Anti-Discrimination Policy

1. Our Commitment

Upmos is committed to a marketplace and workplace free from unlawful discrimination. This Policy describes the principles that govern how we treat customers, vendors, employees, contractors, and the public.

2. Statutory Basis

This Policy implements requirements under the following U.S. and international anti-discrimination frameworks (non-exhaustive):

U.S. Federal Statutes

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin), as interpreted by Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2020) (Title VII protections include sexual orientation and gender identity);
• Civil Rights Act of 1991, Pub. L. 102-166 (expanded remedies including compensatory and punitive damages, jury trials);
• Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000a (public accommodations);
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d (federally funded programs);
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. (age 40+);
• Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 (OWBPA), 29 U.S.C. § 626(f) (waiver standards);
• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., particularly Title I (employment), Title III (public accommodations — including websites under Department of Justice 2024 rulemaking and most circuit-court interpretations), and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008; see also our Accessibility Statement;
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (federally assisted programs);
• Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d) (sex-based wage discrimination);
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-2 (statute-of-limitations for pay-discrimination claims);
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k);
• Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2022 (PWFA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg et seq. (effective June 27, 2023; final EEOC regulations effective June 18, 2024);
• Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act), Pub. L. 117-328 div. KK;
• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000ff et seq.;
• Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. § 4301 et seq. (military service);
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.;
• Immigration and Nationality Act § 274B, 8 U.S.C. § 1324b (citizenship-status and national-origin discrimination in hiring);
• Civil Rights Acts §§ 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 42 U.S.C. (race-based discrimination in contracts, property, and conspiracies); § 1981 also confers a federal right to make and enforce contracts on equal terms regardless of race — applicable to vendor onboarding and customer transactions;
• Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq. (housing-related listings, where applicable);
• EEOC AI/Algorithmic Fairness Guidance (May 2022 ADA technical assistance and May 2023 Title VII technical assistance on selection procedures using AI) and Cal. Code Regs. tit. 2 § 11070 (California FEHA regulations on automated-decision systems, effective Oct. 1, 2025).

U.S. State and Local Statutes (illustrative)

• California: Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Cal. Gov. Code § 12940 et seq.; Unruh Civil Rights Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 51 (business establishments, including online marketplaces); AB 5 / Dynamex ABC test (independent-contractor classification); FEHA pay-data reporting (SB 1162);
• New York: NYSHRL, NY Exec. Law § 296; NYCHRL, NYC Admin. Code § 8-101 et seq. (broader than federal in many respects); NYC Local Law 144 (automated employment decision tools);
• Texas: Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, Tex. Lab. Code Ch. 21;
• Illinois: Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5; Illinois Equal Pay Act; Illinois AI Video Interview Act;
• Washington: Washington Law Against Discrimination, RCW 49.60;
• D.C.: D.C. Human Rights Act, D.C. Code § 2-1401.01 et seq.;
• Massachusetts: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B;
• New Jersey: New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J. Stat. Ann. § 10:5-1 et seq.;
• Minnesota: Minnesota Human Rights Act, Minn. Stat. ch. 363A;
• Colorado: Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, C.R.S. § 24-34-301 et seq.;
• Plus analogous statutes in all other U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.

International Frameworks (where Upmos operates)

• European Union: Racial Equality Directive 2000/43/EC; Employment Equality Directive 2000/78/EC; Gender Equal Opportunities Directive 2006/54/EC; the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts. 20–23;
• United Kingdom: Equality Act 2010 (consolidated UK anti-discrimination statute covering 9 protected characteristics);
• Canada: Canadian Human Rights Act + provincial human-rights codes (e.g., Ontario Human Rights Code);
• Australia: Sex Discrimination Act 1984, Racial Discrimination Act 1975, Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Age Discrimination Act 2004, Fair Work Act 2009;
• Mexico: Federal Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination (Ley Federal para Prevenir y Eliminar la Discriminación).

3. Protected Characteristics

Upmos prohibits discrimination on the basis of any characteristic protected by federal, state, local, or international law. Protected characteristics include (non-exhaustive):

• Race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, and national origin (Title VII; INA § 274B, 8 U.S.C. § 1324b);
• Citizenship and immigration status (INA § 274B prohibits citizenship-status discrimination in hiring; narrow statutory exceptions exist only for certain federal positions requiring U.S. citizenship by law, executive order, or government contract — not a general carve-out);
• Religion, creed, and religious observance (Title VII; Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. 447 (2023) raised the reasonable-accommodation threshold to “substantial increased costs”);
• Sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, and sexual orientation (Title VII as construed by Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2020); state laws are often broader);
• Pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions (Pregnancy Discrimination Act; PWFA; PUMP Act; state laws);
• Age (federal: 40 or older under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 631 — not Title VII; many states protect a broader range of ages);
• Disability (mental or physical), perceived disability, and record of disability (ADA; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; state laws);
• Genetic information (GINA);
• Marital status, partnership status, parental status, or familial status (state and local laws);
• Military or veteran status (USERRA; state laws);
• Use of a guide dog, service animal, or assistive device (ADA § 36.302; state laws);
• Lawful source of income (state and local laws);
• Domestic-violence, sexual-assault, or stalking victim status (state laws);
• Caregiver status (NYC Local Law 60; state laws);
• Arrest and conviction history (subject to lawful Ban-the-Box and EEOC guidance);
• Hairstyles associated with race (CROWN Act adopted in 23+ states as of 2025);
• Reproductive-health decisions (NY Lab. Law § 203-e; CA AB 1666; other state laws);
• Any other characteristic protected by federal, state, local, or international law applicable to the individual.

4. Customers and the Marketplace

Vendors selling on the Upmos marketplace are prohibited from refusing service, refusing to ship, or imposing different terms or pricing on the basis of any protected characteristic. Listings, product descriptions, vendor pages, reviews, and other public-facing content must not include language excluding, disfavoring, or stereotyping members of a protected class. Vendors must comply with all federal, state, local, and (where the vendor or buyer is located outside the U.S.) international anti-discrimination, accessibility, and public-accommodations laws — including the California Unruh Civil Rights Act for any vendor offering goods or services to California consumers.

Enforcement

Upmos enforces these obligations through (i) automated content-moderation tools that scan listings, vendor profiles, and reviews for prohibited language (subject to the human-review requirements in our AI and Algorithmic Decision-Making Disclosure), (ii) human review of vendor-onboarding submissions and flagged content, (iii) user reports submitted through the channels in §Reporting Complaints, and (iv) periodic audits of high-volume vendor accounts. Vendors found in violation are subject to the remedial measures described in §Investigation and may appeal under §Appeal Rights.

Algorithmic Fairness on the Marketplace

Upmos audits its product-search-ranking, recommendation, and vendor-onboarding algorithms for disparate impact on protected classes consistent with EEOC’s May 2023 technical assistance on Title VII and the use of AI in employment decisions (which Upmos applies by analogy to our marketplace functions), Cal. Code Regs. tit. 2 § 11070 (California FEHA regulations on automated-decision systems, effective Oct. 1, 2025), and the audit obligations of NYC Local Law 144. Algorithmic-bias audit results inform model retraining and parameter adjustment as needed.

5. Vendor Onboarding

Vendor onboarding decisions are based on objective criteria (legal identity, financial standing, sanctions screening, product quality, and adherence to applicable laws and Upmos’s Onboarding Policy). Vendor applications are not denied on the basis of any protected characteristic of the owners or employees of the applicant.

6. Workplace

Within Upmos’s own workforce, we maintain an equal-employment-opportunity policy: all employment decisions (hiring, compensation, promotion, demotion, termination, training, benefits, working conditions) are made without regard to any protected characteristic. We provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities, religion, and pregnancy-related medical conditions, except where such accommodation would impose an undue hardship.

7. Reasonable Accommodation

Customers, vendors, employees, contractors, and members of the public who require a reasonable accommodation to access, participate in, or perform under Upmos’s services may request an accommodation by contacting accessibility@upmos.com (preferred) or by calling 1-855-MERCHED (1-855-637-2433) and selecting the “Accessibility” menu option.

The Interactive Process

Consistent with ADA Title I and III, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the PWFA, and analogous state laws, Upmos engages in a good-faith interactive dialogue to identify an effective accommodation:

1. Acknowledgment within five (5) business days of receipt of the request;
2. Information exchange — the requester describes the limitation and the accommodation sought; Upmos may request reasonable medical documentation only when the disability and/or need for accommodation are not obvious (consistent with the ADA’s narrow medical-inquiry rules);
3. Identification of options — Upmos and the requester jointly identify one or more effective accommodations; preference is given to the requester’s preferred accommodation where multiple options are effective;
4. Decision within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the request (extended only as reasonably necessary for complex medical-documentation review, with status updates);
5. Implementation as soon as practicable after decision;
6. Review at the requester’s request or upon material change in circumstances.

Upmos provides the requested accommodation unless doing so would impose an undue hardship (significant difficulty or expense) or, under the ADA, would fundamentally alter the nature of the service. Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. 447 (2023), elevated the religious-accommodation standard to require “substantial increased costs” before denial under Title VII. Where an accommodation request is denied, the requester is informed in writing of the basis for the denial and the appeal rights described in §Appeal Rights.

Website & Digital Accessibility

The Upmos website and mobile applications target conformance with WCAG 2.2 Level AA across all consumer- and vendor-facing functions, including those used to file complaints under this Policy. Users encountering an accessibility barrier should contact accessibility@upmos.com; alternative-format communications (large print, screen-reader-compatible PDFs, plain-language summaries) and alternative communication channels (telephone, postal mail) are available upon request. See our Accessibility Statement for full details.

8. Reporting Complaints

Anyone who experiences or witnesses suspected discrimination may report it through any of the following channels:

Internal Reporting Channels

• Email (preferred for written documentation): complaints@upmos.com;
• Anti-discrimination hotline: 1-855-MERCHED (1-855-637-2433), select the “Anti-Discrimination & Anti-Harassment” option in the menu (Mon–Fri, 9 AM–5 PM Central Time, U.S.; voicemail outside business hours is acknowledged on the next business day);
• Anonymous web portal via our Whistleblower and Confidential Reporting Policy (third-party-operated; identity is not required and is not collected unless voluntarily provided);
• Postal mail to Upmos Inc., Attn: Compliance — Confidential, 9896 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77036, United States.

Acknowledgment & Initial Response SLAs

• Acknowledgment: within five (5) business days of receipt;
• Initial intake and triage: within ten (10) business days;
• Substantive investigation completion: within sixty (60) calendar days from intake, extended as reasonably necessary for complex matters with regular status updates;
• Outcome communication: within seven (7) business days of investigation completion.

External Reporting Channels

Reporting to Upmos does not waive your right to file with an external agency. Independent complaints may be filed with the following authorities (statutory deadlines apply — do not delay):

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): 1-800-669-4000 · eeoc.gov — 180-day deadline (or 300 days in jurisdictions with state/local FEPA agreements);
• U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division: 1-888-848-5306 · justice.gov/crt;
• U.S. Department of Labor (USERRA / FMLA): 1-866-487-2365 · dol.gov;
• State human-rights agency for your jurisdiction (e.g., California Civil Rights Department, NY State Division of Human Rights, NYC Commission on Human Rights, Texas Workforce Commission);
• EU residents: the equality body in your member state (Equinet list at equineteurope.org);
• UK residents: the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) · equalityhumanrights.com or ACAS for early conciliation (1-300-123-1100);
• Canada residents: Canadian Human Rights Commission · chrc-ccdp.gc.ca or the relevant provincial commission.

9. Non-Retaliation

Upmos prohibits retaliation against any individual who in good faith reports a suspected violation, who participates in an investigation, or who requests an accommodation. See our Whistleblower and Confidential Reporting Policy for detail.

10. Investigation

Reports are investigated promptly, impartially, and confidentially to the extent consistent with conducting a thorough investigation. Upmos’s investigation protocol includes:

• Independent investigator: Investigations are conducted by a member of Upmos’s Human Resources or Compliance function with no reporting relationship to the parties; complex or executive-involved matters are referred to an external investigator.
• Conflict-of-interest screen: Any investigator with a personal, financial, or reporting relationship to the parties recuses themselves.
• Evidence collection: The investigator interviews the reporting party, the subject(s) of the report, identified witnesses, and reviews relevant documents, communications, and system records.
• Confidentiality: Investigation details are shared on a strict need-to-know basis. The reporting party’s identity is protected to the maximum extent consistent with a fair investigation.
• Anonymous reports: Are accepted and investigated to the extent possible without the reporter’s identity; some matters may require additional information that an anonymous report cannot provide.
• Findings: The investigator documents findings on a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, with one of three outcomes: substantiated, partially substantiated, or not substantiated. Findings are preserved in a privileged investigation file.
• Remedial actions may include (for employees) counseling, training, reassignment, demotion, suspension, or termination; (for vendors) listing removal, account suspension, or permanent ban from the marketplace; (for customers) account restriction or ban; and where appropriate, restitution to the affected party, including reinstatement of access, refund, or other make-whole remedies.
• Communication of outcome: The reporting party and the subject(s) are informed of the conclusion of the investigation and, to the extent permitted by privacy law and Upmos’s confidentiality obligations to other parties, the general nature of any remedial action taken.
• Criminal referral: Where the conduct may constitute a crime (e.g., hate-crime threats, physical assault), Upmos cooperates with law enforcement and may directly refer the matter.
• Records retention: Investigation records, complaint files, and supporting documents are retained for not less than four (4) years from the date of the final determination (29 C.F.R. § 1602.14 baseline; longer where required by state law, ongoing litigation hold, or contractual obligation).

11. Appeal Rights

Any party adversely affected by an investigation outcome or a related Upmos enforcement action (e.g., vendor suspension, listing removal, account restriction) may appeal as follows:

• How to appeal: Email complaints@upmos.com with the subject line “Appeal — Anti-Discrimination Investigation [Case Number]” within thirty (30) calendar days of receiving the outcome communication. The appeal must include (a) the specific finding(s) or remedial action being appealed, (b) any new evidence or argument not previously considered, and (c) the relief sought.
• Appeal review: Appeals are reviewed by a senior member of the Compliance or Legal function who was not involved in the original investigation and has no reporting relationship to the original investigator.
• Decision timeline: Acknowledgment within five (5) business days; final decision within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the complete appeal submission.
• Outcomes: The appeal reviewer may affirm, modify, or reverse the original finding and/or remedial action. The appeal decision is final within Upmos’s internal process; external rights remain available as set forth in §Reporting Complaints.
• Interim relief: Where an enforcement action would cause irreparable harm pending appeal (e.g., a vendor whose livelihood depends on the marketplace), Upmos will consider partial or conditional reinstatement during the pendency of the appeal on a case-by-case basis.

12. Training

Upmos provides anti-discrimination training to all employees on hire and at least annually thereafter. Managers receive additional supervisory training. Trust & Safety reviewers responsible for vendor and listing enforcement receive training in the application of this Policy on the marketplace.

13. Contact

Email: complaints@upmos.com · accessibility@upmos.com

U.S. EEOC: 1-800-669-4000 · eeoc.gov

14. Updates

This Policy is reviewed at least annually and whenever there is a material change to Upmos’s anti-discrimination program or to applicable law. For material changes (defined as changes that meaningfully alter a protected-characteristic enumeration, change an accommodation or appeal SLA, modify the reporting channels, or add or remove an enforcement category), Upmos will provide affected users with at least thirty (30) days’ advance notice through (a) email to the address associated with the user’s Upmos account, (b) an in-product banner displayed on the user’s next sign-in, and (c) a dated entry in the Version History section of this Policy. Minor clarifications, statutory-citation updates, and typographical fixes are made without advance notice and are reflected only in the Version History.

15. How Can You Contact Us About This Policy?

If you have any further questions or comments or wish to report any problematic Content or Contribution, you may contact us by:

General Contact

• Phone: 1-855-MERCHED (1-855-637-2433) (Mon–Fri, 9 AM–5 PM Central Time, U.S.)
• General Support: support@upmos.com
• Report Issue: upmos.com/report
• Send Feedback: upmos.com/feedback

Department Directory

Mailing Address

Upmos Inc.
9896 Bissonnet St
Houston, TX 77036
United States