Adverse Impact: A form of illegal discrimination which occurs when a neutral policy or practice that is applied uniformly to all applicants or employees (e.g., word-of mouth recruiting, diploma requirements, intelligence tests, minimum height requirements) has the effect of denying employment or advancement to members of protected classes. Business necessity is the only justifiable reason for adverse impact.
Affected Group: A group which is covered by affirmative action regulations because its members have historically been denied equal opportunity. Current affected groups include Native Americans/Alaska Natives, Asians/Pacific Islanders, Blacks, Hispanics, women, persons with disabilities, Vietnam-era veterans, special disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, and other protected veterans.
Affirmative Action: Good faith efforts to ensure equal employment opportunity and correct the effects of past discrimination against affected groups. Where appropriate, affirmative action includes goals to correct underutilization and development of results-oriented programs to address problem areas.
Affirmative Action Compliance Program: A program which is required by the federal government of its fund recipients, and which ensures compliance with EEO laws. The compliance program includes an equal employment opportunity policy and methods for its dissemination, internal audit and reporting systems, procedures for program implementation, and identification of problem areas. Additionally, it calls for results-oriented actions designed to recruit qualified members of underutilized affected groups.
Affirmative Action Plan: A comprehensive annual report that is a required component of the AA Compliance Program. The Plan identifies problem areas and reflects the institution's good faith efforts to ensure equal opportunity and address problem areas. It identifies areas of underutilization, evaluates personnel actions and hiring practices, analyzes goal achievement, and serves as a basis for updating the Affirmative Action Compliance Program.
American Indian (Native American) or Alaskan Native: A person having origin in any of the original peoples of North America and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.
Applicant Data Form: A form used to solicit information from applicants. The form is provided to applicants by the hiring department and voluntarily returned by the applicant to the Equal Opportunity Office. The form includes the applicant's name and search number (completed by the hiring department) and race, sex, age, disability, veteran status, and referral source (completed by the applicant). The information collected on the form is used to conduct applicant flow analyses, and examine the relative success of recruitment efforts.
Applicant: A job seeker who meets all four of the following criteria:
Applicant Flow Analysis: An evaluation of applicant "flow" through the selection process by affected group status. The analysis is used to develop ratios, which can help identify adverse impact at different stages in the selection process, and compares the percentage of affected group applicants with availability. The applicant flow analysis is a mandatory element of the AA Plan, and relies upon the information supplied by AA Data Forms and Applicant Records.
Applicant Information Form: A form used to solicit information from applicants including race, sex, age, disability, veteran status, and referral source. The information collected on the form is used to conduct applicant flow analyses, and examine the relative success of recruitment efforts.
Applicant Record: An online form which is completed by the hiring department for every recruitment. This form includes the names of ALL applicants and their respective disposition after the selection process. The Applicant Record is combing with responses from the Applicant Information forms to conduct applicant flow analyses required by federal compliance agencies.
Armed Forces Service Medal Veteran: Any person who, while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985 (62 Fed. Reg. 1,209).
Asian or Pacific Islander: A person having origin in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands and Samoa.
Availability: The computed percentage of affected groups in the relevant recruitment area. Availability is determined by weighing eight factors, including Census occupational data, local population demographics, unemployment data representing affected groups which are "ready, willing and able to work", and for faculty, discipline-specific data from doctoral-degree granting institutions. Availability is compared with workforce profiles to determine areas with placement goals.
Black: A person, not of Hispanic origin, who has origin in any of the black racial groups of the original peoples of Africa.
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ): A minimum qualification that is needed to be able to perform the duties of a particular job, which would otherwise be unlawful because of its discriminatory impact based on one’s sex, religion, or national origin, etc. Examples are the requirements that an actor playing the part of a woman be a woman, that a minister of a particular religion be a member of that particular religion. The concept of BFOQ is interpreted very narrowly by both the EEOC and the federal courts. Age may be a BFOQ under the Age Discrimination Employment Act of 1967. Race is never a BFOQ.
Civil Rights: Personal rights guaranteed and protected by the Constitution, i.e., freedom of speech, press, freedom from discrimination.
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): The code contains Presidential executive orders and regulations based on those orders, federal laws, and other federal regulations. Related matters are grouped together. Title 41 CFR Chapter 60, for example, deals with the various Department of Labor EEO regulations and guidelines concerning federal government contractors.
Compliance: A situation in which an agency fully meets the requirements of laws, rules and regulations and court cases which mandate nondiscrimination and affirmative action.
Culture: The distinctive body of customs, knowledge, beliefs, and morals, laws, habits, and social institutions that characterize each separate society.
Disability (Impairments): A physical or mental impairment, which substantially limits one or more major life activities. Impairments include any psychological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement or anatomical loss affecting one or more systems of the body or any mental or psychological disorder such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional illnesses, & learning disabilities.
Disabled Veteran: Any veteran who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or who was discharged from active duty because of a service related disability.
Discrimination: An intentional or unintentional act which adversely affects employment opportunities because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin, or other factors such as age (under particular laws.) See Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.
Disparate Effect or Disparate Impact: The result of an employment policy, practice, or procedure that, in practical application, has less favorable consequences for a protected class than for the dominant group.
Disparate Treatment: Employment practices such as the use of tests or educational requirements, fair and neutral on their face, which are applied or administered in an unfair manner. An example would be using an “old boy network” to hire for jobs even though the positions have been posted.
Diversity: A broad concept that values all people equally, regardless of their differences.
Due Process: The opportunity for individuals to explain and defend their actions against charges of misconduct or other reasons.
Equal Employment Opportunity: Where all personnel activities are conducted so as to assure equal access in all phases of the employment process. Employment decisions are based solely on the individual merit and fitness of applicants and employees related to specific jobs, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin,
disabling conditions, marital status or criminal record.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): The federal government agency mandated to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. The Federal Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity has the power to bring suits, subpoena witnesses, issue guidelines which have the force of law, render decisions, provide legal assistance to complainants, etc., in regard to fair employment.
Equal Opportunity: The right of all persons to be accorded full and equal consideration on the basis of merit, regardless of protected group status.
Equal Pay: To provide equal pay for men and women performing the same or substantially similar jobs in the same establishment, (as required by the Equal Pay Act of 1963 for employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act) (e.g., in a department store a female salesperson in the ladies shoe department must receive pay equal to that of a male salesperson in the men’s shoe department).
Essential Function: Fundamental job duty, task or responsibility which, if eliminated, would substantially alter the nature of the job.
Executive Order: A regulation by the President of the United States or the chief executive of a state which has the effect of law.
EEO6 Category: A category used by the Office for Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to group jobs by similar function, preparation, and lines of progression. The EEO6 categories include Administrative/Managerial, Faculty, Technical/Paraprofessional, Clerical, Other Professionals, Service Maintenance, and Skilled Trades. Institutions must develop job groups for each EEO6 category, which provide for smaller, more meaningful groups for affirmative action reporting.
Goals: Good faith, quantitative employment objectives which employers voluntarily set as the minimum progress they can make within a certain time period (usually one year) to correct underutilization of protected classes in their work force.
Good Faith Efforts: Broad, active effects to move affirmative action programs beyond the normal; the “extra mile,” active and aggressive recruiting efforts.
Hispanic: A person, regardless of race, who is of Spanish culture or origin. This includes, for example, persons from Mexico, Central or South America, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Job Group: A group of jobs having similar content, compensation or opportunity and belonging to the same EEO6 category. Job groups form the basic unit of analysis for AA compliance programs and AA Plans.
Major Life Activity: Essential & meaningful component of a person’s life including caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, breathing, walking, learning, seeing, working, hearing.
Marginal Function: Secondary job duty, task or responsibility which, if eliminated, would not significantly alter the nature of the job.
Mental/Cognitive Requirements: Mental or cognitive activities required in the performance of the essential duties of a job.
Non-Veteran with a Disability: A person with no veteran status who has a disability defined as physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, such as walking, hearing, seeing or working.
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP): The branch of the US Department of Labor responsible for monitoring the compliance status of and resolving complaints against all employers having contracts with the Federal Government.
Position Announcement: A document used to advertise a position vacancy. Position announcements typically contain a brief description of the position, title/rank, requisite and preferred qualifications for the position, salary range, preferred start date, materials required for application, the name and address of the primary contact (e.g., committee/department chair or secretary), the date by which application materials should be received, and a statement regarding the affirmative action/equal opportunity policy of the University.
Position Description: A document which reflects the purpose, accountabilities, and duties of a job. Position descriptions should be developed in consultation with the Human Resources department.
Protected Class: Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race/ethnicity, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, including marital status, age, disability, veteran status or genetic testing and screening information. University policy also prohibits discrimination on the basis or sexual orientation.
Protected Issue: Decisions covered by anti-discrimination laws. In employment law relates to terms & conditions such as hiring, promotion, layoff / demotion/ termination, access to training. In education includes access to educational programs, services/ activities, admissions, academic evaluation & advancement, financial aide and athletics.
Qualified Person with a Disability: An individual with a known mental or physical disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, meets the eligibility requirements/ required qualifications for a job, receipt of services, participation in the activity or entry into a program.
Reasonable Accommodation: A modification in the work or academic environment that enables a qualified person with a disability to apply for a job, perform the essential functions of a job or meet the technical standards of an educational program.
Recently Separated Veteran: Any veteran during the three year period beginning on the date of such veteran’s discharge or release from active duty.
Retaliation: Retaliation is when an employer takes punitive actions against individuals who exercise their legal rights. Employers are prohibited by equal opportunity laws from retaliating against individuals who file discrimination complaints or participate in an investigation.
Sexual Harassment: Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:
Substantially Limits: The degree an impairment affects employability or significantly restricts an individual’s ability to perform a major life activity which can be performed by the average person in the general population.
Targeted Recruitment: Specific efforts to recruit underutilized affected groups.
Technical Standards: Requirements for admission to or participation in an educational program or activity. The academic & nonacademic standards, skills & performance requirements demanded of every participant in an educational program. Academic standards include courses of study, attainment of satisfactory grades and other required activities. Nonacademic standards include those physical, cognitive and behavioral standards required for satisfactory completion of all aspects of the curriculum and development of professional attributes required at graduation.
Undue Hardship/ Undue Burden: An accommodation that is unduly costly, extensive, substantial or disruptive, or would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the organization.
Underutilization: A statistical condition which occurs when there are fewer affected groups in a particular job group than would be reasonably expected by their availability. Persistent underutilization is a legitimate "problem area", and requires that the institution respond with good faith efforts to eliminate the underutilization.
Utilization Analysis: A comparison of the incumbent workforce with available qualified individuals in the reasonable recruitment area.
Veteran Status: Position of a former member of the armed forces. Includes Vietnam-era veteran, disabled veteran, recently separated veteran, other protected veterans and Armed Forces service medal veteran.
Vietnam-Era Veteran: Any person who served on active duty for a period of more than 180 days, and was discharged or released there from with other than a dishonorable discharge, if any part of such active duty occurred in the Republic of Vietnam between February 28, 1961, and May 7, 1975, or between August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, in all other cases. This also applies to any person who was discharged or released from active duty for a service connected disability if any part of such active duty was performed in the Republic of Vietnam between February 28, 1961, and May 7, 1975, or between August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, in all other cases.
Work Force Analysis: A statistical analysis of the numbers and percentages of all employees of a specific employer by race, or ethnic origin, sex, Vietnam Era Veteran and/or disability status by job category and level.
Workforce Profile: Total employees by race, sex, job group, salary, and department.
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