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Equal Opportunity Policy

This policy was posted for public comment from September 23 – October 8, 2024

Comments

I have concerns about the usefulness of this policy and procedure. Would it make sense to include more details about how to report EEO issues? Our procedures for response?

1. Policy Statement

a. The committee held a discussion about whether there was a need for this policy because similar statements are included in the Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Policy, Title IX Sexual Harassment and Employee Conduct policies. As part of this discussion, the Committee discussed the symbolic value of the policy, but the question was asked whether having this policy in place was hurting other policies such and the Anti-Discrimination and Harassment policy. Another comment was made that all syllabi are now required to have this language, so it was not clear why SLCC needs this policy. The Committee was unanimous in its position that the college does not need this policy. Under the Policy Development Policy, there is a provision to make a policy obsolete. Consideration should be given to invoking this provision.

b. If the Originator decides to keep the policy, the suggestion was to create links to other related policies such as the Anti-Discrimination and Harassment policy as well as the Title IX Sexual Harassment policy.

2. References- No comments

3. Definitions- No comments

4. Procedures

a. From a review of the policy statement, this policy is focused on equal employment opportunity. In section 4, it describes SLCC as an “equal opportunity institution providing educational and employment opportunities . . .” (Emphasis added) Consideration should be given to deleting the words “educational and” to make this consistent. Another option would be to add references to educational equal opportunity to the policy. However, given the overlap with other policies, it is unclear what this adds to the college.

Responses

Concerns about the usefulness of this policy and procedure. Would it make sense to include more details about how to report EEO issues? Our procedures for response?

No revisions were made in response to this comment. As procedures may change at any time due to legislative requirements, this policy does not duplicate information already clarified in other policies. In general, a complaint can be filed via the #SLCCSAFE “How to Report” webpage. Links to this webpage can be found on the EO and PWC webpages under “file a complaint.” Further information about how to report issues and procedures are included in other college policies and procedures, such as the Anti-Discrimination and Harassment and Title IX Sexual Harassment policies. The following steps are a general outline of the process: intake, investigation, interviews, report, and after action review.

Suggestions for Procedures (Section 4)

Create links to other related policies such as the Anti-Discrimination and Harassment policy as well as the Title IX Sexual Harassment policy.

No revisions were made. For consistency across all college policies, we do not list other college policies or hyperlink to them in the References section.

Concern about inconsistencies between the policy statement and in section 4 where SLCC is described as an “equal opportunity institution providing educational and employment opportunities . . .” Suggestion to delete “educational and” from section 4 for consistency. Alternatively, add references to “educational equal opportunity” to the policy statement (section 1).

Suggestion to delete “educational and” accepted. The first sentence of section 4 now states, “Salt Lake Community College is an equal opportunity institution providing employment opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, religion, protected veteran status, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.”

A suggestion was made that this policy is no longer needed and should be made obsolete. Reasoning included the fact that the college already has similar statements included in the Anti-Discrimination and Harassment, Title IX Sexual Harassment and Employee Conduct policies. Additionally, all syllabi are now required to have this language.

No changes were made in response to this comment. The Equal Opportunity Policy is broader in scope than those policies mentioned in this comment.