Discrimination, Harassment & Retaliation (DHR)

Discrimination

Discrimination is often used to describe a situation where you have been treated unfairly or differently compared to other people. More specifically, discrimination refers to an adverse action against you that is based on your membership in a protected class, done by someone from or in the workplace or the educational setting. Adverse action means an action that has a substantial and material negative impact on someone’s ability to participate in a District program, activity, or employment. Actions or conduct not reasonably likely to do more than anger or upset someone does not constitute an adverse action under District regulations.

Harassment

Harassment is unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct against someone that is of a sexual nature or on the basis of a protected class where the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a workplace or academic environment that would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to a reasonable person.

Retaliation

Retaliation is adverse employment or education action taken against someone based primarily upon an individual’s participation in protected activity such as an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit concerning prohibited conduct, discrimination or harassment as prohibited by state or federal law.

Protected class refers to a group of people with a common characteristic who are legally protected from employment and educational discrimination on the basis of that characteristic.

Protected classes include, but are not limited to:

• Accommodations
• Age (40 and older)
• Ancestry
• Color
• Dating Violence
• Ethnic Group Identification
• Gender Expression
• Gender Identity
• Intimate Partner Violence
• Medical Condition (Incl. cancer & related conditions/genetic characteristics)
• Mental Disability
• National Origin
• Perceived to be in protected category or associated with a member of a protected class
• Physical Disability
• Pregnancy/childbirth/breastfeeding/related medical condition
• Race
• Religion (Incl. religious dress/grooming practices/religious observances)
• Retaliation
• Sex/Gender
• Sexual Assault
• Sexual Harassment
• Sexual Misconduct
• Sexual Orientation
• Stalking
• Any subsequently-added class protected under Federal or State law

It is against the law and the LACCD policy to discriminate against students, employees and applicants in the following areas:

• Job advertisements
• Recruitment, applications, screenings, and interviews
• Hiring, transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall
• Compensation, assignment, or classification of employees
• Testing
• Use of the District's facilities
• Training and apprenticeship programs
• Fringe benefits
• Pay, retirement plans, and disability leave; or other terms and conditions of employment
• Admission, access, and treatment in all college and district programs and activities

It is also against the law and LACCD policy to engage in sexual misconduct (including but not limited to sexual assault and sexual harassment) with a student, employee, or other individual associated with the District, on property owned or operated by the District, or involving a participant in a District-sponsored event.

The LACCD Prohibited Discrimination and Harassment Policy, which covers discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on a protected class is in Chapter XV of the Board Rules.

• Chapter XV - Armenian
• Chapter XV - Chinese
• Chapter XV - Farsi
• Chapter XV - Spanish

To file a DHR Complaint, you can contact the appropriate DHR Coordinator above or submit a Complaint Form online.

To address and respond to DHR issues, DHR Coordinators follow Administrative Regulation C-14 titled ‘Procedures for Prohibited Discrimination, Unlawful Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Complaints.’

C-14 - Armenian
C-14 - Chinese
C-14 - Farsi
C-14 - Spanish

The privacy of all parties to a complaint of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation based on a protected class must be strictly observed, except where limited information must be shared in order for LACCD to meet its obligation to fully investigate allegations. That means where privacy is not strictly kept, it will still be tightly controlled on a need-to-know basis to parties deemed relevant. Sharing of information and/or written materials to LACCD faculty or staff not involved in the complaint procedure is not permitted.

LACCD and the Colleges must statistically report on campus occurrences of major violent crimes, including hate crimes, in an annual report of campus crime statistics. This statistical report does not include personally identifiable information.

Under California law, communication with some individuals such as mental health professionals or medical personnel are confidential. This means that any information shared by a Complainant with a specific individual will not be used against the individual in court or shared with others. Students should always confirm whether confidentiality applies to the communication with a specific person. Most LACCD employees are Mandated Reporters and required to share a report of discrimination based on a protected class with the DHR Coordinator.

As is the case with any educational institution, LACCD must balance the needs of the individual student with its obligation to protect the safety and well-being of the District or campus community at large. Therefore, depending on the seriousness of the alleged incident, further action may be necessary, including a campus security alert. The alert, however, would never contain any information identifying the student who brought the complaint.

As relevant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Los Angeles Community College District operates its programs and services without regard to race, color, and national origin. Any person who believes she or he has been aggrieved by any unlawful discriminatory practice under Title VI as it relates to LACCD facilities or programs may file a complaint with LACCD.

For more information on LACCD’s civil rights program, and the procedures to file a complaint, contact us.

A complainant may also file a complaint directly with the Federal Transit Administration by filing a complaint with Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Office of Civil Rights, Region IX, 201 Mission Street, Suite 1650, San Francisco, California 94105-1839.