Equal Opportunity Employment (EOE)
Outside of the realm of law, the phrase equal opportunity employment (EOE) refers to a company’s practice of hiring new employees and promoting existing workers based on their qualifications and ability to perform a job, not their age, gender, race, or other factors. Organizations that operate with an EOE practice strive to ensure that every applicant and employee has an equal chance of success in their career.
The phrase equal opportunity employment should not be confused with federal law. The U.S. Department of Labor defines Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) as a group of laws prohibiting specific job discrimination types in certain workplaces. Anti-discrimination laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) include:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
- The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
- Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
- Sections 102 and 103 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991
- Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)
Example:
If a company wants to promote itself as an equal-opportunity employer, some of these practices will help ensure the company is forward-facing and inclusive.
- Consciously hiring a diverse workforce with people of all races, genders, ages, and abilities
- Having a diverse and representative hiring team
- Using a blind application process to prevent various biases against protected groups of people
Related Terms
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)
is an extremely narrow but legally allowed exception to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws. With a BFOQ, some employers can make hiring decisions based on factors that include age, sex (gender), religion, and national origin. However, the employer has to demonstrate how these factors impact a person’s qualification for performing a job.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
are frequently grouped together because the three concepts are interconnected. When used in combination, a complete impact emerges. The three words describe values that organizations strive to embody so that theory can meet the needs of employees from all walks of life.
DEI Policy
is the term used to refer to an organization’s policies or programs used to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion values. Having a DEI policy in place encourages recruiters to recruit and hire diverse team members and build a welcoming workplace that is free of discrimination.
Diversity Hiring
is the conscious practice of creating a diverse workforce by hiring employees from diverse backgrounds, including sexual orientations, races, national origins, and genders.