Employee Jurisdiction

Yes. The Title IX regulations, in 34 C.F.R. § 106.30(a), define “complainant” and “respondent” respectively as “an individual who is alleged to be the victim” and “an individual who has been reported to be the perpetrator.” Any person may be a complainant or respondent, regardless of whether the person is a student, employee, or otherwise affiliated with the university. Similarly, the regulations require a university to respond promptly when the university has actual knowledge of sexual harassment in the university’s education program or activity against a person in the United States, and that response must treat the complainant and respondent equitably by offering supportive measures to the complainant and refraining from imposing disciplinary sanctions on the respondent without following a grievance process that complies with 34 C.F.R. § 106.45. (34 C.F.R. § 106.44(a)). Thus, the regulations cover sexual harassment allegations in cases where the complainant and respondent are both employees.

At 30439 of the Preamble to the regulations, the Department explains: The Department appreciates support for its final regulations, which apply to employees. Congress did not limit the application of Title IX to students. Title IX, 20 U.S.C. 1681, expressly states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance . . . .” Title IX, thus, applies to any person in the United States who experiences discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Similarly, these final regulations, which address sexual harassment, apply to any person, including employees, in an education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. (footnotes omitted).

Recipients who are subject to both Title VII and Title IX must comply with both. The Title IX regulations, at 34 C.F.R. § 106.6(f), provide that nothing about the Title IX regulations lessens an individual’s rights under Title VII. In the Preamble to the regulations, at 30438-30441, the Department discusses at length the intersection between Title VII and the Title IX regulations, and the application of the Title IX regulations to employees.