Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) Policy Statement

Summary

The UNC Health Care System (“UNC Health”) is an equal employment opportunity (EEO) and affirmative action (AA) employer. Discrimination, harassment, intimidation and other inappropriate conduct is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated by or against teammates, patients, suppliers, contractors or anyone else who conducts business with or interacts with UNC Health. All teammates, including managers, supervisors and teammates in non-supervisory positions, are required to support UNC Health’s Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy Statement (the “Policy Statement”) and to prevent harassment, intimidation, threats, coercion or discrimination.

This Policy Statement applies to conduct at all UNC Health owned entity locations and workplaces and while engaging in work-related activities outside of the workplace, such as social events and communications.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Discrimination Prohibitions

Employment decisions at UNC Health are based on legitimate job-related criteria and the qualifications, skills and experience of individuals. UNC Health is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, and as such it is the policy of UNC Health to take proactive steps toward equal employment and nondiscrimination with regard to any employment practices, including but not limited to: recruitment, advertising, job application procedures, hiring, upgrading, demoting, selection for training, including apprenticeship, promotion, transfer, termination, layoff, rate of pay or other forms of compensation, job assignments, benefits, and/or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, provided the individual is qualified, with or without reasonable accommodations, to perform the essential functions of the job.

UNC Health does not discriminate in employment nor allow the discrimination or harassment, intimidation, threats or coercion of teammates or applicants on the basis of an individual’s own protected characteristics (or association, affiliation or perceived affiliation with a member of any of the characteristics protected by law), and offers equal employment opportunities to applicants and teammates without regard to the following protected characteristics:

  • Ethnicity
  • Race and Traits Historically Associated with Race
  • Hair/Hairstyle
  • Color
  • Religion
  • Creed
  • National Origin
  • Nationality
  • Citizenship Status
  • Sex
  • Pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions)
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Gender Identity or Expression
  • Familial or Caregiver Status
  • Sexual and Reproductive Health Decisions
  • Marital Status
  • Age
  • Genetic Information
  • Ancestry
  • Physical or Mental Disability
  • Medical Condition
  • Political Affiliation
  • Military Status
  • National Guard, Veteran or Protected Veteran Status
  • Unemployment Status
  • Status as a Victim of Domestic Violence
  • Any other characteristic protected by law with regard to any employment practices

Teammates and applicants are encouraged to voluntarily self-identify and edit their sex, ethnicity, race, national origin, disability, and protected veteran status at any time. Such information will be maintained in a confidential manner and will not be used against an individual when making any employment decisions.

Teammates with disabilities and disabled veterans are encouraged to request a reasonable accommodation to perform a job for which they are otherwise qualified. Applicants with disabilities or applicants who are disabled veterans are invited to request a reasonable accommodation with respect to the job application process.

UNC Health makes, and will continue to make, reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or teammate to promote the employment of qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans, unless such accommodations would impose an undue hardship on the operations of UNC Health’s business. Teammates can make reasonable accommodation requests in the myHR portal or by informing their Manager, Human Resources Partner or Employee Relations. Applicants can make reasonable accommodation requests with respect to the application process by emailing applicant.accommodations@unchealth.unc.edu or by informing their recruiter.

Additionally, reasonable accommodations are also made for applicants’ and teammates’ religious practices and beliefs and for pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), in accordance with applicable laws. 

Equal Employment Opportunity: Harassment Prohibitions

Harassment of any kind in the work place including (but not limited to) by supervisory personnel, teammates or contractors on the basis of any characteristic protected by law is a form of discrimination that violates UNC Health’s Harassment-Free Workplace policy. It is prohibited and will not be tolerated.

Harassment includes verbal, nonverbal, written or physical unwelcome conduct that is demeaning or that shows aversion or hostility because of an individual’s aforementioned protected characteristics. This type of conduct may create an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment, unreasonably interfere with an individual’s work and adversely affect an individual's employment opportunities. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Harassment can occur between members of the same or opposite gender or sex. Harassment is often defined by the impact to the recipient rather than the intent.

UNC Health strives to maintain a workplace that is free from discrimination, harassment and intimidation. All UNC Health teammates who believe they have been the subject of discrimination, or have been harassed or witnessed discrimination or harassment, must immediately report the incident to their supervisor or Human Resources or through the Compliance Hotline: 800-362-2921 or http://hotline.unchealthcare.org as soon as practical. Incidents may be raised anonymously, but co-workers are encouraged to provide sufficient information to permit an investigation and some contact information to allow for follow-up. Supervisors who are notified of a complaint must immediately contact Human Resources.

UNC Health will conduct an impartial investigation of any allegations and if applicable, will take appropriate corrective action.

Retaliation

Retaliation against any teammate who reports perceived discrimination or harassment, or other behavior prohibited by this Policy Statement or who participates in an investigation as a witness or in any other capacity, is prohibited and will not be tolerated.

Teammates and applicants will not be subjected to harassment, intimidation, threats, coercion or discrimination because they have engaged in, or may have engaged in, filing a complaint, assisting or participating in an investigation, compliance review or hearing, opposing any act or practice made unlawful by, or other activity related to, the administration of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, Executive Order 11246, all as amended, and/or any other federal, state or local law or regulation regarding equal employment opportunity, opposing any act or practice made unlawful, or exercising any other right protected by such laws or regulations.

UNC Health will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against teammates or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another teammate or applicant. However, teammates who have access to the compensation information of other teammates or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other teammates or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the legal duty to furnish information.

Oversight / Accountability

UNC Health and our executive leadership are fully committed to principles of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.

As UNC Health’s CEO, I support the successful implementation of the organization’s Affirmative Action Programs (AAP). I have appointed the Affirmative Action Program Manager with responsibility for implementation of UNC Health’s affirmative action activities. The Affirmative Action Program Manager has the full support of senior management and the staff necessary to fully implement this program.

All managers and supervisors will take an active part in UNC Health’s AAP to ensure all qualified teammates and prospective teammates are considered and treated in a nondiscriminatory manner with respect to all employment decisions. Furthermore, UNC Health solicits the cooperation and support of all teammates for UNC Health’s Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy.

Our affirmative action programs include an audit and reporting system, which, among other things, uses metrics and other information to measure the effectiveness of our programs. The Affirmative Action Program Manager has been assigned responsibility for periodically reviewing progress in the compliance and implementation of the policy of affirmative action. In accordance with public law, UNC Health’s affirmative action programs for qualified individuals with disabilities and protected veterans are available to teammates for inspection upon request to Employee Relations by submitting a request through the myHR Portal.

Training

A variety of training tools and workshops designed to promote a workplace free of discrimination and harassment are available for teammates and supervisors in Learning Made Simple (LMS).

By embracing the differences that make us better and addressing systemic barriers and bias, we’re challenging ourselves to create a community where everyone is valued and treated with dignity and respect

A. Wesley Burks, MD

Dean, UNC School of Medicine

Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs, UNC-CH

CEO, UNC Health

Download a PDF of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) Policy Statement