Sexual misconduct disclosure process

Overview

The University of Washington is committed to ensuring a safe environment for all members of the UW community. As a part of that commitment, and in compliance with Washington state law, a final candidate for a UW academic appointment must go through a sexual misconduct disclosure process (“disclosure process”) before receiving an offer of employment/appointment.

Disclosure Process Phases

Phase 1: applicant

An applicant applying through UW’s Interfolio Faculty Search (FS) is automatically prompted to complete the Sexual Misconduct Declaration (SMD). Units can access applicant responses in Interfolio FS by pulling a Sexual Misconduct Declaration Forms Report. Information on how to pull these reports can be found in Interfolio’s help content.

Hiring units may choose to disqualify applicants from further consideration if they answered “Yes” to any of the four (4) SMD questions. Units should not ask applicants for additional details about their responses.

When dispositioning an applicant who has been disqualified on the basis of their SMD response, units should use the disposition code “Not selected- misconduct declaration”.

Phase 2: final candidate

An applicant selected as the final candidate and who does not hold a current UW position/appointment, must complete an expanded SMD which includes providing information related to all current and past employment/appointment at postsecondary educational institutions  and disclosing any substantiated findings of sexual misconduct by associations with which the candidate has or had a professional relationship, per RCW 28B.112.040. This information is gathered through UW’s Ideal-Logic sexual misconduct disclosure tool and will be used to determine whether a sexual misconduct verification is required.

Applicability to search waivers or direct hires

A final candidate identified through a UW-approved search waiver or for a position/appointment that does not require competitive recruitment (also called a “direct hire”) is subject to Phases 2 and 3 of the disclosure process, unless they are a UW employee/appointee (i.e., they are an internal candidate).

Applicability to internal candidates

An applicant who currently holds a UW position/appointment (i.e., an internal candidate) is subject to Phase 1 of the disclosure process if applying through Interfolio FS. Otherwise, internal candidates are not subject to the disclosure process.

Applicability to rehires

Academic personnel who are terminated in Workday and immediately rehired in a new academic personnel position are subject to only Phase 2 of the disclosure process as long as the effective date of the new Hire BP in Workday is no further than one business day following the effective date of the Termination BP.  If there is a break of service of even one day, the individual is subject to Phases 2 and 3.

Phase 3: verification

If the final candidate is currently or has previously been employed/appointed at a postsecondary educational institution in Washington state, those employers will be sent an email from the Ideal-Logic system to complete the sexual misconduct verification form Additionally, if the final candidate answers “yes” to the question of whether they have been the subject of any substantiated findings of sexual misconduct by associations with which the candidate has or had a professional relationship, per RCW 28B.112.040, OAP will contact those associations and ask them to provide documents and information regarding those substantiated findings..

Units will be notified when the disclosure process is complete and offers of employment/appointment may be extended to the final candidate.

Applicants and final candidates are subject to the disclosure process for each position/appointment for which they are being considered. Previous SMD responses and sexual misconduct employer verifications may not be used for new positions/appointments.

Failure of the applicant/final candidate to provide complete and accurate information may result in disqualification from the recruitment and associated employment/appointment.

Using Ideal-Logic

Unit administrators use the Ideal-Logic tool during Phases 2 and 3 of the disclosure  process. Ideal-Logic is restricted to those who have been granted initial access by the Office of Academic Personnel. After initial access is granted, users can log in to the system with a netID and password. To add or remove someone’s Ideal-Logic access, please contact acadpers@uw.edu.

Ideal-Logic for phase 2: final candidate

Once the unit identifies a final candidate for an academic personnel position, the unit administrator uses the Ideal-Logic tool to initiate the disclosure process.

Administrator steps

1. Log into Ideal-Logic with UW NedID: https://apps.ideal-logic.com/uwoap
2. Select Unit Candidate Declaration to navigate to the New Form screen
   
3. If associated with more than one department, select the department initiating this process. All others will default to the associated department name.
   Any changes to unit names or unit associations should be sent to acadpers@uw.edu.
   
4. Select Add Candidates
   
5. Enter the final candidate’s first and last names and email address*
   

   *This is the email address that the candidate will need to use to create an account or log into Ideal-Logic to complete the form. If the same email account is not used, the candidate will not see the form to complete it.

6. Answer the questions:
   1. Is this candidate being rehired?
      1. (if yes) Will the effective date of the Hire BP in Workday be further than one calendar day following the effective date of the Termination BP?
   2. Is this person a candidate for a 1-DEP/UNDEP position in Interfolio?
      
7. Enter the title of the position being recruited. This should match the Interfolio position title
8. Select Submit Form

Ideal-Logic sends the final candidate an email from the unit administrator’s email address, prompting them to:

• Create an account (if they do not  already have one). Candidates must use the same email address that the unit administrator used when initiating the SMD. If the candidate uses an email account different from the one where they received the SMD notification, they will not see the SMD form to complete. The email accounts must match.
• Answer the SMD questions. For final candidates who applied through Interfolio, these will be the same questions they were asked when submitting their application.
• Provide information related to all current and past employment/appointment at postsecondary educational institutions.

Ideal-Logic sends a reminder to final candidates who do not complete the SMD questions after three (3) days and then again after six (6) days. Units may not move forward with the appointment process until the form has been completed.

An Academic HR business partner will follow up with the unit administrator if the final candidate answers “Yes” to any of the SMD questions.

Ideal-Logic for phase 3: verification

If a final candidate provided information in Ideal-Logic that indicates current or past employment/appointment at a postsecondary educational institution in Washington state, a sexual misconduct verification is required and automated through Ideal-Logic.

Phase 3 process

1. Ideal-Logic sends an email from the unit administrator’s email address to current or past postsecondary educational institutions in Washington state where the final candidate is/was employed/appointed; institutions are prompted to login and complete the sexual misconduct verification form.
2. Ideal-Logic sends a reminder to institutions who have not completed the form after three (3) days and then again after six (6) days. Employers have a minimum of seven (7) calendar days to complete the disclosure.
3. As soon as all of the notified employers have responded without indicating “Yes” for any of the verification questions, Ideal-Logic will assign the case a “Completed” status, at which point the unit may proceed with the appointment process. Unit administrators will receive an email notification, but can also log in to check a final candidate’s status at any time.
4. If the employer responds “Yes” to any of the questions, an Academic HR business partner is notified and will follow up with the unit administrator on next steps. Unless there is only one employer, the system will wait the full seven (7) calendar days to receive all possible employer responses before notifying Academic HR.
5. After seven (7) calendar days, if no responses are received from the contacted employers, Ideal-Logic will assign the case a “Completed” status, at which point the unit may proceed with the appointment process. Unit administrators will receive an email notification, but can also log in to check a final candidate’s status at any time.

In contrast, if a final candidate answers “yes” to the question of whether they have been the subject of any substantiated findings of sexual misconduct by associations with which the candidate has or had a professional relationship, per RCW 28B.112.040, OAP will contact those associations and ask them to provide documents and information regarding those substantiated findings via email. This step of obtaining information from an association will not occur through Ideal-Logic.

Offer Letter Content and Hiring Packet Requirements

Required language for offer letters

Once a final candidate’s status in Ideal-Logic is “Completed,” the unit administrator may make an offer of employment/appointment. The offer letter must include the following language (updated June 2023):

“This offer is contingent upon acceptable outcomes regarding criminal background (if applicable) and sexual misconduct checks. State law requires that the University of Washington obtain a Disclosure of Sexual Misconduct declaration signed by the candidate, as well as conduct a reference check concerning any sexual misconduct at current or past Washington state postsecondary educational institutions  and ask the candidate whether they have been the subject of any substantiated findings of sexual misconduct by an association with which they have, or have had, a professional relationship. The declaration requires candidates to disclose any substantiated findings of sexual misconduct, to authorize current and past employers and relevant associations to disclose to the UW any sexual misconduct currently being investigated and/or committed by the candidate, and to release current and past employers and relevant associations from any liability. If the results of the disclosure or reference check are unacceptable, the offer will not be extended.”

Required documentation for hiring packet

The unit must include Ideal-Logic documentation as part of the hiring packet when processing the final candidate’s hire/appointment. To obtain a pdf of the documentation:

1. Log into Ideal-Logic https://apps.ideal-logic.com/uwoap
2. On the Home tab, locate the candidate name
3. Below the candidate’s name, select Print SMD to print the disclosure form for the hiring packet

Responding to Sexual Misconduct Reference Requests

If a UW academic unit is asked to respond to a reference check from another institution, please direct the inquirer to disclosure@uw.edu.

Questions about the disclosure process that aren’t answered here? Contact your AHR specialist.