EOU's Affirmative Action Plan

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From Eastern Oregon University Faculty/Staff Book

Eastern Oregon University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. Discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, age (except as provided by Oregon law), or sex (except where sex is a bonafide occupational qualification), will not exist in any area, activity, or operation of the University. Actions including, but not limited to, employment, compensation, transfer, training, or promotion will be based solely on merit and fitness.

Nondiscrimination requires the elimination of all existing discriminatory conditions, whether purposeful or inadvertent. The University through its Human Resources Office will carefully and systematically examine all of its employment policies to be sure that they do not, if implemented as stated, operate to the detriment of any persons on grounds of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or age.

Consistent with constitutional and statutory limitations, affirmative action permits the University to make efforts to recruit, employ and promote qualified members of groups formerly excluded, even if that exclusion cannot be traced to particular discriminatory actions on the part of the employer. The premise of the affirmative action concept is that unless positive action is undertaken to overcome the effects of unintended forms of exclusion and discrimination, a benign neutrality in employment practices will tend to perpetuate old, established patterns and thereby we will fail to make truly merit based decisions.

As an institution of higher education, we are all responsible for compliance with recognized affirmative action and nondiscrimination practices as summarized above, and as set forth in Executive Order 11246, Office for Civil Rights, Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Affirmative Action for Equal Employment Opportunity

The Governor's Executive Order directs all state hiring authorities to establish affirmative action programs within their agency. These programs will assure equal employment opportunity for all persons, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual preference, mental or physical disability and to promote employment opportunities for minorities and women. The affirmative action program will affect all employment and personnel practices including recruiting, hiring, transfers, promotions, fringe benefits, and all other conditions of employment.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Eastern Oregon University is concerned with making all programs accessible as outlined in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The basic objective is stated as follows:

"No qualified handicapped person shall, on the basis of handicap, be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activities of the University."

 

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