Policy 3.2: Affirmative Action Plan

Americans have become increasingly cognizant of the need for insuring equality of opportunity in employment for all persons regardless of race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age or personal disability. Through several acts of federal legislation, institutions of higher education--including community colleges--have been required to insure equitable treatment for their employees, students, potential employees, and potential students. These acts of legislation, mandates, and documents include:

  1. Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Title IV--Forbids discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin in all programs or activities which receive financial aid.
  2. Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Title VII (As amended by the Equal Opportunity Act of 1972)--Prohibits discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin in any term or condition or privilege of employment. Amended (1972) to cover all institutions, public or private, whether or not they receive federal funds.
  3. Executive Order 11246 as amended by Revised Order No. 4 (Executive Order 11375)--Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, or personal handicap; contractors with federal government holding contracts of over $50,000 are required to develop and implement a written program of affirmative action; this document, especially Revised Order No. 4 spells out the requirements and procedures for a plan of affirmative action.
  4. Equal Pay Act of 1963, as amended by Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972--Requires all employers to provide equal pay for men and women for equal (similar) work; executive, administrative, and professional employees (including all faculty) are now covered; reviews of agencies can be conducted under this Act (unlike Title VII of Civil Rights Act) without prior complaint.
  5. Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972--Prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex against students and employees of education programs and activities receiving federal funds. Nearly all elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions are covered under this legislation; education agencies and institutions are required to develop grievance procedures for the local handling of complaints of discrimination.
  6. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967--Totally separate from discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin is the law against discrimination because of age against persons between the aged 40 and above. This Act covers public or private employers of 20 or more workers.
  7. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 -Section 504--Prohibits discrimination against qualified disabled persons in all federally assisted programs. This part applies to each recipient of Federal financial assistance from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and to each program of activity that receives benefits from such assistance.

Consistent with the aforementioned federal guidelines and with its commitment to the concept of equal opportunity for all individuals, Haywood Community College has endeavored to eliminate discriminatory practices. Haywood Community College will reassess and improve its status as an equal opportunity institution.

Where specific discriminatory practices are found or suspected, a plan with positive, observable, and deliberate procedures will be established to rectify such situations. The plan will be designed to identify the cause of the discriminatory practice as well as eliminating the practice from future decisions.

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