Anti-bullying policy earns preliminary approval of Faculty Council

A new workplace bullying policy that governance groups have been working to develop for years earned the approval of the Faculty Council at its Jan. 25 meeting at 1800 Grant St.

As stated in the draft language of the Administrative Policy Statement (APS), the intent is “to foster a climate that discourages workplace bullying and to communicate to all employees that any incident can be subject to discipline.”

Having passed a motion for approval at the meeting, the APS will continue to be reviewed by stakeholders. Staff Council also has worked to advance such a policy.

Read the APS as voted on by Faculty Council here (pdf).

Jeremy Hueth, University Counsel managing associate, noted the challenges in developing the policy, which walks a fine line of regulating conduct – the encouragement of collegiality and discouragement of emotional or psychological abuse in the workplace – without conflicting with academic freedom and freedom of speech.

“We’ve tried to walk a razor’s edge,” Hueth said. The policy merely articulates “a standard and expectation of behavior” not expressly addressed by existing discrimination and harassment laws and policies.

In other business at last week’s meeting:

• The council heard an update on usage of the Faculty Housing Assistance Program, a benefit used for recruitment and retention of tenure and tenure-track faculty. Since the university took over funding of the program in 2004, it has funded 417 home loans for a total of $29.4 million. Dan Wilson, CU treasurer, chief investment officer and associate vice president for budget and finance, and Alexis Kelly, CU assistant treasurer, provided the update.
• Felicity O’Herron, chief human resources officer and associate vice president of Employee Services, said the June pay date for CU employees will return to the last workday of the month, which this year is June 29. Previously, the state required the June pay date to be at the start of July.