Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions our office receives most often. If you need additional assistance,
please contact us at [email protected] or (212) 217-4030.
No. OGC represents the college and works only on college-related matters. OGC attorneys advise the trustees, directors, administrators, faculty, and staff acting in their official capacities on legal issues.
The President, the Treasurer and Vice President for Finance and Administration, and certain other senior administrators are authorized to sign documents and contracts on behalf of the college.
Generally, this authority is limited to a specific area of responsibility. Please check with the senior administrator for your area to determine who has the authority to sign the particular document or contract. If he or she does not know, OGC can help determine the appropriate signatory.
OGC reviews, drafts, and approves as to legal sufficiency, terms and conditions of
all
agreements entered into by the college. To that end, OGC wants to be assured that
it has approval from authorized personnel before undertaking to work on any request
for legal assistance.
Generally, work requests should be approved for OGC action by administrators at
either cabinet-level or extended cabinet-level. OGC will not start work on any request
received from faculty or staff without this level of approval as evidenced, at minimum,
by the inclusion of the name of the senior level administrator appearing as a “cc.”
on the email request.
Whenever the college receives requests for information or site visits from government regulatory and investigative agencies, it is important that OGC be notified immediately. OGC will determine whether the request or visit is legally valid, coordinate the college’s response and notify appropriate senior administrators. Refer all persons representing regulatory authorities or other government agencies to OGC.
Whenever a process server attempts to hand-deliver an official legal document, such as a summons and complaint or a subpoena to a college employee, you should inform the process server that you do not have authority to accept service of the document and that the document should be delivered instead to OGC. Do not sign anything unless authorized to do so by someone in OGC. Official legal documents mailed to the college should be forwarded immediately to OGC.
All dealings with outside attorneys on college-related matters should be conducted through OGC. If you are contacted by an outside attorney on a college-related matter, please refer the attorney to OGC.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provides that, with certain exceptions, educational records may not be disclosed to persons outside the college without a student’s written consent. Similarly, there are state and federal laws limiting when an individuals health records can be disclosed. Requests for such records should be forwarded to OGC for an appropriate response.
See: FERPA
Generally yes, as long as you are acting in good faith and within the scope of your job.
Complaints may be submitted orally or in writing, giving as much detail as possible. Complaints may be made anonymously. All complaints should be made to the General Counsel and Secretary of the College. Any complaint submitted to a senior administrator or a department head of the college should be forwarded by the recipient to OGC.
Contact OGC at [email protected] or (212) 217-4030 or by mail addressed to:
Office of General Counsel
Fashion Institute of Technology
227 West 27th Street
New York, NY 10001
While it is OGC policy that information you provide to OGC will be used only for purposes of college-related business and will be disclosed only to other FIT employees who have a specific need to know, OGC cannot guarantee to keep any or all information it receives from you strictly confidential.