Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

OPHD reviews every report brought to our attention.  In order to help us respond to the report, please include as much of the following information as possible:

• Your name and preferred method of being contacted

• The name of the person experiencing the prohibited conduct (if not you)

• The name of the person who is alleged to have committed the harassment or discrimination

• A brief description of what happened or of the concern

• Date of alleged conduct

If you are making a report on behalf of someone else, thank you. You will receive confirmation of the receipt of your report . OPHD will contact that person directly. Complaints can also be made anonymously.

All complaints can be made anonymously, however, Berkeley lab's ability to take action may be limited without the impacted person being named. If a party files anonymously Berkeley Lab cannot guarantee an investigation, but OPHD will take steps to look into the matter. 

Specifically, Whistleblower complaints can be submitted anonymously through the UC Whistleblower hotline. However, you may be contacted through your submission if additional information is rquested. 

Once we receive a report, we email the individual who experienced the harassment or discrimination. In that email, we include an invitation to meet with us to discuss what steps our office can take to address the situation, and we provide campus and community resources available to assist.

Reporters (who are not the complainant) will be notified that we received their report. However, to protect the privacy of the individuals involved, those reporters will not be contacted again about the status. If the matter results in a formal investigation, the reporter may be contacted as a witness if they have relevant information.

Meet our OPHD team. One of us will be making initial contact with you to discuss your concerns. You may end up working with any (or all) of us during the process. 

The UC and the Lab offer access to confidential resources for individuals who have experienced Prohibited Conduct and are seeking counseling, emotional support, or confidential information about how to make a report. Everyone is encouraged to consult a confidential resource about their options. 

Confidential Resources include professionals with a license requiring them to maintain confidentiality, such as staff in Counseling and Psychological Services, and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).  

While UC and Berkeley policy allows for anonymous reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment, discrimination and harassment, and whistleblower, OPHD is limited in it’s ability to take action and cannot guarantee an investigation will occur if the impacted party is not identified.

Once the impacted party makes a report, if they want a formal investigation OPHD is not able to maintain anonymity due to the due process protections enumerated in the various policies. 

Supportive Measures can include Interim Measures such as services, accommodations, or other measures put in place temporarily to assist or protect the Complainant, the Respondent, or the UC and Lab community. The goal is to restore or preserve a party’s access to a program or activity; or deter prohibited conduct. The Interim Measures may change or terminate depending on the parties’ evolving needs, as assessed by OPHD or they may become permanent as part of the resolution of a grievance.

Examples of supportive measures that OPHD can help with include, but are not limited to:

• no-contact directives which direct an individual community member to have no direct or indirect contact with another individual community member;

• changes in work schedule, workstation, work location, unit, department, or position; and

• referral to the Employee Assistance Program

The Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) is a neutral body. If OPHD launches a formal investigation, its trained investigators will interview relevant parties, including the complainant, the respondent, and witnesses identified in the course of the investigation. OPHD cannot compel complainants to cooperate with an investigation. OPHD issues a report at the conclusion of an investigation.

Per UC and Berkeley Lab policies, OPHD strives to complete investigations within 90 business days. However, some cases may take longer. If an investigation takes longer than 90 business days, parties will be notified of the need for more time to complete the investigation

Cases that do not go to formal investigation may instead be resolved through Alternative Resolution. Generally, both the complainant and the respondent need to agree in order for a case that could go to formal investigation to instead conclude via an Alternative Resolution. An Alternative Resolution could contain elements such as these:

•   Separating parties

•   Negotiating an agreement for corrective or disciplinary action

•   Conducting targeted educational and training programs

•   Issuing no-contact directives

•   Consulting with an appropriate LBNL supervisor

As required by UC and Berkeley Lab policies, Berkeley Lab employees are Mandated Reporters who are responsible for reporting potential policy violations, including workplace discrimination and sexual harassment. Berkeley Lab provides mandated reporter training to all employees.

Retaliation is conduct that would discourage a reasonable person from reporting harassment or discrimination to OPHD or from participating in an OPHD process, such as threats, intimidation, harassment, discrimination and coercion.  Petty slights, minor annoyances, bad manners and trivial inconveniences are not considered retaliation. 

OPHD determines whether retaliation has occurred by investigating the alleged retaliatory act or conduct.  Included in that investigation is whether the person who engaged in the retaliation knew that a report of harassment or discrimination had been made to OPHD or that the person was involved in an OPHD process at the time the retaliatory conduct was alleged to have occurred.