The UW System will look into reforming their hiring processes and reference checks in order to prevent prospective candidates with a history of sexual harassment from being considered during the hiring process.
The proposal, as sought out by Gov. Scott Walker, includes policy changes that require all UW campuses to share personnel files of all current and future employees during the hiring review with one another. Furthermore, this would require all campuses to document any known investigations or allegations of sexual harassment.
The proposal came after a report detailing a 2015 sexual assault of a local campus vendor employee by former UW-Stevens Point Assistant Dean Shawn Wilson. He now holds the same position at UW-Eau Claire after checks failed to produce incriminating evidence.
The female employee accused Wilson of “asking her to go home with him and making sexual innuendos,” despite the fact they were both married and she repeatedly said no, according to the Stevens Point Journal. Wilson signed his resignation in October 2015, following the resolution of the university's investigation.
During the investigation, Wilson was placed on paid leave and allowed to return with restrictions. These included being banned from where the vendor employee worked. His resignation officially took place in January 2016.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looked into allegations previously disclosed by UW System universities. They reported several campuses had incomplete personnel files or missing essential detailed records.
The new system policy requires all personnel files to be appropriately written up at the end of allegations and investigations, including if they were found responsible, resigned or were penalized or fired.
"The UW System has zero tolerance for sexual harassment,” UW System President Ray Cross told the MJS. “There is no room for compromise on that commitment. We will continue to work tirelessly to assess our policies and revise them as necessary to ensure that our campus communities are safe and welcoming places to live, learn and work.”
The UW System previously modified their sexual assault and harassment policy in 2016 to place a formal responsibility on universities to remain committed to confronting the issue. This also included training sessions to aid in determining and preventing sexual harassment.
The policy will be discussed in the upcoming Board of Regents meeting in early June.
