Policy on Relationships

Policy Category	Issuing Authority	Responsibility	Publication Date	Next Review Date
Equity & Access	President	Office of Equity & Access	11/14/2025	11/14/2028

Policy Statement/Background:

Stony Brook University is committed to providing a learning and working environment that is guided by mutual respect, trust, professionalism, and ethics. With this in mind, it is in the best interests of our community to provide a clear statement about the prohibition of romantic and/or sexual relationships where an apparent or inherent power imbalance exists between the parties.

Policy:

It is the policy of Stony Brook University that employees in supervisory or instructional positions shall not engage in or pursue a romantic and/or sexual relationships with any subordinates, including but not limited to: trainees, interns, students, or others within their sphere of influence. Examples of such prohibited relationships might include, but are not limited to:

Supervisor and direct or indirect subordinate
Employee/faculty member and student within the employee/faculty member's sphere of influence
Faculty/instructor and resident/medical/dental student within the employee/faculty member's sphere of influence
Advisor/mentor and student/intern
Professional staff member of Campus Residences and Resident Assistant (RA) or residential student
Coaching staff and student-athlete

Preexisting relationships where the employee will have supervisory, instructional, or other professional responsibility for another employee that predate the existence of such supervisory, instructional or professional responsibility must be disclosed to the Office of Equity and Access (OEA). OEA will work with Human Resources and the department to address potential conflicts of interests.

Retaliation

Retaliation is prohibited and includes any materially adverse action(s) or treatment taken against any individual who has reported or has participated in the investigation of a report of an alleged incident of a relationship policy violation as a party, a witness, or in any other capacity. An action is materially adverse if such action could have dissuaded a reasonable employee or student from making a report or supporting or participating in the investigation. Depending on the facts, these are examples of "materially adverse" actions:

work-related threats, warnings, or reprimands;
negative or lowered evaluations;
transfers to less favorable or desirable work or work locations;
making false reports to government authorities or in the media;
removing supervisory duties;
threatening reassignment; scrutinizing work or attendance more closely than that of other employees without justification;
reducing or denying playing time;
conduct designed to interfere with, impact, obstruct, or disrupt an investigation into an alleged incident of a relationship policy violation.

Individuals in violation of the terms of this policy may be subject to discipline up to and including termination.

Reporting

An administrative head of a department, program or unit who obtains information that would lead a reasonable person to believe that such a relationship exists, as identified above, must report the behavior to OEA.

Definitions:

None

Contact:

Additional information about this policy is available here:

Office of Equity and Access
201 Administration Building
Stony Brook, NY 11794
(631) 632-6280
www.stonybrook.edu/oea

Human Resource Services:

West Campus, Health Sciences, and School of Medicine
390 Administration Building
Stony Brook, NY 11794
(631) 632-6161

Stony Brook University Hospital
31 Research Way, Suite 200
East Setauket, NY 11733
(631) 444-4700

Long Island State Veterans Home (LISVH)
100 Patriots Road
Stony Brook, NY 11790
(631) 444-8617

Employee and Labor Relations:

West Campus and Health Sciences Center
291A Administration Building
Stony Brook, NY 11794
(631) 632-6140

Stony Brook University Hospital
HSC Level 3, Room 040
Stony Brook, NY 11794
(631) 444-3780