The Office for Inclusion and Civil Rights (OICR) works to promote equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment and educational programs. Through affirmative action and equal employment opportunity compliance efforts, OICR helps foster a workplace and learning environment free from discrimination and harassment.
Why Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity?
As a Connecticut state agency, the University must comply with state AA/EEO regulations and ensure a non-discriminatory recruitment and hiring process. This includes proactive recruitment efforts to attract qualified applicants and evaluating candidates based on their qualifications, regardless of protected status.
To demonstrate compliance, the University annually prepares and submits Affirmative Action Plans for Employment for Storrs & Regional Campuses and UConn Health to the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO).
As a federal contractor, the University must also comply with federal nondiscrimination requirements. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) monitors compliance with these requirements, including obligations under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Protected Classes in the Workplace
The statuses defined below are protected from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in employment under federal and Connecticut state law, as well as University policy. Protections are based on actual or perceived identities.
UConn and UConn Health comply with all applicable federal and state laws and do not discriminate based on protected class. All employment decisions must be objective, non-discriminatory, and based on posted qualifications.
Core Identity & Demographic Protections
Age
Protects individuals from age-related discrimination in hiring, promotion, wages, and termination.
Ancestry
Protection based on a person’s family lineage, descent, or historical country of origin, extending beyond current national citizenship.
Color
Protection against discrimination based on pigmentation, complexion, or skin tone of a person, which can occur independantly of race.
Ethnicity
Refers to a social group with shared common language, culture, ancestry, race, and/or other social characteristics.
National Origin
Protects individuals based on their place of birth, country of origin, ethnicity, or accent, as well as physical, cultural, or linguistic characteristics.
Race
Protects individuals from systemic or individual discrimination based on ethnic traits, physical characteristics, hair textures, or hairstyles historically associated with specific racial groups.
Religion
Protects individuals belonging to traditional, organized religions, as well as those who hold sincerely held religious, ethical, or moral beliefs. It also mandates reasonable
accommodations for religious practices.
Sex, Gender, & Family Protections
Sex (Including Pregnancy)
Prohibits discrimination based on biological sex, which explicitly encompasses pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, or related medical conditions. This includes providing reasonable modifications related to pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions.
Marital Status
Protects individuals from discrimination based on marital status, including being single, married, divorced, widowed, or separated. Employers cannot make employment decisions based on an individual’s marital situation.
Gender Identity or Expression
Protects an individual’s gender related identity, appearance, or behavior, regardless of whether it aligns with their assigned sex at birth.
Relative Definitions
Protected Class: A protected class is a group of people who share a specific common identity or characteristic and are legally protected from discrimination and harassment on the basis of that characteristic. Protected classes are established by state and federal laws to ensure equal treatment in areas such as employment, education, and housing.
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO): Employment practices under which no individuals are excluded from consideration, participation, promotion or benefits because of a protected class. EEO is achieved through Affirmative Action.
Affirmative Action: Results-oriented practices/programs that eliminate the effects of discrimination and ensure equal employment in hiring or recruitment, transfer, promotion, or training.
Affirmative Action Plan for Employment
The Office for Inclusion and Civil Rights (OICR) annually prepares the University of Connecticut’s Affirmative Action Plan for Employment for submission to the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO), as required by Connecticut law.
The Affirmative Action Plan:
- Supports affirmative action and equal employment opportunity through hiring, promotion, and program goals.
- Demonstrates the University’s good-faith efforts to maintain a representative workforce.
- Assesses progress toward established employment goals.
- Identifies and addresses employment policies and practices that may adversely affect protected classes.
What is?
Good Faith
Good faith is a sincere, reasonable, and documented effort to meet legal requirements. It includes taking appropriate steps to achieve compliance, making additional efforts when needed, and maintaining records that demonstrate those efforts.
Annual AA Plan Executive Summary
A summary of the University’s affirmative action efforts, workforce data, goals, and progress toward promoting equal employment opportunity and maintaining compliance with state and federal requirements.
Annual Community Letter
An annual update on the University’s efforts, progress, and priorities related to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and fostering an inclusive campus community.
Current Affirmative Action Plans
Storrs and Regional Campuses
Archived Affirmative Action Plans
The materials listed below should be considered for archival purposes. Should you need a document in an accessible format, please contact OICR at civilrights@uconn.edu.
Storrs and Regional Campuses
UConn Health
Affirmative Action Plan Race/Ethnicity Definitions
WM, WF – White (Not of Hispanic Origin)
All people having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.
BM, BF – Black (Not of Hispanic Origin)
All people having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
HM, HF – Hispanic or Latino
All people having Puerto Rican or Mexican origins, or all people of Cuban, Central, or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
AM, AF (AAIANHNPI)
Combines the Asian and Native American categories (per CHRO)
Asian
All people in the groups of Asian/Pacific Islander; Asian (all people having origins in any of the original peoples of China, Japan, Korea, Eastern Asia, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent (including Pakistan) or the Pacific Islands including the Philippines and Samoa.)
Native American
Native American Indian or Alaskan Native (all people having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and who maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.)
TM, TF – Two or More Races
All persons identifying with Two or more of the following races: White, Black, Asian, Native American.
UU – Unknown
Persons who have chosen not to provide their demographic profile.