Host: Ms. Era Marshall

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian

4^th and Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20024

Introduction

Ms. Delia L. Johnson, Co-Chair 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 Era Marshall, Director of the Office of Equal Employment and Minority Affairs at the Smithsonian Institution, for hosting the meeting.

Ms. Johnson indicated that there would not be any meeting in July. The August meeting would be held on August 1, 2007, at the Federal Dispute Resolution Conference, in San Francisco, California. There will be a panel discussion entitled “EEO in the Federal Sector, Where Do We Go from Here? Why We Add Value to Our Organization.”

ADR Survey

Ms. Clara Patterson, a PhD candidate, is in the midst of conducting a study on federal mediation and ADR. Specifically, she wants to measure whether internal mediators are more effective than external mediators. She will use two survey instruments – one for participants who are coming to the table, and another for those who have served as mediators. Ms. Patterson will be posting the surveys on her own web page and will provide the Council with information regarding her website and the surveys during the October Council meeting. Clara will provide the survey results to the Council upon completion of her study."

Destin Enterprises, LLC

Mr. Edward Crenshaw, Jr., founder of DESTIN Enterprises, LLC, discussed a new initiative regarding its recent MOU with Walter Reed Army Medical Center to represent transitioning Iraq and

Afghanistan veterans with disabilities. Opposed to traditional resumes, DESTIN's employment profiles feature revolutionary multimedia content.

DESTIN's employment profiles include assistive technologies for people with disabilities and give candidates the ability/option to communicate their reasonable workplace accommodation needs. The

plethora of data contained in each profile is verified for accuracy, distinguishes similarly skilled candidates, saves employers valuable time and resources towards identifying nationally based candidates, and

enhances the likelihood of a more “intelligent” hiring decision.

DESTIN Enterprises, LLC, in association with the Kaleidoscope group, is also offering a diversity/sensitivity training program known as "Preparing Employers to Reintegrate Combat Exposed Veterans with

Disabilities or PERCEVD."  This training program, developed for managers and supervisors of federal, profit and non-profit organizations, addresses the many issues associated with transitioning into a

civilian workplace from a military combat environment.  This training provides an “awareness” of various transitional issues including: traumatic brain injury (TBI's), post-traumatic stress disorders and other

combat related mental and physical injuries and illnesses. The program also provides information on etiquette towards people with disabilities, rights of reservist and other workplace diversity related

issues.

To find additional information about this and similar initiatives, click on http://www.destin-e.net or www.webkg.com/.

JDG Associates, Inc.

John D. Gonzalez, President and CEO of JDG Associates, Inc., indicated that his national company, which is based in San Antonio Texas, provides various civil rights services to federal agencies – including EEO investigations, final agency decisions, and mediation.

Client agencies get the choice to receive ROI’s in CD-ROM or hard-copy formats or in both. The number of issues that complaints have does affect the price charged per investigation, but JDG offers discounts to clients having large volumes of complaints. Extra services, such as a “rush/expedited investigation” or additional copies, also affect the price charged for investigations.

JDG staff provides an online tracker in order to determine the status of ROI’s or a FAD’s at a moment’s notice. Nevertheless, to protect the confidentiality of the parties to a complaint, customers are required to have a login name and password before they can access the JDG database.

Mr. Gonzalez pointed out that the heart of outsourcing is a good statement of work. There needs to be better communication between the EEO and the Contracting staffs to make this happen.

Currently, JDG has a staff of approximately 150 EEO professionals nationwide. In addition, there are three full-time reviewers and three contractors who monitor every step of EEO investigations. The principal full-time reviewer worked for EEOC for twenty-two years. The FAD writers work in a different unit from the one doing EEO investigations.

For additional information about JDG Associates, Inc., go to http://www.jdgassociates.com.

Contract Employees

Janice Caramanica, a Council member from the State Department, indicated that there has been an increase in EEO complaints filed by contract employees at State.  Some managers fail to appreciate the full

range of their responsibilities for non-direct-hire members of the federal workplace, and consequently they do not take appropriate action to address EEO-related concerns raised by “contractors.”  At State,

the EEO Director has been discussing with State’s Procurement Executive what strategies could be implemented to educate both the contractor workforce as well as management about their rights and

responsibilities to maintain a hostile-free work environment.

While no final decision has been made, the EEO Office is considering drafting a white paper for the Procurement Executive on the Department’s potential liability for harassment allegations from contractors

under recent EEOC case law decisions.  A notice to all managers and employees reminding them of the need to maintain a hostile-free environment for all persons in the Department’s work space is in

progress.  When these documents have been finalized, Ms. Caramanica will share them with Council members.