Background
An ongoing concern is that faculty who face investigation or discipline at their home institution may seek to evade it by changing jobs. The Association of American Universities (AAU), of which Berkeley is a member, has set forth principles (link is external) under which member universities are expected to ensure they are not hiring individuals whose prior behavior indicates that they may not adhere to the high ethical standards expected of faculty at an AAU institution, especially in regards to matters of gender-based harassment, sexual harassment, and other sexual misconduct.
Consistent with this reasoning, California state law now sets forth certain requirements for applicants to disclose findings of misconduct, including sexual harassment. Specifically, Senate Bill 791 requires applicants to academic or administrative positions to disclose any final administrative or judicial decisions, as defined, issued within the last seven years, determining that the applicant committed sexual harassment, and permits applicants to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable. Assembly Bill 810 requires applicants to certain positions, including tenure-track/tenured positions, to sign a release form that authorizes the release of information by the applicant’s previous employers to the University of California concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct. For any applicant who reaches the final stages of the recruitment, the release form must be used to make a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.
Employment Misconduct Disclosure Review for Senate Faculty Positions
For all recruitments of Senate faculty (including those in the professor series, the professor of teaching series, the professor in residence series, and professor of clinical [e.g. optometry] series), the campus will:
- Require all applicants to sign, as part of their application for a Senate faculty position, an Authorization of Information Release form regarding past substantiated allegations of misconduct (i.e., conduct related to discrimination, harassment or retaliation in connection with an individual’s protected status or to sexual violence and sexual harassment) at a prior place of employment within the previous seven-year period;
- Require all applicants selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer for a Senate faculty position to complete an Employment Misconduct Disclosure Questionnaire form indicating if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct (finalists will be permitted to disclose if they have filed an appeal with the previous employer, administrative agency, or court, if applicable); and
- Use the release of information form to conduct an Institutional Reference Check, which involves making a reasonable attempt to obtain information from the previous employer concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct prior to extending a formal offer of employment.
The information above will be used to conduct the Employment Misconduct Disclosure Review. Any disclosures regarding substantiated allegations of misconduct that a candidate makes on the Employment Misconduct Disclosure Questionnaire form will be considered by the Vice Provost for the Faculty in consultation with other central campus offices as appropriate, in conjunction with any information received from the previous employer, prior to an offer being finalized. The chair of the Committee on Budget & Interdepartmental Relations will be consulted during this process.