Name that Section - Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts

 Respondents argue that this interpretation grants the Senates a “veto” allowing them to obstruct and frustrate the process of revising hiring policies. They suggest various scenarios under which the Senates’ refusal to agree to new procedures would require the district to, for example, ignore state law regarding hiring practices.  These arguments are overblown. No reasonable reading of the statute suggests that the district would be required to follow an existing policy that clearly contradicted state law, even if the Senates would not agree to revise the policy accordingly. 216

This quote appears to leave open the possibility that agreement would not be required if the academic senate refused to negotiate in good faith, or if the modification or adoption of a hiring procedure was required to prevent a violation of state law. However, the Court went on to find that in this instance, there was no evidence that the senate had been acting in bad faith or that the existing policy in any way violated state law. Therefore, the Court did not address what should occur in the event that there is bad faith or a violation of law. We recommend that if districts find themselves unable to comply with the mandated deadlines for adopting EEO Plans because the EEO Plan implicates faculty hiring and agreement cannot be reached, that they consider the following steps:

1. Eliminate the disputed sections from the EEO Plan and revisit them as part of a process to modify district hiring procedures; and 2. Consult with legal counsel as to the district’s ability to implement the EEO Plan without faculty agreement.

f. Plan Component 6: Complaints

i. Legal Requirements Title 5 requires that district EEO Plans describe the procedure for filing complaints, and identify the person with whom such complaints are to be filed. 217 This person can be the equal employment opportunity officer. Title 5 also requires that any complaint that includes allegations of unlawful discrimination be handled pursuant to discrimination complaint procedures. 218 ii. Implementation Because the line between an “EEO complaint” and a “discrimination complaint” is inherently blurred, it is likely that the employee(s) designated to receive EEO complaints will also receive complaints asserting unlawful discrimination. Therefore, it is critical that the employee(s) designated to receive EEO complaints Title 5 be able to distinguish between the two. 219 They also must be able to navigate both complaint procedures, know their timelines, and be able to redirect individuals to the discrimination complaint procedure when indicated. Finally, because discrimination complaints must be processed, investigated and reported on strict timelines, it is essential that EEO complaint officers review all complaints swiftly, so that discrimination complainants can be redirected in a timely fashion. The timelines and process for review should be spelled out in this component of the EEO Plan.

Name that Section: Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts ©2020 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 71