What is Title IX?
Title IX is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. The principal objective of Title IX is to avoid the use of federal money to support sex discrimination in education programs and to provide individual citizens effective protection against those practices.
What is Retaliation/Reprisal?
Retaliation (a.k.a. “reprisal”) means treating employees badly because they complained about discrimination on the job and/or classroom, filed a discrimination charge or complaint or participated in any manner in an employment discrimination proceeding. Retaliation includes mistreatment for raising discrimination that affects others (e.g., if a man complains about sexual harassment of women, mistreating him is retaliation). It also includes mistreatment of workers closely related to someone who has complained.
Three things must occur to prove retaliation/reprisal:
- Protected activity: - opposition to discrimination or participation in covered proceedings. Opposition means complaining about employment discrimination and participation means filing a charge, acting as a witness, or otherwise taking part in any investigation by the Equity & Diversity/Title IX Office, or any other proceeding related to discrimination.
- Adverse action: - adverse action can occur after the employment relationship between the complaining party and respondent ended.
- Causal connection: - between the protected activity and the adverse action. There must be evidence that the adverse action was taken because of protected activity.
For more information about HCC’s Retaliation policy, please click here: (add a link for retaliation policy).
Facts About Discrimination Based on Gender Stereotyping
Hillsborough Community College enforces laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, and genetic information, as well as retaliation for protected activity. According to Title IX, EEOC and courts state that sex discrimination includes discrimination because an individual does not conform to traditional gender stereotypes. For example, it is illegal for an employer to deny employment opportunities or permit harassment because:
- A woman does not dress or talk in a feminine manner
- A man dresses in an effeminate manner or enjoys a pastime (like crocheting) that is associated with women
- A female employee dates women instead of men
- A male employee plans to marry a man
- An employee transitions from female to male or male to female
HCC faculty, staff, and students may file complaints with the Equity & Diversity/Title IX Office, using this Discrimination Complaint Form.