HUMAN RESOURCES at MIT

3.4 Complaint and Grievance Procedures

Any person working or studying at M.I.T. who believes that he or she has been unjustly treated or that the Institute's stated policy of nondiscrimination has been violated, is encouraged to seek to solve the problem or to seek redress through the procedures outlined below. These procedures provide the paths available in most situations for faculty members and the academic, administrative, research, and support staffs, and, separately, those paths that are available to students.

In some instances, separate procedures have been established for particular groups of employees and for particular issues and are not described in this section. The Medical Department, for example, has a complaint procedure for patients regarding health-care and related services (as provided in Policies and Procedures, Section 9.6.4), and for Medical Staff regarding their clinical privileges (as provided in the Medical Department Bylaws).

3.4.1 Complaints by Those Who Work at M.I.T.

All employees at M.I.T. who are represented by a labor union are covered by collective bargaining agreements that include grievance and arbitration procedures and equal opportunity provisions.

Everyone else who works at M.I.T. who has a concern, complaint, or inquiry related to his or her employment at M.I.T. should seek first to discuss the work situation and problems with his or her immediate supervisor. If the complaint is against another person who works at M.I.T., it may be resolved directly with the person complained against or with that person's immediate supervisor. Supervisors are expected to provide a supportive environment that fosters open communication related to work life at the Institute, and are encouraged to resolve work problems and grievances in the immediate work environment, if possible.

If the problems are not resolved with their immediate supervisor, individuals may choose to discuss the situation with successively higher supervisors in the office, department, laboratory/center, or School, up to the level of the cognizant dean, vice president, associate provost, or the Director of the Lincoln Laboratory.

If the complaint is against a student, and is not resolved directly with the student or with the assistance of the faculty advisor or the Office of the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education (ODSUE), it may be submitted in writing for a formal hearing by a hearing panel in the ODSUE or the Committee on Discipline. Such complaints may also be taken to the Campus Police, as appropriate.

Alternatively, or simultaneously with respect to the line of supervision above, an individual may discuss a problem and seek help in its resolution from the departmental administrator and/or Human Resources Officer, or a personnel representative in the Human Resources Office at Lincoln Laboratory. An individual may also pursue a problem with successively higher supervisors within Personnel up to the Director of Personnel for Employee Relations on the campus or the Director of Human Resources at Lincoln Laboratory.

Complaints that pertain to faculty appointment and promotion matters should be pursued within the appropriate academic lines of supervision in the relevant department and School. An alternative route for an academic matter raised by a faculty member may include seeking advice from the Officers of the Faculty or the Chairman of the Committee on Faculty-Administration.

In most instances, it is expected that individuals will proceed, if necessary, up through the appropriate lines of supervision specified above. There may be unusual circumstances, however, when the need for information or advice about a work situation may warrant direct inquiries to anyone in the lines of supervision. In addition, any individual who has a concern may at any time raise the matter informally and confidentially with one of the Special Assistants to the President (ombudspersons). Either of them will discuss alternatives with the individual and, if asked, may be able to resolve the problem on an informal basis.

In the case of a complaint relating to a negative tenure decision, if the complaint is not successfully resolved within the academic lines of supervision in the relevant department and School, the aggrieved faculty member may write to the Provost requesting further review of the process which led to the decision. The Provost will decide if there is sufficient reason to warrant a review. If the Provost concludes that further review of the process is warranted, he or she will, in consultation with the Officers of the Faculty, establish a mechanism to determine the adequacy and fairness of the process. Following such review the final decision will be made by the Provost in consultation with the President. (Appeals from termination of tenure are outlined in Policy and Procedures, Section 3.3)

3.4.2 Complaints by Students at M.I.T.

See Section 9.6.2 of Policies and Procedures: A Guide for Faculty and Staff Members.

3.4.3 Policies Common to All Complaints

It is the Institute's policy that individuals will not be reprimanded or discriminated against for initiating an inquiry or complaint. It is also the Institute's policy to recognize and respect the rights of any individual against whom a complaint has been brought.

Normally while a complaint is being pursued internally, a complainant is expected to represent himself or herself directly; individuals are free to obtain the support and assistance of a co-worker or fellow student or any other M.I.T. associate in presenting their concerns. An MIT associate is a person who is a current member of the M.I.T. community, i.e., a student, faculty member, staff member or other employee, but not an attorney, and not a member of the complainant's immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, or child) so that issues of familial loyalty do not cloud the resolution of the complaint.

Once a complaint is presented or an inquiry begun, a determined effort should be made at each step, either to resolve the problem, or to refer it to the next step as promptly as possible. If a prompt disposition is not possible, as will sometimes realistically be the case, the status of the inquiry should be made known to the parties involved on a regular basis. In cases where response or resolution is delayed beyond a reasonable time, a complainant may, after informing the individual handling the complaint, elect to proceed to the next higher level.

Complaint handlers must protect privacy as much as possible; they cannot guarantee complete confidentiality. For example, people who might have information relevant to a case may learn of the complaint in the course of an investigation. The assurance of privacy may be qualified by the duty placed by law on persons receiving complaints of particular types.

These procedures serve also as the complaint and grievance procedure for employees and for students as required by all relevant state and federal legislation, specifically including concerns about race, sex, gender, disability, color, nationality, age, sexual orientation, and veteran's status (including Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title IX of the Federal Education Amendments of 1972), and all other forms of proscribed discrimination. Questions on this subject may be addressed to the Special Assistants to the President (ombudspersons) or the Equal Opportunity Officer.