SUBJECT:             Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action

Objective:

To establish and define the University policy concerning fair employment practices and to ensure equal employment opportunity to all University employees and applicants for employment.

Policy:

It is the policy of The University of Tennessee not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or being a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam Era.  This policy extends to recruitment, employment, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-off, termination compensation, training, benefits, and all other terms and conditions of employment.

Employment opportunities will not be distinguished on the basis of sex unless sex is a bona fide occupational qualification.  Employment opportunities will not be distinguished on the basis of age except where age is reasonably taken into account as a factor necessary to the normal operation or the achievement of any statutory objective of a program or activity administered by the University.

The University will take affirmative action to recruit, employ, and to advance in employment minorities, women, disabled veterans, and veterans of the Vietnam Era.  Reasonable accommodations will be made for otherwise qualified disabled veterans and persons with disabilities in accordance with Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The University prohibits any retaliatory action against an employee for opposing a practice which he/she believes to be discriminatory, including the filing of an internal complaint or grievance or a charge with a state or federal civil rights enforcement agency.

Each unit will promulgate an Affirmative Action Plan for the implementation of the above commitment.  Also, each unit will provide a complaint procedure for equal employment opportunity and discrimination complaints.  Affirmative Action Plans will be publicized and made available to employees.