Frequently Asked Questions - HCM

At UC Berkeley, all applicants are asked to voluntarily provide their race/ethnicity and gender immediately after submitting their application online. Once hired, employees are asked to use the Demographic Data Transmittal Form to voluntarily provide their race/ethnicity, disability status, and veteran status. Race or ethnicity is not assigned or visually identified or recorded if an employee declines to state their race or ethnicity.

The University of California uses race/ethnicity data in the statistical evaluation of employment and contracting policies to ensure compliance with its own employment policies and with federal and state regulations (including Proposition 209) regarding equal employment opportunity for all employees, including applicants. As a federal contractor, UC is further required to establish and maintain an affirmative action program that includes good faith efforts to ensure that women and minorities can compete for jobs on equal footing with other applicants and employees. Affirmative action programs require employers to collect data to identify and analyze potential problems in the participation and utilization of women and minorities in their work force.

Talent Acquisition Advisors and those involved in the selection do not have access to the race/ethnicity of individual applicants. Department staff involved in the selection and hiring process are not allowed to provide any preference to applicants on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, or sex, according to both state and federal compliance requirements.

Similarly, decisions about personnel actions for employees (including but not limited to salary increases, promotion, transfer, and termination) cannot be made on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, or sex. This data is confidential and used only for limited purposes. Affirmative action analysts in Human Resources use aggregated race/ethnicity information to monitor for possible discrimination in employment practices.

Yes, our status as a federal contractor and related obligations extend to all divisions and departments of the University of California, not just to the faculty and departments who receive federal contracts funding.

The Office of Federal Contracts and Compliance Programs (OFCCP) monitors compliance of federal contractors and conducts audits. Penalties for non-compliance can range from fines after an on-site audit to loss of all federal contracts.

The Interview Data Form (IDF) is the final step in the process of closing a recruitment. The IDF documents the interview process and demonstrates the legal basis for making your hiring decision, ensuring uniform review standards were applied to all candidates interviewed.

The hiring department is the office of record for the completed IDF. The IDF will also be provided to Talent Acquisition to upload into the Applicant Tracking System. It is important to keep this document in an accessible place so that the IDF can be made available upon request; e.g., a request from an applicant who was interviewed. The IDF may also be used as documentation in official proceedings regarding employee complaints and grievances, in Unfair Labor Practice cases, EEOC/DFEH complaints, and other legal actions.

As a federal contractor, the University of California is required to establish and maintain an affirmative action program that includes good faith efforts to ensure that women and minorities can compete for jobs on equal footing with other applicants and employees. Proposition 209, approved by the majority of Californians who voted in November 1996, banned the use of race, religion, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin as criteria in its employment practices. However the proposition permits “action which must be taken to establish or maintain eligibility for any federal program, where ineligibility would result in loss of federal funds to the state.” Since the University of California is a federal contractor, it is required to maintain an affirmative action program to retain eligibility for federal funds.

Updated Deselection Reasons: 

• Another Applicant was Hired

• Unable to Contact

• Applicant Withdrew

• Selected for Other Position

• Others more competitive

• Lacks Minimum Requirements

• Ineligible - Employment Cond

• Candidate Declined Interview

• Job Opening Cancelled

• Another Job

• Offer Rejected

The regulation extends beyond just providing a new definition of applicant in the internet era. The regulation created new obligations for applicant tracking record-keeping, instructs employers when and how to consider employment tests, directs employers to document the use of resume databases, and statistical analysis of applicant flow data.

Internet Applicant FAQ