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Policy 5-106: Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination Employment

Revision 9. Effective date: July 9, 2009

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  1. Purpose and Scope
  2. Definitions
  3. Policy
    1. Equal Employment Opportunity
    2. Affirmative Action
  4. Procedure
    1. Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
    2. Noncompliance
  5. Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources
  6. References
  7. Contacts
  8. History

  1. Purpose and Scope‌

    1. Purpose.

      To summarize the University's policy of equal opportunity and nondiscriminatory employment practices.

    2. Scope.

      [reserved]

  2. Definitions‌

    [reserved]

  3. Policy‌

    1. Equal Employment Opportunity‌

      1. The University of Utah is an "Equal Opportunity Employer," and is fully committed to the principle of nondiscrimination in all employment-related practices and decisions, including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, supervision, promotion, compensation, benefits, termination, and all other practices and decisions affecting university employment status, rights, and privileges.

      2. University executive, administrative, academic, and supervisory officers exercising Employee management responsibilities are required to take vigorous and appropriate action to assure that all employment-related practices and decisions are made without discrimination, harassment, or prejudicial treatment because of race/ ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, disability or protected veteran's status.

      3. All employment-related practices and decisions within the University shall, to the maximum feasible extent, be instituted and administered in a fair and equitable manner, using only legally valid job-related criteria and standards, including but not limited to experience, training, education, skills, and potential for successful job performance and upward mobility.

      4. All University facilities used by or available to University employees or applicants for employment shall be maintained and operated on a nonsegregated and nondiscriminatory basis.

    2. Affirmative Action‌

      1. The University will pursue a vigorous program of affirmative action in all job classifications to the extent allowed by law.

      2. The University's approved Affirmative Action Program, as amended and modified yearly, shall be made available to all University Employees. All members of the university community are expected to support the Affirmative Action Program and to further its objectives in ways consistent with University Policies and Procedures.

  4. Procedure‌

    1. Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action‌

      1. The Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action reports directly to the Vice President/General Counsel, and is assigned to oversee and implement the mandates of this policy.

    2. Noncompliance‌

      1. The University has established appropriate grievance procedures to investigate and settle complaints by employees claiming they have been subjected to discriminatory treatment in violation of University policy. (See Policy 1-012.) In addition, it is a violation of University policy for any University officer or employee to retaliate in any manner against an employee because of the filing of a discrimination complaint or because of supporting or assisting in the filing or investigation of such a complaint.


        Sections V- VIII are for user information and are not subject to the approval of the Academic Senate or the Board of Trustees. The Institutional Policy Committee, the Policy Owner, or the Policy Officer may update these sections at any time.


  5. Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources‌

    1. Policies/ Rules. [ reserved ]

    2. Procedures, Guidelines, and Forms. [ reserved ]

    3. Other Related Resources. [ reserved ]

  6. References‌

    1. Policy 5-001: Employee Definitions

    2. Policy 5-118: Staff Employment Policy

    3. Policy 1-012: University Non-Discrimination Policy

    4. Policy 6-400: Student Code

    5. Policy 6-316: Code of Faculty Rights and Responsibilities.

  7. Contacts‌

    The designated contact officials for this Regulation are

    1. Policy Owner(s) (primary contact person for questions and advice): Director of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action

    2. Policy Officer(s): Chief Human Resources Officer

      See Rule 1-001 for information about the roles and authority of policy owners and policy officers.

  8. History‌

    Revision History.

    1. Current version. Revision 9.

      1. Effective July 9, 2009. Incorporating editorial revisions into Revision 8.

      2. Editorial Revisions

        1. Editorially revised January 25, 2023 to move to current regulations template.

        2. Editorially revised October 28, 2021 to reflect the renumbering of Policy 5-210 to Policy 1-012

        3. Editorially revised October 11 to reflect changes in employee definitions as set forth in Policy 5-001

    2. Previous versions.

      1. Revision 8. Effective July 1, 2009.

        1. Legislative History of Revision 8

      2. Revision 7. Effective March 17, 2004

      3. Revision 6. Effective October 28, 1991

    3. Renumbering

      1. Previously numbered as Policy and Procedures Manual 2-6.

Last Updated: 1/25/23