Professional Misconduct and the UUA Process: Frequently Asked Questions

What does "professional misconduct" mean?
Professionals who serve our congregations agree to professional ethics standards, performance expectations, behavioral covenants, and/or codes of conduct that are intended to maintain emotional, physical, and spiritual safety for the people they serve. Misconduct is, at its most basic level, behavior that violates the expected safety boundaries of a professional role.
Forms of professional misconduct include, but are not limited to: sexual misconduct, financial misconduct, emotional or physical abuse, harassment, dishonesty, abuse of power, unjust discrimination and disrespect, and manipulation of people for personal gain.
Please see question 3, "Which religious professional..." below, for a definition of which categories of religious professionals the UUA Office of Ethics and Safety can take formal complaints against.
Who is a religious professional?
“Religious professional” is the blanket term that covers employees and ministers of congregations and religious organizations, as well as chaplains employed for religious duties at secular organizations.
Which religious professionals can the Office of Ethics and Safety handle complaints against?
If a minister or religious educator is credentialed or in the process of being credentialed by the UUA, the UUA has the power to investigate alleged misconduct, discipline the professional, and/or remove their credentialing. UUA-credentialed religious professionals are listed in the Professional Religious Leaders section of the UUA Directory.
If a misconducting professional is not credentialed by the UUA, the UUA cannot remove credentialing or take disciplinary action. However, your congregation or organization can take action on their employment with the partnership of your regional staff.
Can the professional organizations for ministers, religious educators, or music directors handle complaints?
Yes, in a way that is specific to each organization. Each professional organization has a code of conduct for their membership, and members are subject to disciplinary action and/or removal when code violations are found to have taken place. The way each handles complaints is different. Please see the following organizations’ websites for details:
What is the complaint intake process? What does it mean that the UUA intake person triages complaints?
The UUA intake person hears the complaint, provides information on the process, and responds to questions from the person making a complaint. This can be a complex process. The intake person is available for phone calls to review, answer questions, clarify, or otherwise inform a potential complainant of the process.
At the intake stage, the UUA intake person has the discretion to refer matters not suitable for adjudication by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) to LREDA, AUUMM, or other entities such as UUA Congregational Life staff and the Ministries and Faith Development staff.
Once the complainant decides to make an official complaint, the complaint is then referred to a UUA investigative consultant. An official complaint must be made in writing. It can be submitted via U.S. Mail or emailed to safecongregations@uua.org. The mailing address is: Heather Bond, UUA Office of Ethics and Safety, 24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210.
What happens to a complaint once it's in the hands of the UUA investigative consultant?
When/if a complaint is received in writing, the religious professional receives correspondence to inform them of the complaint and the process for investigation and adjudication. Their supervisor or congregational president is informed in writing, as well, about the nature of the complaint and the process of investigation. At the discretion of the Director of Ministries and Faith Development and/or the investigative consultants, the religious professional’s prior congregations’ boards may also be contacted.
If the complaint warrants, the UUA investigative consultant will conduct interviews and other fact-finding activities. It is the investigative consultant's responsibility to define the scope of the case to be presented to the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC.) (See the FAQ below for a description of the MFC.)
If it is determined that the case is to be adjudicated by the MFC, the UUA consultant will present a report to be read by the Executive Committee of the MFC. The consultant may decide to exclude certain parts of a complaint that are not supported by evidence developed during an investigation.
In cases to be investigated and possibly adjudicated by the MFC, the advocate is the complainant’s point of contact and communication between the UUA consultant, the complainant, and those involved in the process on behalf of the UUA.
All participants in any complaint process will be informed that the circle of confidentiality may be expanded if the UUA consultant or intake person determines more people have a need to know in order to protect against harm.
What is the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC)?
The Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) helps ensure that Unitarian Universalist ministers are ethical, competent, and aligned with Unitarian Universalist values, practices, and theology. The MFC has jurisdiction over who is recognized as fully credentialed and in good standing as a Unitarian Universalist minister. Prospective UU ministers must satisfy the MFC’s requirements in order to receive ministerial credentialing, including training in safety, ethics, and boundaries. Additionally, the MFC has the authority to remove ministerial fellowship or conditionally suspend ministers’ fellowship for misconduct that violates the UUMA Code of Conduct. The MFC’s scope and actions are governed by the MFC Rules and Policies.
In cases of misconduct, can the UUA remove the staff person or minister from a congregation’s employment?
No. The Unitarian Universalist Association is an association of member congregations. The role of the UUA is to provide support to its member congregations. It does not govern them. In our tradition of congregational polity, each member congregation has the power to ordain, call/hire, supervise and dismiss ministers and other staff; and to do so independently of the UUA. It is the congregation, not the Association, that takes responsibility for the regulation of its own policies and staff. Your regional UUA staff can partner with you if you need support in how to terminate an employee for misconduct.
What happens if I make a formal complaint with the UUA about my supervisor’s or co-worker’s conduct?
The first step in making a complaint about a UUA-credentialed religious professional is to have a confidential conversation with the Office of Ethics and Safety’s intake person. They can help you consider your options, which may include filing a grievance at your shared workplace in addition to filing an ethics complaint with the UUA.
People who file complaints about religious professionals they work with often worry about the potential for retaliation, especially when those religious professionals are their supervisors. The UUA complaint process makes clear that any retaliation by the alleged misconductor will be considered in the investigation of the complaint. For example, if they try to fire you for exposing their embezzlement, bullying, or sexual misconduct, it will be additional grounds for their loss of credentials.
If you're in one of these “whistleblower” situations, the intake person will seek to link you to Advocates, Good Officers, and regional staff who can offer advice and support and help minimize the chances of professional harm.