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Equal Employment Opportunity

UC Merced is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and compliance with all related laws and regulations.

Our policy is to provide employment, compensation, training, and other conditions or opportunities associated with employment without regard to race, color, religion, marital status, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), pregnancy, age (over 40), genetic information (including family medical history), disability status, veteran status or any other basis protected by law.

UC Merced hires, assigns work, promotes, compensates, and retains employees only on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and our business needs.

Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal

The “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster, prepared by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), summarizes Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination and explains how employees or applicants can file a complaint if they believe that they have experienced discrimination.

    HTML-only versions of the poster are also available in the following languages:

    For printing and posting:

    Key Agencies

    Key agencies related to Equal Employment Opportunity:

    Laws, Acts, and Orders Related to EEO

    • Proposition 209
      • Prohibits state governmental institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity, specifically in the areas of public employment, public contracting and public education.
    • Executive Order 10925
      • Established the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.
    • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
      • This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or sex. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants' and employees' sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.
    • The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
      • This law amended Title VII to make it illegal to discriminate against a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
    • The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
      • This law makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
    • The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
      • This law protects people who are 40 or older from discrimination because of age. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
    • Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
      • This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person with a disability in the private sector and in state and local governments. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.
    • Sections 102 and 103 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991
      • Among other things, this law amends Title VII and the ADA to permit jury trials and compensatory and punitive damage awards in intentional discrimination cases.
    • Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
      • This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person with a disability in the federal government. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.
    • The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)
      • This law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information. Genetic information includes information about an individual's genetic tests and the genetic tests of an individual's family members, as well as information about any disease, disorder or condition of an individual's family members (i.e. an individual's family medical history). The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

    *Portions of this page are from the U.S. EEOC http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/