11.3 Scope of Policy
No members of the university community shall engage in retaliation in response to the filing of a report of university-related misconduct.
The university will make every reasonable effort to stop retaliation immediately, to conduct a complete and thorough investigation of alleged acts of retaliation in a timely manner, and to sanction the perpetrators of retaliation as appropriate. For impacted parties of substantiated retaliation, the university will provide redress by returning the impacted party to the working or academic conditions they would have been in absent retaliation, where appropriate and reasonable.
The act of a good-faith report of university-related misconduct shall not be used to make a decision to the detriment of the impacted party, any third-party reporter, or other covered individual, or to subject any of these individuals to harassment such that it creates a hostile work or educational environment.
Agreement to a university or departmental confidentiality statement does not prohibit the sharing of such information in order to report university-related misconduct under this policy except to the extent prohibited by law. For example, disclosures governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or professional licensing requirements would prohibit the sharing of information. Confidentiality statements signed as a requirement for the use of a University of Iowa electronic application available through the self-service website would not prohibit the sharing of information. If an impacted party or potential third-party reporter is unclear about whether they are prohibited from making a report due to a confidentiality agreement, they may contact the Office of the Ombudsperson for assistance in making that determination.
To encourage and protect impacted parties and third-party reporters, it is university policy that no reference to the good-faith report of university-related misconduct shall be made in personnel files, letters of recommendation, performance appraisals, or any other permanent evaluative documents without the consent of the impacted party or third-party reporter. To the extent that it is possible to do so, the identity of the impacted party and any third-party reporter will remain confidential.
No faculty or staff member or student will be exempt from the consequences of misconduct or inadequate performance by reporting their own misconduct or inadequate performance. Reports of alleged university-related misconduct that are not made in good faith are not protected under this policy. Those who make reports not in good faith will be disciplined as appropriate through regular university procedures.