Civil Rights Compliance

Guidelines for Use of the EEO/AA Statement /Non-Discrimination Statement

The following information is provided to help the campus community comply with various federal regulations concerning required use of both our EEO/AA statement. Should questions arise, please contact the Office of Access and Compliance (OAC) at 901.448.2112.

EEO/AA Statement /Non-Discrimination Statement

The full University of Tennessee Non-Discrimination Statement EEO/AA statement reads as follows:

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admissions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law.

Eligibility and other terms and conditions of employment benefits at The University of Tennessee are governed by laws and regulations of the State of Tennessee, and this non-discrimination statement is intended to be consistent with those laws and regulations.

In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, The University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the University.

Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), ADA (disability), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Access and Compliance (OAC), 920 Madison Avenue, Suite 825, Memphis, Tennessee 38163, telephone 901.448.7382 (V/TTY available). Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at the Office of Access and Compliance.

Inclusion of this statement is required in the following:

• Position announcements (which are not paid announcements), sent to potential referral sources and other institutions of higher education to solicit applications or nominations, for example: letter/memo for posting at other institutions, mass email/ listserv contacts, etc...
• Catalogs, application forms, posters, and other material used in conjunction with the referral and/or recruitment of students, faculty or staff.
• Publications which contain general information and are made available to alumni/alumnae, faculty, staff, students, or other participants in or beneficiaries of University programs.

Short EEO/AA/Non-Discrimination Statement

The UTHSC EEO/AA tagline reads as follows:

The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA/V institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services.

Inclusion of the tagline is required in, but not limited to, the following:

• Paid advertisements to solicit applications for faculty and staff positions of employment.
• Contracts for goods or services.
• Purchase orders.
• Brochures or newsletters.

Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance

The primary aim of Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance is to ensure that the campus is operating in accordance with the laws and regulations issued by the Federal government, State of Tennessee, and affiliated agencies. The area of Affirmative Action is also a matter of regulatory compliance at UTHSC. This website will provide information, documents, guidelines and contact information to assist all employees at UTHSC in their efforts to achieve the highest level of accuracy in reporting, and compliance in EEO/AA related matters

The following documents are in PDF format and require Adobe Reader, which is a free download.

 

Faculty and Staff

As a public institution and federal contractor, the law requires UTHSC to reasonably accommodate employees’ religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause more than a minimal burden on the operations of the employing department. This means UTHSC may be required to make reasonable adjustments to the work environment that will allow an employee to practice his or her religion. This also applies to such things as dress or grooming practices that an employee has for religious reasons. It also includes an employee's observance of a religious prohibition against wearing certain garments.

Reasonable accommodation examples for employees might include granting individual leave for religious observances, providing a time and place to pray, voluntary shift substitutions or swaps, wearing particular head coverings or other religious dress, or wearing certain hairstyles or facial hair.  Reasonable accommodations are necessarily determined on an individual basis and depend on the particular circumstances.

The Office of Access and Compliance (OAC) can provide guidance and direction for a religious accommodation request. Please contact OAC at 901.448.2112 or oac-hsc@uthsc.edu for assistance.

Students

UTHSC Student Policy SA107  acknowledges the diversity of its students and respects the rights of students to observe their religious beliefs and practices.

Students who wish to request academic accommodation for a religious observance should complete and download the accessible form and submit the completed form within 30 days or as defined by the college to the Assistant/Associate Dean of Student/Academic Affairs. If you have questions or concerns about your request, you can contact the Office of Access and Compliance (OAC) at oac-hsc@uthsc.edu or 901.448.2112.  Accommodations do not relieve you of the responsibility for completion of any part of the coursework/clinical rotation you miss as the result of a religious observance.

Important Documents

• Employee Religious Accommodations Request Form
• Student Religious Accommodations Request Form

"No person in the United States, shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and its implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. Part 106 (Title IX).

The University of Tennessee is a recipient of Federal financial assistance for education activities, and in accordance with the provisions of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, all of its education programs and activities are subject to the prohibition of Title IX of that act against discrimination on the basis of gender. University policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in any education program or activity. Additionally, in compliance with state law, the University develops a Title IX implementation plan annually and submits it to the state Comptroller’s office. This plan reflects the guidelines set forth in the document, “Without Regard to Gender,” produced by the Office of Education Accountability. View the Title IX plan produced for all UT System campuses.

Title IX ReportUniversity of Tennessee's Systemwide Title IX ReportStudent Conduct and Community Standards

The Title IX Coordinator monitors the University’s compliance with Title IX. Individuals with questions or concerns about Title IX, and/or those who wish to file a complaint of non-compliance with Title IX, may contact the University’s Title IX Coordinator:

Michael Alston
Title IX Coordinator
Office of Access and Compliance
920 Madison, Suite 825
Memphis, TN 38163. 
Telephone: 901.448.2112
Fax: 901.448.1120
malston1@uthsc.edu

Any University employee to whom sexual harassment is reported should notify the Title IX Coordinator as soon as possible after initial contact with the person reporting sexual harassment.

View the University's policies on:

• Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Stalking by students, including on- and off-campus resources for victims and the university’s procedures for handling complaints against students.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is the division of the federal government charged with enforcing compliance with Title IX.

Title VI, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., was enacted as part of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. As President John F. Kennedy said in 1963:

“Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races [colors, and national origins] contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial [color or national origin] discrimination.”

Discrimination can be defined as “making a difference in treatment or to favor on a basis other than individual merit.” The role of the Office of Access and Compliance is to create awareness through training and other communication methods, investigate complaints and ensure compliance across campus. Because the University of Tennessee Health Science Center receives a variety of federal funding, protection under Title VI exists in all environments affiliated with our campus.

Your Rights under Title VI of The Civil Rights Act of 1964

"No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the-benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

If you suspect that you have been discriminated against, please contact our office at 901.448.2112. You may also review our complaint procedure.

It is the practice of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center to provide language access services to populations of persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) who are eligible to be served by our programs. Such services will be focused on providing meaningful access to our programs, services, and/or benefits.

In August 2011, AVAZA Language Services Corporation was awarded the state-wide contract for telephone interpreting services for all of State of Tennessee government. The contract allows state users to contact the AVAZA 24-hour call center for foreign language interpretation in over 150 language and dialects. All agencies and departments, all counties and all programs in the State of Tennessee are covered under SWC 176. As a federal contractor, UTHSC, use of the interpretation services are covered under Title VI of the Civil Rights of 1964 addressing discrimination based race, color or national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.

DeafConnect is a private, non-profit interpreter referral agency, with funding provided by United Way of Memphis. UTHSC has used DeafConnect’s sign language interpreter services for assistance with patients, graduation and other events. Emergency interpreting is also available 24 hours a day. Use of the interpretation services may qualify as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans’ with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 depending on the circumstances for UTHSC sponsored events or programs.

Important Documents

• Language Identification Cards
• AVAZA Language Services Corporation