Resources for incident reporting

It is our sincere hope that no one in our community experiences any kind of negative treatment at UCLA Linguistics, but the goal of this page is to provide resources for those who do. 

The first thing to do is look at the list below and click on the type of treatment that best characterizes what you’ve experienced. (If you don’t know, click around, as definitions are provided in each subsection.)

Types of Negative Behavior

If you don’t need help understanding the full array of possible options, you can go straight to the department’s Personnel Incident Report below.

 

Assault

If you have been physically and/or sexually assaulted, you should call the police immediately. You can use 911 or the non-emergency police hotline, 1-877-ASK-LAPD. If you were assaulted on campus, you could also choose to (also or instead) report your assault to UCLA Campus Police, at 310-825-1491.

 

Threats to your safety

If a UCLA affiliate is threatening you, a good place to turn to is the UCLA Behavioral Intervention Team. The team reviews situations involving faculty, staff and others that have raised concern they may be at risk of harming themselves or others, or pose a significant disruption to the campus environment. The behavior does not need to be illegal to be of concern. 

We also recommend that you contact the Chair of the department and the department’s Chief Administrative Officer, as they can help you monitor and document your interactions with this person.

If you feel like you are in immediate danger, you should contact UCLA Campus Police (310-825-1491) or call 911.

 

Sexual harassment

Sexual Harassment is when: 

  1. Quid Pro Quo: a person’s submission to unwelcome sexual conduct is implicitly or explicitly made the basis for employment decisions, academic evaluation, grades or advancement, or other decisions affecting participation in a University program or activity; or 
  2. Hostile Environment: unwelcome sexual or other sex-based conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it unreasonably denies, adversely limits, or interferes with a person’s participation in or benefit from the education, employment or other programs or activities of the University, and creates an environment that a reasonable person would find to be intimidating or offensive.

It can also include invasions of sexual privacy, third-party harassment, gender- or sex-based hostility or stereotyping, or sextortion.

Sexual harassment (or sexual violence or assault) should be reported to the UCLA Title IX Office. In fact, most members of the department are mandatory reporters, which means they are legally obligated to report any complaint of sexual assault or violence to the Title IX Office that they hear. The Title IX Office also has a list of resources for victims or witnesses of sexual harassmant or assault.

 

Discrimination based on a protected class

U.S. and California fair employment laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, age (40 and over), ancestry, color, religion, denial of FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) leave, disability, marital status, medical condition, genetic information, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and military or veteran status.

Discrimination is any differential treatment, and can take several forms, including:

  • Unfair treatment because of your race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, disability, age (age 40 or older), or genetic information
  • Harassment by managers, co-workers, or others in your workplace, because of your race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, disability, age (age 40 or older), or genetic information
  • Denial of a reasonable workplace change that you need because of your religious beliefs or disability
  • Improper questions about or disclosure of your genetic information or medical information
  • Retaliation because you complained about job discrimination or assisted with a job discrimination proceeding, such as an investigation or lawsuit

If you are experiencing discrimination based on a protected class, you have several reporting options available to you (roughly ordered in terms of how formal the reporting mechanism is):

  • UCLA Campus Ethics Officer. The Office of Ethics, Compliance and Audit Services provides auditing and monitoring, guidance, and resources to the University to optimize ethical and compliant behavior, provide assurance, and improve operations through effective controls and processes. 
  • The UCLA Whistleblower Hotline, for reports of child / elder abuse; conflicts of interest; discrimination / harassment; fraud / theft / embezzlement; violence; information security / privacy violations; research misconduct; retaliation; sexual misconduct; waste / misuse of university resources; or workplace misconduct.
  • The UCLA Title IX Office, for discrimination based on sex, gender, and sexual orientation. 
  • UCLA Human Resources. Their CHR Employee & Labor Relations group provides consultation and advice to managers, supervisors, and employees regarding personnel issues, with the goal of improving and maintaining workplace relationships.
  • The Faculty Senate Grievance Advisory Committee, which works with Senate faculty (and, in certain circumstances, other university community members) on grievance consultation.
  • The UCLA Ombuds Office. The Office of Ombuds Services is a place where members of the UCLA community–students, faculty, staff and administrators–can go for assistance in resolving conflicts, disputes or complaints on an informal basis.
  • The UCLA Linguistics Personnel Incident Report. This process is intended to allow for department-internal treatment of conflicts between department members that does not rise to the level of violence, threats of violence, or sexual harassment or assault. If you trust the department to address your concerns, and you’d like a relatively quick resolution, this might be a good option for you.

 

Hostile or toxic behavior

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) makes it illegal to create a hostile work environment for anyone. A hostile work environment is defined as inappropriate behavior in the workplace that is severe or pervasive enough to create an abusive work atmosphere for one or more employees. HWE harassment can be committed by non-supervisors as well as by supervisors. 

Hostile-work-environment harassment is a special form of workplace bullying, which is defined as repeated, degrading mistreatment at work. Workplace bullying behavior is abusive conduct that falls into one of the following three categories:

  1. Threatening, humiliating, or intimidating behavior;
  2. Work interference / sabotage of the person’s work performance; or
  3. Verbal abuse

Workplace bullying meets the legal definition of hostile workplace harassment when both of the following are true:

  1. The behavior involves or is because of a protected trait (such as gender, race, age, etc.); 
  2. The behavior is pervasive or severe.

UCLA is responsible for ensuring that your workplace is free of harassment; see this guidance on Workplace Abuse and Bullying from former UC President Napolitano.

If you encounter hostile or toxic behavior within UCLA Linguistics, you may file a department-internal Incident Report (see below).

The UCLA Office of Ombuds Services provides mediation and guidance in cases of dispute, but isn’t able to make judgments or sanction anyone. They can, however, refer your case to other on-campus offices if they deem it necessary. 

UCLA also has a Human Resources Office that recommends several additional options in case of workplace issues like hostile or toxic behavior.

 

Our Personnel Incident Report Process

The department has an Incident Report process for compiling complaints against members of the department (faculty, staff, or graduate students). The Incident Report process is intended to be used to report any act or behavior that contributes to an unprofessional or hostile work environment that doesn’t meet the threshold of sexual harassment (which falls under the UCLA Title IX Mandatory Reporting requirement, and must be reported to the UCLA Title IX office) or violence or threat of violence (which should be reported to campus or local law enforcement).

If you wish to lodge a complaint, please email the relevant member of the departmental leadership – the Department Chair (“Chair”), Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), or the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) – as follows.

  • Complaints against faculty: please contact the Chair
  • If you are uncomfortable contacting the Chair, you can contact the Dean of Humanities 
  • If you are uncomfortable contacting the Chair or Dean, there are other, university-level options for you; see our guide on Discrimination
  • Complaints against graduate students: please contact, depending on who is the complainant:
    • If you are an undergraduate: contact the DUS
    • If you are a graduate student or staff: contact the DGS
    • Anyone may contact the Chair
  • Complaints against staff: please contact the CAO or the Chair

The person (Chair, DGS, DUS, CAO) receiving the complaint will fill out and file our report form, and verify with the complainant that its content is accurate. Reports will then be discussed by the departmental leadership as appropriate, and after that with the parties involved, preserving anonymity where appropriate and possible. 

For example, in the case of a complaint against a faculty member, the Chair will first fill out the report form based on the initial information received from the complainant, and then verify and discuss that report with the complainant (either in a personal meeting, or by email); next the Chair will discuss the matter with the complainee, add the results of that discussion to the report form, and then follow up with the complainant. If the parties would like to meet, the Chair can facilitate that meeting; however, either party can ask that the complainant remain anonymous.

These discussions may be followed by involvement of relevant staff from outside the department (e.g. the ombuds office). Reports may also be discussed as part of later personnel or student reviews. However, it is important to note that faculty and student reviews are confidential, so complainants cannot expect to hear about the results of such reviews. It also must be noted that employment commitments to faculty and graduate students, and in some cases union contracts, may limit the actions that the department leadership can take in response to complaints. However, in all cases we will work with the relevant parties to arrive at the best available solution.