Affirmative Action Plan (AAP)

The Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) is a tool that helps employers regulate and manage their recruitment processes. The AAP is not a legal requirement, but it is required by most government departments and agencies who provide funding or contracts to private businesses. It's also used by some private companies.

What is an AAP in more detail and why do you need it? Technically, it is a document that outlines the steps an employer will take to ensure equal opportunity for all employees. Who needs an affirmative action plan: an organization that employs at least 50 people receives federal contracts or grants.

An AAP should cover all aspects of employment, including hiring and promotion, employee development, training and professional development opportunities. It should also include a grievance procedure for employees who feel they have been discriminated against in any way by their employer as part of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidelines on affirmative action plans.

When it comes to creating an Affirmative Action Plan (AAP), you'll want to make sure that you follow a few basic guidelines. So, here are AAP requirements: 

• your AAP must be in writing and approved by your CEO or president; 
• it also needs to be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and reviewed annually;
• your plan should be posted in a conspicuous place so that it's accessible to all employees who need access to it — and so that anyone interested can see how well your company is doing when it comes to diversity efforts.

The implementation process of AAP should be an ongoing one, with regular monitoring of progress.

Here are the components of an affirmative action plan:

• the name of each protected class for which you will be taking affirmative action steps;
• a description of each aspect of your operation(s) relevant to diversity in hiring and advancement;
• the numerical goals, including benchmarks if applicable, that you have established for increasing representation in your work force at each level of job classification (full-time equivalents), on a reasonably anticipated basis during fiscal years 1993 through 1996.

It’s important to create an AAP because it helps you avoid being accused of discrimination or mishandling employment opportunities for racial, ethnic and gender minorities.