SUMMARY OF AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN
What is Affirmative Action?
In employment, specific actions in recruitment, hiring, promotions and other areas which
are designed and taken to eliminate the effects of discrimination.
What are the objectives of Affirmative Action?
• To increase, through targeted recruitment, the utilization of minorities, women and
persons with disabilities in job classifications and EEO job categories where there is
a lingering effect of past discrimination.
• To correct, as necessary, employment practices that hamper equal employment
opportunity by analyzing specific practices and implementing corrective actions.
• To strengthen accountability and evaluation by assigning major responsibility to
agency heads and their designees
• To promote support for equal employment opportunity and workforce diversity by
providing training regarding these topics and fair employment practices to
employees, supervisors, managers and executives.
What is an Affirmative Action Plan?
An Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) is a tool, a written program in which an employer
details the steps it has taken and will take to ensure the right of all persons to advance on
the basis of merit and ability without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin,
age, disability, genetic information, veteran’s status or other factors which cannot
lawfully be the basis for employment actions.
Why do we need an Affirmation Action Plan?
First of all it is the law. More importantly, the State of Kansas, as an employer, is
committed to ensuring that policies and procedures and the culture of our organizations
continually enhance actions and behaviors supporting nondiscrimination, equality, and
human respect in the employment process and work environment.
THE REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN
• Policy Statement(s)
A consolidated policy statement which covers equal employment opportunity,
sexual harassment, and nondiscrimination against persons with disabilities or a
separate statement on each subject. In either case, the statement(s) should be
signed by the agency head and establish specific and meaningful policies and
procedures.
• Designation of Responsibilities
Identification and documentation of all individuals that have a role in the
Affirmative Action process.
• Organizational Chart
• Grievance Procedures
• Problems/Barriers Identification Statement
Problems are situations or conditions which need to be corrected or
changed. Barriers are the personnel or management policies or procedures
that cause the situation or conditions.
* Action Statement
Identifies the specific action(s) to be taken to correct problems and
barriers.
• Goals and Timetables
Goals are narrowly tailored objectives for hiring and promoting protected
group members in EEO categories to correct the lingering effects of past
discrimination. Goals are flexible targets used to guide affirmative action
efforts during the current plan cycle. Goals are not quotas and cannot be
used to discriminate or exclude persons from employment opportunities
through reverse discrimination.