Equal Education and Employment Opportunities, and Non-Discrimination

Policy Type: 
Employment

I. Policy: Equal Educational and Employment Opportunities and Non-Discrimination

II. Who Does This Policy Affect:

All HFC faculty, staff, students, vendors/contractors and visitors to our campus

III. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to advance Henry Ford College’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive learning and work environment.

IV. Policy Statement

The College is committed to equal employment and educational opportunities regardless of a person’s age, race, color, religion, marital status, sex/gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, gender transitioning, height, weight, national origin, disability, perceived disability, political affiliation, familial status, veteran status, genetics or other characteristic protected by law in all College programs, services, activities, employment and advancement , including without limitation educational admissions practices, and access to, equitable treatment or employment compensation and benefits as required by state and federal laws.
In accordance with state and federal law and local ordinances, the College prohibits and will not tolerate any form of discrimination.

The College is committed to a continuous review of all aspects of the College’s programs, activities, services and employment, including without limitation, recruitment, selection, admissions, retention, compensation and promotion to identify and prevent potential discrimination on the basis of legally protected characteristics.

Supervisors and faculty shall report all incidents of discrimination, sexual misconduct and retaliation that come to their attention.

HFC will use best efforts to honor the privacy of a student’s and/or employee’s transgender status and use the pronoun corresponding to the gender identity a student or employee consistently asserts and use their preferred name in communications, identification cards and College records or documents to the extent HFC is not required to use their legal name.

The College President or designee shall develop and implement procedures for reporting alleged discrimination and retaliation.

The College President shall appoint an EEOC compliance officer to promptly and thoroughly investigate all reports of alleged discrimination and/or harassment and the College shall take prompt and remedial action to correct and prevent future discrimination and/or as warranted.

The College President or designee shall develop and implement procedures for reporting and investigating reports of sexual misconduct in compliance with Title IX and appoint a Title IX coordinator to promptly and thoroughly investigate all reports of alleged sexual misconduct.

Persons who violate this Policy may be subject to discipline up to and including without limitation suspension or expulsion from the College, termination of employment, vendor and/or contract cancellations, removal from campus, banishment from College activities and the College’s premises. Employees shall cooperate in any College investigation involving an alleged violation of this policy. The College prohibits and will not tolerate any form of retaliation against any person who reports an alleged violation of this policy or participates in an investigation of an alleged violation of this policy.

V. Definitions

a) Protected Characteristics: The College defines protected characteristics to include age, race, color, religion, marital status, sex/gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, gender transitioning, pregnancy, height, weight, national origin, disability, political affiliation, marital/familial status, veteran status or genetics and any other personal characteristics protected by law.

b) State and Federal Laws: State and federal laws that prohibit discrimination in employment and/or public education include, but may not be limited to, the following:

c) Discrimination: Prohibited discrimination includes, but is not limited to:

  1. Unfair treatment because of your protected characteristic.

  2. Harassment by faculty, staff, administrators, co-workers or outside contractors, co-students or visitors in the College’s programs, activities, services or workplace, because of your protected characteristic. (Harassment is repeated, malicious mistreatment, verbal abuse, or conduct that is threatening, intimidating, humiliating, insulting, isolates people at work, or undermines their reputation or job performance through verbal or non-verbal communications.)

  3. Denial of a reasonable accommodation that you are otherwise entitled to under state or federal laws.

  4. Retaliation because you complained about discrimination, or assisted with a discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

d) Disability: The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. This includes people who have a record of such an impairment, even if they do not currently have a disability. It also includes individuals who do not have a disability but are regarded as having a disability. The ADA also makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person based on that person’s association with a person with a disability.

e) Sexual Orientation: “Sexual Orientation” is the preferred term used when referring to an individual’s physical and/or emotional attraction to the same and/or other genders. “Gay”, “lesbian”, “bisexual”, and “heterosexual (straight)” are all examples of sexual orientations. A person’s sexual orientation is distinct from a person’s gender identity and expression.

f) Gender Identity: The term “gender identity”, distinct from the term “sexual orientation”, refers to a person’s innate, deeply felt psychological identification as a man, woman or some other gender, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth (e.g., the sex listed on their birth certificate).

g) Gender Expression: Gender expression refers to all of the external characteristics and behaviors that are socially defined as either masculine or feminine, such as dress, grooming, mannerisms, speech patterns and social interactions. Social and cultural norms can vary widely and some characteristics that may be accepted as masculine, feminine or neutral in one culture may not be assessed similarly in another.

h) Gender Transitioning: The process of changing one's gender presentation permanently to accord with one's internal sense of one's gender - the idea of what it means to be a man or a woman.

i) Political Affiliation: Discrimination based on political affiliation occurs when management demonstrates a preference for, or aversion to, employees or applicants belonging to a particular political party or having associates with connections to a particular political party.

j) Familial Status: Protection regarding familial status is designed to prevent intentional discrimination solely because they are parents. It is not designed to place other employees at a disadvantage or to give parents preference.

Status as a “parent” refers to the status of an individual who, with respect to an individual who is under the age of 18, or who is 18 or older but is incapable of self-care because of a physical or mental disability, is: a biological parent; an adoptive parent; a foster parent; a stepparent; a custodian of a legal ward; in loco parentis to such an individual; or actively seeking legal custody or adoption of such an individual. A person stands “in loco parentis” when he or she has day-to-day responsibility to care for and financially support a child. A biological or legal relationship is not necessary.

k) Retaliation: The College seeks to foster an environment in which all employees and students feel free to report incidents of discrimination without fear of retaliation or reprisal. Therefore, the College strictly prohibits retaliation against any individual for filing a complaint of discrimination or for participating in a discrimination investigation. Retaliatory conduct is illegal and constitutes a violation of this policy.

  1. All allegations of retaliation will be swiftly, promptly and thoroughly investigated. If it is determined that retaliation has occurred, the College will take all reasonable and necessary steps within its power to stop such conduct. Individuals who engage in retaliatory conduct are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination or expulsion.

  2. Any student or employee who believes that he or she has been harassed or retaliated against in violation of this policy should immediately report such incidents by following the Complaint Procedure for reporting. Supervisors are mandated to report all incidents of discrimination and retaliation that come to their attention to Human Resources.

  3. Any student who believes they have been subject to sexual misconduct should follow the Student Sexual Misconduct Complaint Procedure/Process.

VI. Responsible Party for Policy Interpretation/Review

Human Resources
Vice President of Student Affairs

VII. Related Documents

VIII. Policy History

a. Adopted by Board: February 20, 1995
b. Previous Policy Section(s): Professional Staff and Support Staff and Students Previous Policy No(s). 4250 and 9200 and 8250

Review/Updated:
March 22, 2022 – Reviewed with no changes.
June 19, 2017

This policy supersedes and replaces any and all policies related to this subject

Adopted Date: 
Monday, February 20, 1995
Revised Date: 
Monday, June 19, 2017
Status: 
Board Approved