What is an Affirmative Action Program?

Larimer County has a legal obligation to write and maintain an AAP due to contracts and grants that some of our departments or service areas hold. This also requires that our AAP be published and accessible to employees and the public. The law outlines what data is to be provided in the AAP. It is not voluntary or a preference to have an AAP; we do it because it is required by law.

The AAP is written and maintained by Human Resources in order to maintain appropriate confidentiality of the data, however, the way the data is provided and what is provided is required by law.

• Data that is legally required to be collected and reported.
• A metric of certain demographic data such a sex, ethnicity, ability, and veteran status.
• Action steps based on the data in areas deemed statistically deficient.
• Data that can be used to compare employee demographics to the demographics within our community.
• Data that helps us partially understand whether individuals of various backgrounds choose to work for Larimer County and whether we retain them as employees.
• Data that helps us understand partially whether promotional opportunities are available equally to all.
• Data that may help us understand if any bias may be coming into play somewhere.
• Ensures equal employment opportunities and is based on the premise that, absent discrimination, over time an employer’s workforce generally will reflect the demographics of the qualified workforce in the relevant job market.

• Hiring quotas- these are illegal. The data is not used in order to decide who is hired. Applicants are hired based on meeting the minimum qualifications and having the appropriate skills, knowledge, and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Voluntary or optional for Larimer County.
• The law that governs College and Universities program is not the same as the law for employers. For example, College and Universities plans may include recruiting and admitting students based on a particular demographic, employer programs do not have requirements similar to College and Universities.

Analysis and review of the data helps Larimer County to:

• Understand better whether individuals of various backgrounds/demographics choose to work for Larimer County and whether we retain them as employees.
• Compare our employee demographics to the demographics within our community.
• Understand partially whether promotional opportunities are available equally to all.
• Understand if any bias may be coming into play somewhere.