ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ

Affirmative action is a program required of federal contractors to ensure equal employment opportunity. It requires good faith efforts to achieve and maintain a workforce where protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are represented at a level consistent with benchmarks established at the federal government. ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ affirmative action obligations are established by the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Act (VEVRAA), Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and their implementing federal regulations.

Affirmative action means taking positive steps to attract protected veterans and individuals with disabilities for available employment opportunities and ensuring that candidates are evaluated fairly using non-biased, job-related selection criteria.

Affirmative action does not reward ethnicity, race, gender, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class in place of merit during the hiring process. It is intended to ensure that employers hire the most qualified people, including members of groups that may previously have been subject to unlawful discrimination.

Unlawful discrimination is an action in which employees or applicants suffer an adverse consequence, such as failure to be hired or promoted, due to their race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, political affiliation, political philosophy, or any other protected characteristic. ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ discrimination policies offer broader protections than those found under federal and state law.

As a federal contractor, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ conducted over $495 million annually in federally funded research in 2024. Federal regulations require contractors to request the veteran status and whether a person has a disability of all applicants for positions at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ. While not required by federal law or regulation, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ also collects gender and race information of its applicants and analyzes any disparate impact against any protected group in the recruitment process. Incomplete data comprises CU-Boulder’s ability to conduct meaningful analyses affirmative action reporting.  

Yes, all employees’ and applicants’ protected class information is confidential. In affirmative action reporting, all analyses are performed in the aggregate without identification of individuals.

Anti-discrimination laws and ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ policies apply to an individual’s race, color, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, national origin, religion, creed, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, political affiliation, and/or political philosophy. While anti-discrimination laws and ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ policies apply to all groups previously mentioned, affirmative action programs are designed to ensure that federal contractors strive to achieve hiring benchmarks for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. 

Affirmative action laws and regulations are enforced by the Office of Federal Contracts Compliance Programs (OFCCP) under the Department of Labor. This agency conducts random desk audits using ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ employment statistics and information with the potential to come onsite to campus for further investigation.

Penalty of non-compliance can range from additional reporting requirements to the OFCCP, possible fines with back-pay, and ultimately disbarment of federal contracts. In addition, the federal contractor would be subjected to scrutiny over its employment practices and it can have a severe damaging effect on the organization’s reputation.

CU Boulder has a dedicated  (OIEC) that is able to assist you. They can be reached at 303-492-2127 or visit their website. For making inquiries outside CU Boulder, If a person chooses not to pursue a complaint through the OIEC, complaints can also be filed with the the , or the . Each of these offices have their own requirements for filing a complaint, so you should consult the websites for these offices and contact the offices directly if you have any questions.