OCR Finds Title IX Violations at UNC Chapel Hill

On the heels of investigative reporting into OCR's lower rate of enforcement of civil rights laws compared to the previous Administration comes news that OCR has found UNC-Chapel Hill violated Title IX by mishandling complaints of sexual harassment, concluding a five year investigation.

OCR found that the university's policies governing its response to sexual misconduct failed to ensure that the response was "prompt and equitable" as the regulations require. Specifically, OCR noted that UNC's policy involving complaints against students failed to provide adequate notice of certain appeal opportunities, and its policy involving complaints against employees failed to provide notice of complaint procedures, notice to both parties of the outcome of the hearing, and a right to appeal to both parties. The inclusion of that final finding directly contracts the interim policy with which OCR replaced the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter, which expressly withdrew the DCL's requirement to provide equitable appellate rights to complainants and respondents, though some reporting is calling this contradiction a "department error." 

OCR also review over 300 sexual harassment complaints that the university received since 2011. It found instances where the university employees involved in the process were inadequately trained, and noted that the university's failure to keep good records, especially in the 2011-2013 time period, prevented OCR from determining whether the outcomes and procedures were appropriate. It also found examples of unreasonably delayed proceedings, including one that took 213 days, and noted that it couldn't always tell if the university properly weighed the complainant's request for confidentiality against its obligation to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment.

UNC has entered into a resolution agreement in which it agrees to revise its policies for compliance and improve its response -- which OCR noted UNC has already begun to do. The resolution agreement also commits UNC to improve its training for students and employees on reporting and addressing sexual harassment.