The Office of Diversity & Equal Opportunity leads a focused effort to build inclusive systems at UAF by

• ensuring compliance with civil rights laws;

• providing advice and direction to administration, faculty, staff, supervisors and students;

• and by institutionalizing processes to eradicate discrimination and build equity.

D&EO....bringing diverse people together!

The civil rights laws protect individuals from being treated differently based on their belonging to a protected category.   Categories protected by law include, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, mental or physical disability, age (over 40), genetic information, reprisal or retaliation, marital status, parenthood, pregnancy and veteran status.   Additionally, UAF employees are covered by policy against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Any individual who believes he or she has been discriminated against in an employment or educational opportunity may file a complaint of discrimination and the D&EO office will process your complaint ensuring you receive due process.

If you believe you were treated differently based on one or more of the above protected categories, you may file an internal informal or formal complaint with the D&EO office.   D&EO can be contacted at the below address:

316 Signer’s Hall

P O Box 757500

Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7500

Telephone: 907-474-7600 or 907-474-7599

Email: mmarsh36@alaska.edu

For informal complaints, D&EO will conduct a limited inquiry and attempt to resolve the issues.   Additionally, D&EO can arrange mediation services.   If the issues are not resolved, the complainant has a right to file a formal complaint.

When an individual files a formal complaint, one or two investigators will be assigned to gather facts, attempt resolution and write a report of investigation with conclusions.   A complainant or respondent who disputes the written findings of the investigative report may request a formal review of the findings within 5 working days of the release of the findings.

Complaint Form

Additionally, individuals who believe they have suffered discrimination may file a complaint with organizations external to UAF.   For employment discrimination issues you may contact the Alaska State Human Rights Commission or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at the below addresses within 180 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory act.   For discrimination in regard to an educational opportunity, students may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education within 180 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory act.

Alaska State Human Rights Commission

800 A Street, Suite 204

Anchorage, AK 99501-3669

Anchorage Area: 907-274-4692

Anchorage Area TTY/TDD: 907-276-3177

Toll-Free Complaint Hot Line (in-state only): 800-478-3177

TTY/TDD Toll-Free Complaint Hot Line (in-state only): 800-478-3177

www.humanrights.alaska.gov

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

350 The Embarcadero

Suite 500

San Francisco, CA 94105-1260

Telephone: 800-669-4000

http://www.eeoc.gov/employees/charge.cfm

Office for Civil Rights, Seattle Office

U.S. Department of Education

915 Second Ave., Room 3310

Seattle, WA 98174-1099

Telephone: 206-607-1600

TDD: 206-607-1647

Fax: 206-607-1601

E-mail: OCR.Seattle@ed.gov

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/howto.html

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines unlawful harassment as “Verbal or physical conduct that degrades, shows hostility, or aversion to an individual because of his or her race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability, or that of one’s friends, relatives or associates.”   According to the EEOC, the conduct must be “so objectively offensive as to alter the ‘conditions’ of the victim’s employment.”  

The conditions of employment are altered if the harassment culminates in a tangible employment action (fired, suspended, denied training, denied an award, etc.) or when the conduct was sufficiently severe or pervasive to create a hostile work environment.   Harassment can take the form of slurs, graffiti, offensive or derogatory comments, or other verbal or physical conduct.   Sexual harassment (including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other conduct of a sexual nature) is also unlawful.   Conduct crosses the line when it goes beyond simple teasing and offhanded comments or when there are more than just isolated incidents and there is a pattern of such incidents.  

The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

Harassment outside of the workplace may also be illegal if there is a link with the workplace.   For example, if a supervisor harasses an employee while driving the employee to a meeting.

To file an internal complaint with the D&EO office or an external complaint with an outside organization, please see the contact information in the “Complaints of Discrimination” section above.