UO faculty/staff: "mandatory reporters" of child abuse and sexual harassment

Legislation that becomes effective Jan. 1 will make all faculty and staff at Oregon universities "mandatory reporters" of child abuse or neglect. By law, mandatory reporters must report suspected abuse or neglect of a child regardless of whether or not the knowledge of the abuse was gained in the reporter’s official capacity.

Specifics of the new law and how it affects UO employees – including a Q&A – are available on AroundtheO's new mandatory reporter web page (http://around.uoregon.edu/mandatoryreporting).

Other mandatory reporters under Oregon law include several classifications of medical care practitioners, school and child care personnel, law enforcement officers, various public employee classifications and others. Mandatory reporters who fail to fulfill their obligations under the law can be subject to civil or criminal penalties.

University and community college employees, coaches, trainers and others were added to the mandatory reporter list through legislation introduced by State Rep. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis. The legislation received overwhelming support from lawmakers, who cited the recent cases involving Penn State University.

Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment
Oregon law already requires that all university employees must report credible evidence of any form of prohibited discrimination by or against students, faculty or staff. “Prohibited discrimination” includes discrimination and discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment and sexual assault. Reports are to be made to the employee’s supervisor or to the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity. See “Mandatory Reporting” for more information.