COUNCIL OF FEDERAL EEO & CIVIL RIGHTS EXECUTIVES MINUTES OF 19 MARCH 2002 MEETING

Pauline Campbell, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sponsored the meeting.

Co-Chair Delia Johnson opened the meeting, and introduced the guest speakers: Mr. Leroy Warren (NAACP), Mr. Alex Chan (FAPAC), and Mr. Rawle King (BIG).

Co-Chair Jorge Ponce provided an update on a report that the Council is preparing on the reporting authority of EEO Directors. The Council has identified this item as the most important task this year and will work diligently on this issue. Mr. Ponce mentioned that the Council had concluded that the most effective way to handle this issue was to work in partnership with various civil rights affinity groups. Thus, the Council’s Executive Committee has already met with Blacks in Government (BIG), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC). Jorge shared some highlights from the report. He pointed out that it was more common for EEO Directors to report to agency heads in the smaller agencies (those with 1,000 employees or less) than it was for the larger agencies (those with 1,001 employees or more). Agencies that do not have their EEO Directors reporting to the agency heads are not in compliance with 29 C.F.R. 1614.102(b)(4) and EEOC’s Management Directive 110. Mr. Ponce averred that if EEOC did not enforce 1614.102(b)(4), it lacked the legal and moral authority to enforce the remaining 1614 regulations. The final report will be posted on the Council’s web page in the near future. After the Council completes the report, it will share it with BIG, NAACP and FAPAC for further action.

A Council member pointed out that the data that EEOC had collected and published in the Office of Federal Operations Annual Report on the Federal Work Force for Fiscal Year 2000 could be improved in future years by narrowing the definition of EEO Directors to those management officials who have day-to-day responsibility of EEO Offices. Jorge indicated that he will make a footnote in the report on this point, since the number of EEO Directors not reporting to agency heads could possibly be much larger if the narrower definition was used. The EEO Director from the Treasury Department indicated that although she handled the day-to-day operations of her EEO Office, she did not report to her agency head.

Jorge stated that OPM was at it again with a proposal to abolish the 360 series, and re-classify these employees in the 1860 series (Investigators). A similar OPM proposal with the 260 series was addressed and resolved between OPM and the Council in 2000. The Council took a stand against this proposal, and OPM agreed with the Council’s position. Judith Davis, Chief, Classification Division at OPM, has agreed to address the Council regarding this proposal on April 23. Since Ms. Davis stated that EEOC had requested OPM to pursue this proposal, Jorge asked her to bring someone from EEOC to the April 23 meeting. While OPM has agreed to allow the Council to submit its comments after the April 23 meeting, OPM has not granted the same extension to federal agencies. Thus, federal agencies have until March 29, 2002, to submit their comments. To view the OPM proposal in its entirety, go to the 360Proposal file, while to view the 360 classification standard, go to the 360Series file.

A suggestion was made from a member to have the Executive Council meet with EEOC Chair Dominguez and OPM Director James to ensure that these agencies consult with the Council on EEO-related issues. The fact that OPM distributed the classification proposal on the 360 series to the personnel community, and not to the EEO community, was a perfect example of the urgent need to engage the EEO community. The Executive Council will work on setting up this meeting.

Delia introduced Leroy Warren, who is the chair of the NAACP Federal Sector Task Force. Mr. Warren indicated that the NAACP Board had twice asked him to get the White House to issue an executive order that mandated EEO Directors to report to the agency heads. He also announced that his Task Force had opposed the nomination of Naomi Churchill Earp to serve as EEOC Vice Chair. Mr. Warren announced the mark up of S.201 (No Fear Act) on March 21, 2002, and said that Senator Lieberman (D-CT) had given his full support to ensure passage of the bill. Mr. Warren predicted plenty of discontent within the civil rights community if the No Fear Act was not enacted into law by the summer. Finally, Mr. Warren clarified that the NAACP was an organization that fought to protect the civil rights of all employees, regardless of their racial or ethnic backgrounds.

Mr. Alex Chan, President of the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC), spoke next. Mr. Chan stated that FAPAC was working with BIG and the NAACP on numerous civil rights issues and was glad to lend its support to the Council. He announced that FAPAC will be having its annual conference in Washington, DC, on May 20-23, 20002, and that Council members could get additional information at http://www.fapac.org

Last, but not least, Mr. Rawle King, President of Region XI Council of Blacks In Government (BIG), spoke on behalf of his organization. Mr. King stated that EEO was an important issue to BIG members. Starting in 1999, BIG had focused on the adverse impact of demonstrative projects, or re-inventing government proposals, and the harm that they had caused to African-American employees. During the policy debates regarding these issues, the focus had shifted to working with the NAACP and other civil rights organizations to ensure the passage of the No Fear Act. He announced that the BIG leadership strongly supported the concept of requiring EEO Directors to report to the agency heads, and promised to work closely with the Council to make this happen. BIG will be hosting a training seminar on April 25-27 at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Crystal City.