Contents
Catalog Links

3. Discriminatory Acts

It is illegal to discriminate on the basis of age (40 or older), disability (including service-connected disabilities), gender (including pregnancy related conditions), military status or military obligations, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, race, color, or religion in any aspect of employment or education, such as:

  • Application, hiring, background checks, discipline, and firing;
  • compensation, assignment, or classification of employees;
  • transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall;
  • job advertisements;
  • recruitment;
  • testing
  • grading
  • acceptance or participation in an academic program or school activity;
  • use of employer's facilities;
  • training programs;
  • fringe benefits;
  • pay, retirement plans, and disability accommodations or leave; or
  • other terms and conditions of employment.

Determining what constitutes unlawful discrimination under this policy will be accomplished on a case- by-case basis and depends upon the specific facts and the context in which the conduct occurs. Some conduct may be inappropriate, unprofessional, and/or subject to disciplinary action, but would not fall within the scope of unlawful discrimination. The specific action taken, if any, in a particular instance depends on the nature and gravity of the conduct reported and may include anti-discrimination related disciplinary processes.

Discriminatory acts also include:

  • discrimination on the basis of a person’s age (40 or older), disability ( including service-connected disabilities), gender (including pregnancy related conditions), military status or military obligations, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, race, color, or religion;
  • retaliation against an individual for reporting an incident or filing a charge of unlawful discrimination, including unlawful harassment; participating in an investigation, hearing, or other related administrative process; or opposing discriminatory acts;
  • employment or education decisions based on stereotypes or assumptions about the abilities, traits or performance of individuals of a certain age (40 or older), disability (including service-connected disabilities), gender (including pregnancy related condition), military status or military obligations, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, race, color, or religion; and
  • “harassment,” which refers to unwelcome conduct that is based on a person’s age (40 or older), disability (including service-connected disabilities), gender (including pregnancy related conditions), military status or military obligations, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, race, color, or religion. Harassment becomes unlawful where: 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of employment or educational pursuits, or 2) the conduct is severe, persistent, or pervasive enough to create a work or educational environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, offensive, or abusive. Examples of unwelcome conduct that, if severe, persistent, or pervasive could constitute harassment, include but are not limited to: slurs, jokes, graffiti, offensive or derogatory comments, or other verbal or physical conduct that is unwelcome.

This behavior is unacceptable in the workplace and the academic environment. Even one incident, if it is sufficiently serious, may constitute unlawful discrimination. One incident, however, does not necessarily constitute unlawful discrimination.