Berkeley Lab is dedicated to fostering a thriving community where everyone can collaborate in a safe and supportive work environment—an atmosphere free of discrimination, harassment, exploitation, or intimidation. Several offices at the Lab are dedicated to building and maintaining this culture, which aligns with our Stewardship principles.
One of these offices is the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD), which helps ensure our workplace remains respectful and free from discrimination and harassment. OPHD is the Lab’s main resource for reporting and addressing concerns related to discrimination, sexual harassment or violence, bullying or abusive conduct, whistleblower and other employee concerns, and workplace violence, and for ensuring we follow the policies in these areas. For more information, visit our website.
UC has recently updated its Anti-Discrimination and Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment policies:
- Changes to the Anti-Discrimination policy: Adds a definition of sexual orientation, affirming students’ right to request a University-provided advisor, recognizes that race discrimination and harassment include race-associated traits (such as hair texture and style), and confirms that the policy applies to conduct targeting individuals based on multiple protected categories.
- Changes to the Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy: Adds a definition of sexual orientation, revises Alternative Resolution processes for matters involving students and staff/faculty, provides additional guidance on settlements and respondent student advisors, and strengthens procedural transparency through required case status updates every 30 days and notification of disciplinary actions within five days.
For more information about what changed, please see the issuance letters: Anti-Discrimination and Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment.
Finally, to provide systemwide guidance and support on issues related to protecting civil rights at UC’s locations, including the Lab, the University of California has established a Systemwide Office of Civil Rights (SOCR), which includes the Systemwide Offices for Title IX, Anti-Discrimination, and Disability Rights. SOCR also provides leadership, training, education, and investigative support for UC offices, such as OPHD, responsible for protecting all civil rights.
OPHD and Berkeley Lab are committed to continuing to support employees in resolving a range of concerns. Employees should reach out to ophd@lbl.gov with any questions or to speak with an OPHD staff member about anything specific.
