A bill is filed that would result in automatic termination of any post-secondary employee who fails to properly report incidents of “power-based violence” to the campus Title Nine coordinator.
New Orleans Representative Aimee Freeman filed the legislation. She said it’s inspired by LSU’s failure to properly handle incidents of sexual misconduct and other power-based violence.
“It involves looking at making sure that people are trained on mandatory reporting at all levels, but also putting them in a position where if you are a mandatory reporter and you do not train you can be terminated,” said Freeman.
Power-based violence is defined as dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking.
Freeman said under this legislation incidents like the kind that allegedly occurred when a former LSU running back sexually harassed a Superdome worker would have to be reported.
“We are covering whether it is a student who has done something, harassed someone who is not a student, or whether it is a student who has assaulted another student,” said Freeman.
74-year-old Gloria Scott alleges running back Derrius Guice sexually harassed her while she was working at the Superdome. Scott said she reported the incident to LSU but was told because she wasn’t a student and the event at the Dome did not involve LSU that it did not fall under Title Nine reporting requirements.
STAR legal director Morgan Lamandre said under this law if you receive knowledge that someone has committed an act of power-based violence, you must report it.
“I think what we do know is that a lot of times these are not isolated incidents, they are serial perpetration, so at least it does put somebody on the radar,” said Lamandre.
Current policy often only requires Title Nine reporting if employees are informed of a victim who is involved with the school.
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