Council Meeting
Held
Host: Ms. Bonita V. White
Introduction
Ms. Delia L. Johnson, Co-Chair of the Council and Director, Office of Civil Rights for International Broadcasting Bureau, opened the meeting with a few remarks and then asked the attendees to give their names, agencies, and positions. She thanked Bonita White, Director, EEO Programs, DHHS, for sponsoring this meeting.
Jorge Ponce, Co-Chair, announced the hearing on November 19, 2009, by the Senate Committee on Health Education, Labor, and Pensions, on the nomination of Jacqueline Berrien for EEOC Chair, Chai Feldblum and Victoria Lipnic for EEOC Commissioners, and David Lopez for General Counsel. You can view a video clip and witness testimonies at http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2009_11_19/2009_11_19.html.
Mr. Ponce reminded everyone that the last day to submit comments to EEOC on
the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Americans with Disabilities Act
Amendments Act (ADAAA) was
Barrier Analysis
Dexter Brooks, Director, Federal Sector Programs, Office of Federal Operations, EEOC, gave a presentation on the barrier analysis process under Management Directive 715.
Mr. Brooks indicated that section 717 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 requires federal agencies to prepare plans and reports in order to maintain an affirmative action program of equal employment opportunity for all such employees and applicants for employment. To provide guidance on this requirement, EEOC issued MD-701 in 1979, and, MD-715 in 2003. Whereas the goal of MD-701 was to achieve parity in the workforce by minorities and women, the focus of MD-715 is to remove barriers for all EEO groups (including white males).
Mr. Brooks stated that the challenge of EEO professionals is to explain to managers that barrier analysis is not for use as a report card, but as a diagnostic tool. Moreover, it is included in element 4 for establishing and maintaining a model EEO program. He pointed out that federal agencies first have to identify triggers, followed by conducting barrier analyses to explain the causes of the triggers, develop an action plan, and assess progress through follow up. To find out triggers, agencies should not limit themselves to look at their statistical information, but should expand their search at the complaint activity. Other sources for discovering triggers are employee and affinity groups and organizations, IG reports, climate surveys, and exit interviews.
Mr. Brooks opined that most agencies are inclined to look at their recruitment practices only when they are conducting barrier analyses. Instead, he said, they should look at their hiring – especially now that they are collecting applicant flow data. He is still surprised that some management handbooks have to this day references to how to assess a potential good employee by whether they give you a firm handshake or they look at you in the eyes – while failing to account for important cultural differences.
Mr. Brooks announced that OMB is working on a scorecard/dashboard for the Federal Government. EEOC and OPM hope to assist OMB in finding meaningful to measure agencies’ commitment to EEO and diversity.
Mr. Brooks cited some examples of barriers – hiring at the GS-14, journeyman level instead of at the lower pay grades, as well as attitudinal stereotypes held by some managers that women, after having a child, will not be as committed to the agency’s mission as senior executives.
Milton Belardo, former Chair of the National Council of Hispanic Employment
Program Managers, stated that most agencies cannot get their leadership to
implement needed EEO changes. Mr.
Brooks responded that you should educate them on the EEO requirements to deny
them the excuse that you never told them what the consequences of noncompliance
would be. For example, the Deputy
Secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security promised to take a closer
look at the diversity statistics in her agency at an
Mr. Brooks indicated that no agency is free of improvement in EEO, and that it’s okay to check “no’s” in their self- assessments (Part G). He said that not even EEOC has all “yes’s” in its self-assessment form. He cautioned federal agencies that submit MD-715 reports with no challenges are prime candidates to have EEOC audit their programs.
Mr. Brooks announced that EEOC plans to host stakeholder meetings on how to improve the Instructions to MD-715 in February or March of 2010.
Milton Belardo asked when is EEOC planning to issue a position paper on the intrusion of offices of general counsel on EEO programs. Mr. Dexter responded that the proper role of these two offices was explained even in MD-110. He said that even if EEOC issued further clarification, there was no guarantee that federal agencies would follow it. Mr. Ponce reminded all of GAO report 09-712 (Equal Employment Opportunity; Pilot Projects Could Help Test Solutions to Long-standing Concerns with the EEO Complaints Process, issued on August 12, 2009) where Acting EEOC Chair Ishimaru issued a letter to GAO stating that “we are finalizing a document on the appropriate relationship between agency EEO offices and agency defense counsel.” Mr. Ponce stated that this is an initiative that the EEO community and the Council have raised to EEOC in the past, and that all stakeholders have waited many, many years to have EEOC issue guidance on this important matter. The Council will be very grateful when this document is finally issued.
Mr. Brooks announced that in this year’s MD-715 report, EEOC would be using the 2.0% goal for employment of individuals with targeted disabilities, instead of the previous federal high benchmark. He also explained that the applicant-flow form that EEOC generated and that could be used by federal agencies only collects information on the race, national origin, and gender of applicants – but not on their disabilities. A bigger consortium of federal agencies and OMB will be looking at the disability applicant-flow form this fiscal year.
Mr. Brooks closed his presentation by indicating that EEOC wants to work agencies, and not on becoming an adversary. He said that EEOC has a vested interest in the success of model EEO programs at federal agencies. Even when EEOC and federal agencies disagree, he said that they have to be professional and move ahead.
Statistical Presentation
Mike Dole, Director, Workforce Analysis, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, gave a presentation on ways to present the statistical information in MD-715 reports in a more user-friendly way for managers. Those interested in getting a copy of the presentation can send Mr. Dole an e-mail to michael.dole@mail.va.gov.