Discrimination, Harassment and Sexual Misconduct

The university research community has a shared responsibility to ensure that all activities carried out at our institution are done in an atmosphere that is free of discrimination, harassment, exploitation or intimidation. FIU and our sponsoring agencies expect that we promote a safe and respectful environment in which all of our students, faculty and staff can carry out the critical research that they support. To that end, below are the critical expectations and requirements from a few of our major sponsors, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NASA

NASA funded institutions are required to notify NASA whenever they determine a Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator has violated policies concerning harassment or assault, or if such personnel are placed on leave due to a harassment investigation.

As of April 9, 2020, NASA awards for federal financial assistance and amendments to existing assistance awards have been subject to this reporting requirement via the incorporation of a term and condition into NASA awards.

Institutionally, FIU is required to notify NASA of any findings/determinations of sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, or sexual assault regarding a NASA-funded Principal Investigator (PI) or co-I, or of the placement of the PI or co-I on administrative leave, or the imposition of any administrative action relating to harassment or sexual assault finding or investigation.

FIU’s Authorized Organizational Representatives (AOR)s must submit the required report to NASA pursuant to the award’s terms and conditions.

The reports are submitted to NASA’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity.

NIH

NIH expects grantee institutions to have policies and practices in place that foster a harassment-free environment.

NIH requires that every organization receiving NIH funds:

  1. Has systems, policies, and procedures in place to manage research activities in accordance with their standards and requirements.
  2. Complies with federal laws, regulations, and policies protecting the rights and safety of individuals working on NIH-funded projects.

NIH expects that institutions:

  1. Develop and implement policies and practices that foster a harassment-free environment;
  2. Maintain clear, unambiguous professional codes of conduct;
  3. Ensure employees are fully aware and regularly reminded of applicable laws, regulations, policies, and codes of conduct;
  4. Provide an accessible, effective, and easy process to report sexual harassment, and provide protection from retaliation;
  5. Respond promptly to allegations to ensure the immediate safety for all involved, investigate the allegations, and take appropriate sanctions; and
  6. Inform NIH of administrative actions that removes senior/key personnel on an NIH award.

NIH encourages organizations receiving NIH funds to have in place similarly rigorous policies and related procedures for their employees, contractors, trainees, and fellows who engage in agency-funded activities as NIH’s policies and procedures for Preventing and Addressing Harassment and Inappropriate Conduct and NIH’s policy statement on Personal Relationships in the Workplace.

Policies and Requirements

Institutionally, we need to adhere to the following NIH policies and requirements:

  1. Recipients of NIH funds must assure their compliance with civil rights protections.As described in NIH Grants Policy Statement 4.1, as a condition of the award, the grantee must have certified that it has on file with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) an Assurance of Compliance with the statutes described in the “Civil Rights Protections” provision. OCR, which is responsible for enforcing federal civil rights laws (among other laws), provides resources to agencies and to grantees, to address concerns regarding potential violations.
  2. NIH Notice NOT-OD-15-152: Civil Rights Protections in NIH-Supported Research, Programs, Conferences, and Other Activities, published in September 2015, which reminds grantees of civil rights protections from discrimination and harassment in NIH-supported activities and of the NIH’s expectations for eliminating barriers and providing equal access to the opportunity to participate in NIH supported research, programs, conferences, and other activities.
  3. NIH recipient institutions are required to notify NIH when individuals identified as PD/PI or other Senior/Key personnel in an NIH notice of award are removed from their position or are otherwise disciplined by the recipient institution due to concerns about harassment, bullying, retaliation, or hostile working conditions. (NIH Notice NOT-OD-22-129)The Authorized Organization Representative must notify NIH within 30 days of the removal or disciplinary action.

    All required notifications must include, at a minimum:

    • name of the Authorized Organization Representative submitting the notification
    • name of the individual of concern
    • description of the concern(s)
    • action(s) taken
    • any anticipated impact on the NIH-funded award(s)
  4. NIH recipients of conference grant (“R13”) funding must take steps to maintain a safe and respectful environment for all attendees by demonstrating an institutional commitment to ensuring that proper policies, procedures, and oversight are in place to prevent discriminatory harassment and other discriminatory practices. This is described in the NIH funding announcement for conferences and scientific meetings (Parent R13).

NSF

The NSF expects all of its grantees to:

  1. Maintain harassment-free research workplaces.
  2. Establish and maintain clear and unambiguous standards of behavior.
  3. Establish notification pathways for all personnel, including students, regardless of workplace location.
  4. Provide accessible and evident means for reporting violations, including reporting when personnel are engaged in conferences, workshops, field work, or other research facilities.
  5. Ensure institutional due diligence with timely investigations of allegations and corrective actions.

FIU is required to report to the NSF if:

  1. A PI or Co-PI is placed on administrative leave related to an investigation of an alleged violation or a finding/determination demonstrating a violation of awardee policies or codes of conduct, statutes, regulations, or executive orders relating to sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, or sexual assault.
  2. It imposes any administrative action on a PI or Co-PI related to an investigation of an alleged violation or a finding/determination demonstrating a violation of awardee policies or codes of conduct, statutes, regulations, or executive orders relating to sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, or sexual assault.
  3. It issues a finding/determination regarding a PI or Co-PI demonstrating a violation of awardee policies or codes of conduct, statutes, regulations, or executive orders relating to sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, or sexual assault.

FIU must report as a direct recipient of NSF funds or as a subrecipient of an NSF award that includes the term. FIU must submit the report to NSF within ten (10) business days from the placement on administrative leave, imposition of administrative action, or the date of the finding/determination. The report submissions will be done by the Office of Research and Economic Development based on information provided by the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access (IDEA).

After receiving and reviewing the information, NSF will consult with the institution and may:

  1. Initiate the substitution of the PI or a Co-PI,
  2. Reduce the award funding amount, or
  3. Suspend or terminate the award.

As part of their review process, the NSF will consider:

  1. Safety and security of personnel supported by the NSF award.
  2. Overall impact to NSF-funded activity.
  3. Continued advancement of taxpayer-funded investments in science and scientists.
  4. Whether the awardee has taken appropriate action(s) to ensure continuity of science and that continued progress can be made under funded project.

The requirement applies to:

  1. All grant personnel (PI, Co-PI roles trigger reporting requirement).
  2. All locations where grant work is undertaken (including conferences, workshops, field sites, on- and off-campus research facilities, online).
  3. All NSF awards and funding amendments to existing awards made on or after October 22, 2018.

Conferences, Workshops or Symposia

It is National Science Foundation policy to foster harassment-free environments wherever science is conducted, including at NSF-sponsored conferences, workshops, and symposia. The NSF Proposal Award Policy and Procedure Guide (PAPPG), effective February 25, 2019, requires applicants requesting NSF funds for the purpose of carrying out conferences, workshops, and symposia to have a policy or code-of-conduct that addresses sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, or sexual assault, and that includes clear and accessible means of reporting violations of the policy or code-of-conduct.

Recipients of NSF funds to carry out conferences, workshops, and symposia must also provide this policy or code of conduct to all event participants prior to the event and at the conference/workshop/ symposium itself.

If you have an NSF funded project to carry out a conference, workshop or symposia then the following statement should be added to all conference brochures and be posted at the conference site:

Florida International University is committed to encouraging and sustaining a learning and living environment that is free from harassment, violence, and prohibited discrimination based on sex, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual misconduct, domestic and dating partner violence and/or stalking. See full regulation at https://hr.fiu.edu/employees-affiliates/employee-concerns/#sexual-harassment. Individuals wishing to report a violation of this regulation should contact the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access (IDEA) at 305-348-2785 or submit a Discrimination Complaint Processing Form at https://hr.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/61/2016/11/Discrimination_Complaint_Processing_Form.pdf.

Safe and Inclusive Working Environments for Off-Campus or Off-Site Research

It is NSF policy to foster safe and harassment-free environments wherever science is conducted. NSF’s policy recognizes that a community effort is essential to eliminate sexual and other forms of harassment in science and to build inclusive scientific climates where people can learn, grow, and thrive. Accordingly, for each proposal that proposes to conduct research off-campus or off site, the University must complete a certification that the organization has a plan in place for each proposal that describes how the following types of behavior will be addressed:

  1. Abuse of any person, including, but not limited to, harassment, stalking, bullying, or hazing of any kind, whether the behavior is carried out verbally, physically, electronically, or in written form; or
  2. Conduct that is unwelcome, offensive, indecent, obscene, or disorderly.

This plan should also identify steps the proposing organization will take to nurture an inclusive off-campus or off-site working environment, e.g., trainings; processes to establish shared team definitions of roles, responsibilities, and culture, e.g., codes of conduct; and field support, such as mentor/mentee support mechanisms, regular check-ins, and/or developmental events

Communications within team and to the organization should be considered in the plan, minimizing singular points within the communications pathway (e.g., a single person overseeing access to a single satellite phone), and any special circumstances such as the involvement of multiple organizations or the presence of third parties in the working environment should be taken into account. The process or method for making incident reports as well as how any reports received will be resolved should also be accounted for.

The organization’s plan for the proposal must be disseminated to individuals participating in the off-campus or off-site research prior to departure. Proposers should not submit the plan to NSF for review.

In an effort to facilitate the process, the Office of Research and Economic Development (ORED) has created a template plan that can be used by PIs. The template ORED has adopted is in line with plan templates adopted by other NSF funded institutions.

The template plan is available for download on the ORED forms page at https://research.fiu.edu/forms/ under the Proposal Preparation Forms section. The plan is composed of background information, institutional resources and questions required to be answered for each project. The plan should be uploaded into the attachments section of the ePRAF of your proposal submission but not submitted to the NSF unless specifically requested to do so.  If the project is awarded, the plan should be provided to all personnel on the NSF funded project prior to departing for off-campus or off-site research activities.

A new question will be added on January 30th, 2023 into the ePRAF to alert proposers of this requirement and the needed to adhere to said regulations.

Additional details regarding this new requirement from the NSF are available at https://beta.nsf.gov/policies/pappg/23-1/ch-2-proposal-preparation#2E9.

NOAA

It is the policy of NOAA to maintain a work environment free from sexual assault and sexual harassment. As referenced in NOAA Administrative Order 202-1106, NOAA prohibits sexual assault and sexual harassment by or of any employee, supervisor, manager, contractor, vendor, affiliate, or other individual with whom NOAA employees come into contact by the virtue of their work for NOAA.

Effective May 21, 2018, NOAA contracts (including purchase orders, task orders, or calls) include clause 1330-52.222-70 NOAA SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE POLICY (MAY 2018).

This clause requires university employees (and any subcontractors) that work on NOAA contracts with said clause to complete mandatory training on sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention and response. This training, which must include specific required elements as indicated by NOAA, needs to be provided to employees assigned to perform under the contract within 30 days of contract execution, or prior to commencing work on the contract and annually thereafter. A link to the required training elements is provided at: https://www.noaa.gov/organization/acquisition-grants/noaa-workplace-harassment-training-for-contractors-and-financial. The University Title IX Coordinator will administer this training.

As a requirement of this clause the university is required to provide evidence (by name and date completed) that our employees performing on the contract have completed the mandatory training required (1) after initial contract award or the date a contractor employee is assigned to perform under the contract and (2) annually thereafter during the term of the contract or order in accordance with the timeframe established in the solicitation and contract language. The evidence of the initial and annual training completion shall be retained by NOAA and ORED in the contract file.

In the case of a reported incident of sexual assault or sexual harassment involving a contractor employee, NOAA shall work together with the university to ensure appropriate action is taken in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, contract terms and conditions, and the university’s written policy (where applicable).

Additional Resources

NASA — https://missionstem.nasa.gov/term-condition-institutional-harassment-discr.html

NIH – https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/harassment.htm

NSF – https://new.nsf.gov/stopping-harassment

NOAA – https://www.noaa.gov/organization/acquisition-grants/noaa-workplace-harassment-training-for-contractors-and-financial

FIU – https://dei.fiu.edu/civil-rights-and-accessibility/harassment-and-discrimination/index.html

FIU – Regulation FIU-105: Sexual Misconduct (Title IX) https://regulations.fiu.edu/regulation=FIU-105

The University has a designated Title IX Coordinator to coordinate the University’s efforts to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”).

Any questions or other comments related to Title IX compliance can be directed to:
Director and Title IX Coordinator
Office of Civil Rights Compliance and Accessibility (CRCA), formerly IDEA
Florida International University
Modesto A. Maidique Campus-Primera Casa 321
(305) 348-2785
idea@fiu.edu