Affirmative Employment requires managers, supervisors and personnelists to take additional efforts to recruit, employ and promote qualified minorities, women and disabled individuals wh have been excluded from receiving these benefits due to past an present employment practices.

Affirmative Employment Plans are required by Section 717 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. These documents state strategies and goals for recruiting, hiring and advancing minorities women and the disabled.

Civilian Labor Force represents the number of persons sixteen years of age or older employed or seeking employment. Civilian labor force statistics are developed by the Bureau of the Census U.S. Department of Commerce.

Complainant is an individual who has filed a formal, written complaint of employment discrimination.

Discrimination means making differences and distinctions among people, ideas, places and things. Treating people differently with respect to employment because of their race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, or disability is considered illegal discrimination.

Disparate Impact is an employment policy or practice, while neutral on its face, adversely impacts against a particular racial, ethnic or sex group. A neutral policy or practice ma have an adverse effect on disabled individuals or religious groups.

Disparate Treatment occurs when people are treated differently , with respect to the terms and conditions of employment because o their race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age or mental or physical disability.

Diverse Work Force was first used as a phrase in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. This means that the Federal government should make a conscientious effort to hire and retain individuals with varying racial and ethnic backgrounds which ect our nation's diversity.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) embodies the principle of fai treatment in Federal employment and personnel matters without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age or hysical or mental disability.

Equal Employment opportunity Commission (EEOC) provides guidance on affirmative employment program planning and discrimination complaint processing to Federal agencies.

EEO Groups are defined under the regulations as White males, White females, Black males, Black females, Hispanic males, Hispanic females, Asian American/Pacific Islander males, Asian American/Pacific Islander females, American Indian/Alaskan Native males, and American Indian/Alaskan Native females. Disabled males and disabled females are also considered EEO groups.

Facility Accessibility under Federal law requires buildings owned and leased by the Federal government to be accessible and usable by disabled individuals. This includes entrances into buildings, elevators, restrooms, water fountains, cafeterias, conference rooms and office equipment.

Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP) Plan states objectives and strategies for the recruitment of minorities and women. It is aimed at eliminating under-representation of minorities and women in the Federal work force.

Final Agency Decision is a document issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce which makes the agency's final determination on a complaint of discrimination.

Major Occupations are mission-oriented occupations or those occupations with 100 or more employees. Major occupations at NOAA include Cartographer, Fishery Biologist, Meteorologist, Computer Specialist and Oceanographer.

Numerical Objectives are quantifiable goals designed to eliminate a manifest imbalance or conspicuous absence of women and minority groups. These are not the same as mandatory quotas.

Occupational Categories are major employment categories for whit collar and wage board pay systems. Specifically, these include professional, administrative, technical, clerical, other, and blue collar occupational categories (often referred to by the acronym PATCOB).

Proposed Disposition is a document issued by the NOAA EEO Office when a formal discrimination complaint is not resolved after an investigation has occurred. This document proposes a finding of discrimination or no discrimination based on the merits of the complaint.

Reasonable Accommodation is a change made by management to the terms and conditions of an individual's employment. Such changes are usually required to accommodate an employee's or applicant's known disability or religious beliefs, unless this would create an undue hardship on the agency .

Sexual Harassment constitutes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:

• submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment;
• submission to or rejection of such conduct by a individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such an individual; or
• such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

Under-representation exists when the percentage of employees in the Federal work force for a given occupational category or grade level is less than the corresponding percentage representation in the civilian labor force. Also refer to the terms "manifest imbalance" and "conspicuous absence."