UMass Lowell is committed in policy, principle, and practice to maintaining an environment which prohibits discriminatory behavior and provides equal opportunity for all persons. 

UMass Lowell prohibits discrimination on the basis of race (including traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture, hair type, hair length and protective hairstyles), color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, mental or physical disability, political belief or affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, citizenship/immigration status and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of the access to, admission, or treatment of students in its programs and activities, or in the recruitment, employment and application for employment.  

The Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits citizenship/immigration status and national origin discrimination with respect to hiring, termination, and recruiting or referring for a fee. Citizenship/immigration status discrimination includes requiring U.S. citizenship for employment (unless a narrow exception applies) or only recruiting workers on OPT/STEM OPT or on an H-1B visa. National origin discrimination includes treating individuals differently because of their place of birth, country of origin, ancestry, first language, accent or because they are perceived as looking or sounding “foreign.” Employers should follow the best practices set forth by the Department of Justice.  

1. Unless legally required, job postings cannot limit eligibility based on citizenship or immigration status, such as “Only U.S. Citizens” or “H-1Bs and OPT Preferred.”
2. Job postings cannot limit eligibility based on national origin, such as “Native English Speakers only.”
3. Employers are not obliged to sponsor a candidate for work authorization, i.e., immigration sponsorship. An employer is allowed to disqualify a candidate because they lack work authorization. Employers may use the following language when they do not want to engage in immigration sponsorship: “Applicants must be authorized to work in the US.”
4. Employers may not ask candidates specific questions about their work authorization or ask them to produce documentation until an offer is made and accepted.
5. Employers may ask the following questions regarding an applicant’s U.S. work authorization:  
   • Are they currently work authorized?
   • Will they now or in the future require work authorization sponsorship from their employer?
6. Don’t use the ITAR or the EAR as a reason to limit jobs to candidates with certain citizenships, immigration statutes, or national origins – don’t limit jobs to U.S. citizens because the job involves accessing export-controlled items.

All job postings are published on our career services platform, Handshake. We ask that job descriptions are clear and include responsibilities, requirements and special instructions for application as required.

Expiration Date: All jobs posted on Handshake must have an expiration date of 60 days or less. Jobs without an expiration date will be given one.

Please note that we do not accept postings from the following:

• Employers posting full-time positions that do not require at least an associate’s degree
• Employers posting internships or co-ops that do not require the pursuit of at least a bachelor’s degree
• Employers offering internships that are not in keeping with federal standards for unpaid internships and/or do not provide a learning environment supported by supervision
• Employers offering personal, babysitter, household or caretaker jobs
• Employers involved in the cannabis industry
• Jobs involving political candidate campaigning

Other: Commission-based jobs must fully disclose the compensation structure in the job posting.

Multi-Level Marketing: UMass Lowell Career Services prohibits postings and engagement from multi-level marketing (aka “pyramid”) organizations and franchises.  This could include sponsorship/recruitment of an individual to sell products or services and may include recruiting other individuals into the business.  We further prohibit postings and engagement that requires an initial payment of a fee for any purpose.  Such payments might include the cost of attending an orientation or training session, or payment for a “starter kit.”

Third Party: Third parties may post to Handshake and participate in career fair events provided they:

• Charge no fees to the job candidate;
• If requested by the Career & Co-op Center, reveal the identity of the employer being represented and the nature of the relationship between agency and employer;
• Comply with established policies and all federal and state EEO laws.

For job offers made more than 6 months before the expected start date, we ask employers to allow 3 weeks for students to consider the offer.

If returning students are offered full-time positions or second internships (with the same company) after summer internships, students will have until November 1 to accept/decline offers. This allows students time to participate in fall on-campus recruiting if they so choose.

College students are still students learning about their career options. Thoughtful consideration of job offers takes time.

NACE’s Advisory Opinion on Setting Reasonable Deadlines for Job Offers is an excellent source on this topic.