UCSB complies with state and federal laws related to sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

Title IX Education Act Amendments of 1972

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex under any federally funded education program (P.L. 92-318). Under Title IX, sexual harassment, which includes sexual violence, is a form of unlawful sex discrimination. Schools that receive federal financial assistance must take steps to prevent sexual violence and sexual harassment, and promptly and effectively respond to reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment. This law is administered by the US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights.

Federal Title IX Regulations, August 2020
On Friday, August 14, 2020, the new federal Title IX regulations went into effect, and the University of California (UC) issued a revised UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy (SVSH Policy) in response. Our mandate was to comply with the regulations without compromising the University’s values or the sexual harassment prevention, detection and response efforts so critical to its mission. Much of the prior SVSH Policy remains unchanged. The same conduct that was prohibited by the policy prior to August 14th is still prohibited. A subset of this conduct is now covered by the DOE regulations, and will be processed through the newly designated DOE Grievance Process. Some of the notable changes in the DOE Grievance Process include: (1) the insertion of a hearing following an investigation, and prior to a policy determination; (2) the advisors will ask questions of the other party during a hearing; and (3) the University will provide a person to read the party’s questions during a hearing if their advisor is not present or they do not have an advisor. Resources to help the UC community understand the revised policies are available below.

The new federal Title IX regulations also require that the Title IX Office provide information on training completed by Title IX personnel. For more information, please click here.

AB1825
This legislation became effective August 17, 2007, and mandates immediate and continual biennial state-wide sexual harassment prevention training for any employee who performs supervisory functions within a company of 50 employees or more, regardless of where the supervisory employees are based as long as the company has employees within the State of California. This training must be at least two hours "of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment," including, information and practical guidance regarding federal and state statutory provisions concerning the prohibition against, and the prevention and correction of, sexual harassment, as well as, the remedies available to victims of sexual harassment in employment; all of which must specifically include practical examples aimed at instructing supervisors in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and which must be presented by trainers or educators with "knowledge and expertise" in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

The Affordable Care Act, 18 U.S.C. section 18116

California Fair Employment and Housing Act of 1959
This law provides protection from harassment or discrimination in employment because of: age (40 and over), ancestry, color, religious creed, denial of family and medical care leave, disability (mental and physical) including HIV and AIDS, marital status, medical condition (cancer and genetic characteristics), national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
This law makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is administered by the office of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998 (Clery Act)
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998 is part of the Higher Education Act. The goal of the Clery Act is to ensure students, prospective students, parents and employees have access to accurate information about crimes committed on campus and campus security procedures. It requires institutions of higher education that receive federal financial aid to report statistics on specified crimes on or near college campuses and to provide other safety and crime information to members of the campus community, as well as to the federal Department of Education annually. For more information about the Clery Act, please visit https://www.police.ucsb.edu/clery-act.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act 1978
This law amended Title VII to make it illegal to discriminate against a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is administered by the office of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Prohibited Employment Practices
It is illegal to discriminate against someone (applicant or employee) because of that person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to retaliate against a person because he or she complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law forbids discrimination in every aspect of employment.

The law also prohibits UC Santa Barbara from using neutral employment policies and practices that have a disproportionately negative effect on applicants or employees of a particular protected category, if the policies or practices at issue are not job-related and necessary to the operation of the business.

For more information regarding prohibited employment policies and practices, please visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) website.

SB 967 (De León, Chapter 748, Statutes of 2014)
The “Yes Means Yes” California state bill requires colleges and universities to adopt certain policies on sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking, such as an affirmative definition of consent and a preponderance of evidence standard.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants' and employees' sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is administered by the office of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2013
The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA 2013), includes several provisions to improve and expand how institutions address sexual violence. VAWA was first enacted in 1994, as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and it was reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. VAWA 2013 reauthorized and improved upon services to address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. VAWA 2013 incorporates provisions of an earlier bill, titled "Campus Sexual Violence, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Education and Prevention" or the Campus SaVE Act, and codifies parts of an April 2011 Dear Colleague letter issued by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE-OCR).