether the complainant wishes to keep his/her identity confidential. An informal complaint is not a request for a formal hearing or review.
- Formal Complaint - If the complainant designates the complaint as formal, he/she thereby requests a hearing before a Hearing Panel of the Equal Opportunity Council with rights to appeal the decision to the Appeals Committee and the President of the University. An informal complainant may change his/her complaint to a formal complaint within 60 days after the original filing of the complaint.
Complainant - A complainant is a student, applicant to be a student, former student, employee, former employee, or applicant for employment at Colorado State who files a complaint.
Respondent - A respondent is the Colorado State administrative unit, employee, student, or agent against whom a complaint is filed.
Discriminatory Act or Policy - A discriminatory act or policy is one which violates Colorado State University's Non-Discrimination Policy.
Conciliation Officer - The Conciliation Officer is a University employee who receives all complaints, conciliates all informal complaints, and coordinates the conduct of the grievance procedures.
Equal Opportunity Council - The Equal Opportunity Council is the policy-recommending arm of the Colorado State University's Affirmative Action Program.
Hearing Panel of the Equal Opportunity Council - Four members of the Equal Opportunity Council, selected by the Equal Opportunity Council as a whole, shall serve as the Hearing Panel. One of the four will serve as Chairperson, and shall be responsible for making a tape recording of all proceedings. The Chairperson shall be non-voting, and shall rule on objections and other procedural issues raised by the parties at the hearings.
Appeals Committee - The Appeals Committee shall consist of three members who provide peer representation by status, sex and/or ethnicity to the parties to the complaint, drawn from an availability pool maintained by the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity.