Non-Discriminatory Responsibilities for Employees

Arkansas State University is committed to offering all current employees and other interested parties the rights and protections afforded them by Federal and State laws regarding discrimination of any type. ASU ensures that the following laws and regulations will be carried out as they pertain to those constituencies.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(Section 504, 29 U.S.C. ~794, amended 1992 and its implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. Part 104 (2006)

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
42 U.S.C. ~12132, and its implementing regulation at 28 C.F.R. Part 35 (2006)

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Age Discrimination Act of 1975

All employees who need further explanation or who believe they have been discriminated against under these laws should contact:

Mrs. Pat Looney
Affirmative Action Program Coordinator
Arkansas State University
2105 East Aggie Rd
Administration Building, Rm 117
PO Box 1500
State University AR 72467
870-972-3658 telephone
870-972-3040 fax

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Explanation of Laws and Regulations

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a national law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability. It forbids organizations and employers from excluding or denying individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to receive program benefits and services.

Section 504 protects qualified individuals with disabilities who are defined as persons with a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities.

Major life activities include caring for one's self, walking seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, performing manual tasks, and learning. Some examples of impairments which may substantially limit major life activities, even with the help of medication or aids/devices are AIDS, alcoholism, blindness or visual impairment, cancer, deafness or hearing impairment, diabetes, drug addiction, heart disease and mental illness.

Persons who have a history of, or who are regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, are also covered.

In addition to meeting the above definition, for purposes of receiving services, education or training, qualified individuals with disabilities are persons who meet normal and essential eligibility requirements

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in all programs, activities, and services of public entities. Public entities include state and local governments and their departments and agencies. Therefore, Arkansas State University is a public entity and will comply with Title II.

Specific Requirements

Public entities may not:

• Refuse to allow a person with a disability to participate in, or benefit from, their services, programs or activities because the person has a disability,
• Apply eligibility criteria for participation in programs, activities and services that screen out or tend to screen out individuals with disabilities, unless they can establish that such criteria are necessary for the provision of services, programs or activities,
• Provide services or benefits to individuals with disabilities through programs that are separate or different, unless the separate programs are necessary to ensure that the benefits and services are equally effective.

Public entities must

• Provide services, programs and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities
• Make reasonable modifications in their policies, practices and procedures to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless they can demonstrate that a modification would fundamentally alter the nature of their service, program or activity
• Ensure that individuals with disabilities are not excluded from services, programs and activities because buildings are inaccessible
• Provide auxiliary aids to individuals with disabilities, at no additional cost, where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals with hearing, vision, or speech impairments. (Auxiliary aids include such services or devices as qualified interpreters, assistive listening headsets, television captioning and decoders, telecommunications devices for the deaf [TDDs], videotext displays, readers, taped texts, brailled materials, and large print materials.)

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
In June 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq., into law. Title IX is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. The principle objective of Title IX is to avoid the use of federal money to support sexually discriminatory practices in education programs such as sexual harassment and employment discrimination, and to provide individual citizens effective protection against those practices.

Title IX applies, with a few specific exceptions, to all aspects of federally funded education programs or activities. In addition to traditional educational institutions such as colleges, universities, and elementary and secondary schools, Title IX also applies to any education or training program operated by a recipient of federal financial assistance. Many of these education program providers/recipients became subject to Title IX regulations when the Title IX final common rule was published on August 30, 2000.

Title IX was the first comprehensive federal law to prohibit sex discrimination against students and employees of educational institutions. Title IX benefits both males and females, and is at the heart of efforts to create gender equitable schools. The law requires educational institutions to maintain policies, practices and programs that do not discriminate against anyone based on sex. Under this law, males and females are expected to receive fair and equal treatment in all arenas of public schooling: recruitment, admissions, educational programs and activities, course offerings and access, counseling, financial aid, employment assistance, facilities and housing, health and insurance benefits, marital and parental status, scholarships, sexual harassment, and athletics.

Age Discrimination Act of 1975
The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 prohibits discrimination based on age in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. The U.S. Department of Education gives financial assistance to colleges and universities like ASU. The Age Discrimination regulation is enforced by the Office for Civil Rights and is in the Code of Federal Regulations at 34 CFR Part 110.

The Act also permits federally assisted programs and activities, and recipients of Federal funds, to continue to use certain age distinctions and factors other than age which meet the requirements of the Act and these regulations.

"[N]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of age, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

Retaliatory Action Prohibited
Retaliation against a person who files a charge of discrimination, participates in an investigation, or opposes an unlawful employment practice is prohibited by the above laws and Arkansas State University.