{"id":174,"date":"2021-11-09T15:39:13","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T21:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/care-respect-expression\/?page_id=174"},"modified":"2026-03-19T11:31:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:31:16","slug":"discrimination-complaint-investigations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\/","title":{"rendered":"Discrimination Complaint Investigations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Here are the steps involved in an investigation when a discrimination complaint is filed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"uwm-c-list--sequence\">\n<li><div class=\"uwm-c-list--content-wrap\"><h2><em>Step 1: Concern is reported to EOCR<\/em><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hate\/bias reports or reports about behavior that might violate UWM\u2019s Discriminatory Conduct Policy can be made to the UWM Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights (EOCR): by email (<a href=\"mailto:eo-cr@uwm.edu\">eo-cr@uwm.edu<\/a>), by phone (414-229-5923) or by using <a href=\"https:\/\/cm.maxient.com\/reportingform.php?UnivofWisconsinMilwaukee&amp;layout_id=30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UWM\u2019s Hate\/Bias reporting site<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After a report is received, EOCR will contact the reporting party to gather additional information about the concerns and to share resources and support options.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For students, those resources include the <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/deanofstudents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dean of Students Office<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/wellness\/counseling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University Counseling<\/a>, the confidential <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/wellness\/advocacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">victim advocate<\/a> (for cases of sexual violence) and <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/housing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University Housing<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><div class=\"uwm-c-list--content-wrap\"><h2><em>Step 2: Formal, written complaint is filed with EOCR<\/em><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If the reporting party chooses to do so, they can file a formal complaint, or, at the reporting party\u2019s request, EOCR can file the formal complaint on the reporting party\u2019s behalf.&nbsp; In rare circumstances \u2014 particularly where there is an ongoing safety threat to the campus or local community, or a pattern of alleged behavior by the same respondent \u2014 EOCR may proceed with a formal investigation even though the reporting party chooses not to file a formal complaint.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>EOCR will review the complaint to ensure (1) that the respondent is a student, faculty, guest, vendor or contractor (as they are subject to UWM policies) and (2) that the conduct alleged is covered by the <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/policy\/library\/discriminatory-conduct-and-consensual-relationships\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Discriminatory Conduct Policy<\/a> or the <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/policy\/library\/sexual-violence-and-sexual-harassment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy<\/a>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In general, prohibited behavior under the Discriminatory Conduct Policy includes discrimination (conduct that adversely affects any aspect of a person\u2019s work, education or participation in activities at UWM and is based on a characteristic of the person that is protected under law, such as race, gender identity, religion, etc.) and discriminatory <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/faqs\/what-constitutes-harassment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">harassment<\/a> (conduct of any type \u2014 verbal, written or electronic \u2014 that is directed toward an individual because of the person\u2019s protected status and which unreasonably interferes with the person\u2019s work, education or participation in activities at UWM). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conduct that does not violate the Discriminatory Conduct Policy could still violate other UWM policies. In those cases, EOCR could refer the matter to other offices, such as the Dean of Students Office (for potential student conduct charges under the student code of conduct, Ch. UWS 17), or Human Resources (for review under the <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/policy\/library\/faculty-staff-code-of-conduct\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Faculty\/Staff Code of Conduct<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><div class=\"uwm-c-list--content-wrap\"><h2><em>Step 3: EOCR investigates complaint<\/em><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>After receiving a formal, written complaint, EOCR provides a notice of investigation to the respondent and other UWM officials.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>During a formal investigation, EOCR interviews the parties to the complaint as well as other witnesses. EOCR also collects and reviews documentary evidence (emails, text messages, social media posts, etc.) and any other information that is relevant to the complaint.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After a formal complaint has been filed, the parties can agree to resolve the complaint in an alternate fashion \u2014 for example, by participating in a restorative justice practice like a facilitated discussion or \u201ccircle.\u201d If the parties choose to resolve a complaint through this kind of negotiated resolution, the EOCR complaint is dismissed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><div class=\"uwm-c-list--content-wrap\"><h2><em>Step 4: EOCR issues final investigatory report<\/em><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At the conclusion of its investigation, EOCR provides a written investigatory report to the parties and the provost, who oversees academics, research and student success.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In its final report, EOCR summarizes the evidence that was collected in the investigation. EOCR determines whether it is more likely than not that the conduct alleged in the complaint occurred, and analyzes whether the conduct violates the Discriminatory Conduct Policy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><div class=\"uwm-c-list--content-wrap\"><h2><em>Step 5: Provost issues final decision<\/em><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>\u00ad<\/em>After EOCR issues its final report, the parties have the opportunity to provide an additional submission to the provost.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After any additional submissions have been provided, the provost reviews the EOCR report and issues a final decision on whether the Discriminatory Conduct Policy was violated. In the decision, the provost can also address conduct that violates any other University policy (such as the Faculty\/Staff Code of Conduct).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For cases involving student respondents, violations of the Discriminatory Conduct Policy are referred to the Dean of Students Office for proceedings under UWS Ch. 17.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are the steps involved in an investigation when a discrimination complaint is filed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"parent":56,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"class_list":["post-174","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Discrimination Complaint Investigations - Free Speech, Rights and Limits - UW-Milwaukee<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about the steps involved in a student conduct investigation when a discrimination complaint is filed at UWM.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Discrimination Complaint Investigations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn about the steps involved in a student conduct investigation when a discrimination complaint is filed at UWM.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Free Speech, Rights and Limits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-19T16:31:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/584\/2022\/03\/Free-Speech-Rights-Responsibilities.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/harassment-discrimination\\\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/harassment-discrimination\\\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\\\/\",\"name\":\"Discrimination Complaint Investigations - Free Speech, Rights and Limits - UW-Milwaukee\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-09T21:39:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-19T16:31:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn about the steps involved in a student conduct investigation when a discrimination complaint is filed at UWM.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/harassment-discrimination\\\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/harassment-discrimination\\\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/harassment-discrimination\\\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Harassment and Discrimination\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/harassment-discrimination\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Discrimination Complaint Investigations\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/\",\"name\":\"Free Speech, Rights and Limits\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/0template-webid2\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/541\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/uwm-seo-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/0template-webid2\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/541\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/uwm-seo-logo.jpg\",\"width\":225,\"height\":224,\"caption\":\"University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/freespeech\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Discrimination Complaint Investigations - Free Speech, Rights and Limits - UW-Milwaukee","description":"Learn about the steps involved in a student conduct investigation when a discrimination complaint is filed at UWM.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Discrimination Complaint Investigations","og_description":"Learn about the steps involved in a student conduct investigation when a discrimination complaint is filed at UWM.","og_url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\/","og_site_name":"Free Speech, Rights and Limits","article_modified_time":"2026-03-19T16:31:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/584\/2022\/03\/Free-Speech-Rights-Responsibilities.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\/","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\/","name":"Discrimination Complaint Investigations - Free Speech, Rights and Limits - UW-Milwaukee","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-11-09T21:39:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-19T16:31:16+00:00","description":"Learn about the steps involved in a student conduct investigation when a discrimination complaint is filed at UWM.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/discrimination-complaint-investigations\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Harassment and Discrimination","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/harassment-discrimination\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Discrimination Complaint Investigations"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/","name":"Free Speech, Rights and Limits","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/#organization","name":"University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/0template-webid2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/541\/2020\/11\/uwm-seo-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/0template-webid2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/541\/2020\/11\/uwm-seo-logo.jpg","width":225,"height":224,"caption":"University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1551,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/174\/revisions\/1551"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freespeech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}