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(a) Purpose. The City's Affirmative Action Program is based upon Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; Executive Order 11246, as amended by Executive Order 11375; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It is the purpose of this program to correct any vestiges of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, age, ancestry, national origin and handicap in Municipal employment.
(b) Scope. It is the declaration of this chapter that nondiscrimination, equal employment and equal economic opportunity are the policy of the City in all of its decisions, programs and activities. To that end, all departments, agencies, boards, commissions, authorities and employees under the jurisdiction of the City, as well as any and all City-assisted contractors and subcontractors, shall rigorously pursue an affirmative action course to ensure equal opportunity in the areas of hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, recruitment, lay-off, termination, rate of compensation and training programs. To that end, the City shall institute affirmative measures to remedy any discriminatory pattern or practice.
Further, it is the policy of the City that all departments, agencies, boards, commissions, divisions and appointing authorities under its jurisdiction, including any person or organization doing business with the City as a prime contractor or subcontractor for goods and services, shall initiate affirmative action programs designed to conform, complement and support the policies stated in this declaration of purpose.
(c) General Objectives. The general objectives of this chapter are to:
(1) Establish and maintain employment levels for the economically, culturally and socially disadvantaged in proportions at least equal to levels in the total community workforce;
(2) Distribute such employment proportionately throughout all departments and agencies of the City governmental structure, those portions of the judicial branch of the City government having positions in the competitive service (administrative officers of the Court) and the employees in those positions;
(3) Make continuous efforts to eliminate and prevent the occurrence of arbitrary discriminatory practices relating to employment or access to promotion within the City government;
(4) Develop upward mobility, upgrading programs and career opportunities for all City employees; and
(5) Ensure the implementation of nondiscriminatory clauses in all public contracts and insist that equal opportunity for employees and applicants for employment be offered to all persons without regard to race, creed, color, sex, national origin or handicap.
(Ord. 83-90. Passed 4-4-83.)
As used in this chapter:
(a) "Affected class" means those classes in the population which are locked into a level of employment with no upward mobility due to the perpetuated effects of discrimination, including women, minority groups and handicapped persons.
(b) "Bidder" means any person, partnership, corporation, association or joint venture seeking to be awarded a public contract.
(c) "Construction contract" means any public contract for the construction, rehabilitation, alteration, conversion, extension, wrecking, excavation for or repair of buildings or streets or other improvements to real property.
(d) "Contractor" means any person, partnership, corporation, association or joint venture who or which has been awarded a public contract and includes every subcontractor on such contract.
(e) "Discriminate" means to distinguish, differentiate, treat separately or segregate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin or handicap.
(f) "Handicapped individual" means one who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities and who has a record of such an impairment or is regarded as having such an impairment.
(g) "Minority" means black, Spanish surnamed, American Indian or Asian American person.
(h) "Parity" means a condition wherein the City's work force shows a percentage of male, female, handicapped, minority and nonminority employees in every job category equal to or greater than their representation in the City labor market census data.
(i) "Public contract" means any contract awarded by the City whereby the City is committed to expend or does expend its funds in return for work, labor, services, supplies, equipment, materials or any combination of the same, or any lease, lease by way of concession, concession agreement, permit or property of the City, or otherwise grants a right or privilege to occupy or use the property of the City.
(j) "Subcontractor" means any person, partnership, corporation, association or joint venture who or which supplies any of the work, labor, supplies, services, equipment, materials or any combination of the same under a contract with the contractor on a public contract.
(Ord. 83-90. Passed 4-4-83.)
In determining whether or not a special corrective action program is warranted or special steps should be taken in areas of recruitment and training, the Affirmative Action Officer and the Equal Opportunity Specialist for the City have analyzed the distribution of employees in the City government as a whole and within each department. The presence of any one or more of the following circumstances indicates the need for affirmative action steps:
(a) A positive showing of an under-utilization, nonutilization or concentration of minorities and/or women in specific work classifications and/or departments;
(b) A positive showing of an under-utilization of minorities and/or women in managerial or supervisory positions;
(c) A positive showing of a concentration of minority and/or women employees at the lower end of the pay scale and/or in low career-opportunity jobs;
(d) A showing that the selection process, whether objective or subjective, eliminates a higher percentage of minorities and/or women than nonminorities and/or male applicants; and
(e) A finding that application and related pre-employment forms or screening and interviewing processes are not in compliance with local, State and Federal regulations.
Using the criteria enumerated in subsections (a) through (e) hereof, the need for corrective action is evident when examining the racial and sexual characteristics of the Elyria City government both by departments and by EEO-4 categories.
(Ord. 83-90. Passed 4-4-83.)
(a) Corrective Action Programs. At this time the City intends to achieve full utilization of both minorities and women by intensive recruiting of minorities and women for City employment.
(b) Recruitment.
(1) With a long history of being unfairly discriminated against in both the private and governmental employment markets, many minority members and women are wary of applying for City jobs. Other factors which may discourage minorities and women from applying are:
A. A lack of information about job openings;
B. A lack of transportation;
C. A fear of approaching the bureaucratic structure;
D. A fear of being rejected again;
E. A fear of written examination or interview;
(2) For many cities, including this City, with traditional forms of civil service, recruitment is the key to increasing the number of minority and women applicants for employment and thus increasing the probability of minorities and women qualifying by examination and being appointed to vacant positions. For all these reasons, it is essential that the City reach out to women and minorities in their community. The entire County shall be utilized as the geographic recruiting area for the City with special emphasis placed on the City and its residents. Recruitment efforts shall be concentrated in the City, focusing primarily upon its residents. The Affirmative Action Officer and the Equal Opportunity Specialist shall be directly responsible for the recruitment program. The Community Relations Board can also do much to supplement and assist in the effort. Members of the Board shall be strongly encouraged to send representatives or be included themselves on outreach recruitment teams.
(3) An intensive recruitment campaign is necessary to reach and persuade qualified minorities and women in the community to apply for employment with the City. The campaign will be broad and far-reaching, employing the following techniques and programs:
A. Increased and expanded publicity about job openings and examinations, not only in local media of all types (i.e. newspapers, television, radio), but also in minority media and women's interest media;
B. Word-of-mouth advertising through all City employees, asking them to spread the word that minority and women applicants are welcome for all positions;
C. Increased contacts, verbal and written, publicity and referrals with minority and women's organizations such as the YWCA, the NAACP, the Urban League, secondary schools and colleges, church groups and minority and women's sororities and fraternities. Techniques shall include pamphlets, flyers, posters and referrals.
D. Maintenance of a minority job bank by the Affirmative Action Officer and the Equal Opportunity Specialist. Such bank shall consist of a listing of skilled and unskilled minorities seeking employment and shall be made available as a referral source to area businesses.
(c) Testing.
(1) No affirmative action policy or program is viable in an employment structure without the existence of an adequate employee selection procedure or a merit system. The absence of job descriptions in the classification system for the minority of Municipal employees is also a large obstacle. These shortcomings must be rectified before an affirmative action program can be effectively implemented.
(2) As used in this chapter, "test" means any paper-and-pencil or performance measure used as a basis for any employment decision. "Test" includes, but is not restricted to, a measure of general intelligence, mental ability and learning ability; specific intellectual ability; mechanical, clerical and other aptitudes; dexterity and coordination; knowledge and proficiency; occupational and other interests; and attitudes, personality or temperament. "Test" includes all formal, scored, quantified or standardized techniques of assessing job suitability, including, in addition to the above, specific qualifying or dis- qualifying personal history or background requirements, scored interviews, biographical information blanks, interviewer's rating scales, scored application forms, etc.
(3) In order to have a fair and equitable employee selection process, the use of valid tests is imperative. A test lacking demonstrated validity, i.e. having no known significant relationship to job behavior and yielding lower scores for classes protected by Executive Order 11246, as amended, may result in the rejection of many persons who have necessary qualifications for successful work performance. Section 202 of Executive Order 11246, as amended, requires each government contractor and subcontractor to take affirmative action to ensure that he or she will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin or handicap. Such order is designed to serve as a set of standards for contractors and subcontractors subject to Executive Order 11246, as amended, in determining whether or not their use of tests conforms with the requirements of the Executive Order.
(4) To be able to develop a valid examination, job descriptions must be thorough and complete. A full description of all duties and tasks involved in each of the jobs on which research has been conducted and for which the test will be used must be provided.
(5) By reason of its responsibilities, as outlined in the City Charter, the Civil Service Commission must assume the initial burden for modifying the present employee selection procedure of the City. The following changes and expansions must be made in and through the operation of the Commission:
A. The classified service, as defined in the City Charter, must be expanded to its legal limit and clarified. The Commission is authorized to test for approximately eighty-five percent of all Municipal positions and must begin doing so.
B. Persons interested in employment or a particular position shall be referred to the Commission or the Safety-Service Office. The Commission will not utilize an open application procedure. This means that someone interested only in general employment and not a specific position shall not be able to file an application in the Civil Service Office. Applications are not accepted until a specific position is posted or announced. However, a person may file an application with the Safety-Service Office and not indicate any specific position. The application of such person shall be xeroxed and filed and a Rolodex card shall be completed with a notation of the applicant's work experience.
C. All persons passing the examinations shall be placed on an eligibility list for the position, from which list the Safety-Service Director shall choose in filling the opening. Such lists shall remain in effect for one year, subject to the rules of the Commission. Such lists shall also be used in the minority job bank maintained by the Equal Opportunity Office.
(6) Two procedures are necessary prerequisites to the expansion prescribed in paragraph (5) hereof, as follows:
A. Job descriptions must be formulated and analyzed for every position under Civil Service jurisdiction. Such descriptions shall include the specific duties, the functions and the pay scale of the position.
B. Validated tests must be developed for every classified position. Every test must be job-related (employing the job descriptions cited above) and may include skill tests, manual or otherwise.
(7) The Civil Service Commission cannot be expected to assume all the wide-ranging functions enumerated in this section with its present staff and budget. Although the Affirmative Action Officer and Equal Opportunity Specialist will work closely with the Commission in accordance with this section, a full-time Secretary and/or Director should be hired for the Commission. Such additional personnel will provide a two-fold advantage:
A. Facilitate the accomplishment of the above three programs; and
B. Enable the Commission office to be open to the public every day of the week, thereby improving relations with the community.
(8) The goals enumerated in this section are, of necessity, short range in scope. The Civil Service Commission should be in full-strength operation with all job descriptions completed and testing developed and in use by January, 1984.
(d) Training; Career Opportunities; Job Restructuring. The establishment and improvement of career ladders in the employment structure of the City through the implementation of job restructuring and training programs is essential both to the efficient operation of the Municipal government and the satisfaction of the employees of the City. Some effort can begin immediately to provide training for such employees. Concurrently with the affirmative action program, after job descriptions and analyses have been completed for every position in the City departments, a job restructuring study can be undertaken to identify and improve, where necessary, the career ladders open to City employees. As with the job descriptions, there are outside Federal and private agencies available to undertake this study at a nominal cost. Another alternative would be to train personnel already employed by the City to perform this type of study, again at nominal cost. This portion of the program shall be considered a future endeavor. Far more important, now, are concerns for complete job descriptions and validated testing procedures.
(Ord. 83-90. Passed 4-4-83.)
(a) Affirmative Action Officer. The Affirmative Action Officer shall be the chief administrative officer of the Office of Equal Opportunity and shall be responsible for the enforcement of the Affirmative Action Program, the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Program and the rules and regulations issued hereunder, and for other duties pertinent thereto, including, but not limited to:
(1) Recommending policy guidelines for all affirmative action and contract compliance functions within the City government;
(2) Receiving and reviewing all rules and regulations issued by the State or the Federal government relevant to EEO and contract compliance, and ensuring that the City is conforming to those rules or regulations applicable to the City;
(3) Investigating complaints, making inspections and observing employment conditions relevant to all City activities;
(4) Reviewing each contractor's MBE efforts to determine compliance with the stated percentage goals on each bid;
(5) Certifying qualified minority business enterprises and monitoring their participation on City contracts to ensure compliance with the MBE Program;
(6) Acting as staff to the Community Relations Board; and
(7) Reporting regularly to the Mayor as to the progress of the Affirmative Action Program and the MBE Program.
(b) Community Relations Board.
(1) The Mayor shall appoint a Community Relations Board for equal employment and equal economic opportunity.
(2) The Board shall be comprised of five members, each serving a three-year term, appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of Council, with its members to include representatives of the public and members of minority groups and the business community. The Board shall conduct an annual review of the effectiveness of the MBE Program and report its findings and recommendations, in writing, to Council, not later than thirty days before the expiration of such Program. The Board shall serve as a review or appeals board to which an aggrieved party may appeal from the decision of the Safety Service Director as otherwise provided for in this chapter.
(3) Any three members shall constitute a quorum for carrying on the business of the Board. Each member of the Board will have one vote on any issue or policy decision coming before a quorum of the Board. The Board shall meet on a quarterly basis for carrying out such business coming before it, as follows:
A. Annual meeting - April. This meeting will be held to determine goals and objectives achieved and to set new or amended goals for the following year.
B. Second quarter - June. This meeting will highlight policy implementation and review progress of MBE-EEO participation.
C. Third quarter - September. This meeting will review Department/Division activities and guidelines for MBE/EEO implementation.
D. Fourth quarter - December. This meeting will review calendar year-end MBE/EEO accomplishments and make recommendations for any changes to MBE/EEO goal attainment to be heard at the annual meeting.
(4) The Affirmative Action Officer shall send written notice of each Board meeting to each Board member at least one week in advance of each meeting. The notice shall include the agenda of the meeting and a copy of the minutes of the previous meeting.
(c) Equal Opportunity Specialist. The Equal Opportunity Specialist shall assume, but not be limited to, the following responsibilities:
(1) Assist the Affirmative Action Officer in the formulation and implementation of the Affirmative Action Program and the MBE Program of the City;
(2) Review and evaluate departmental operations periodically and obtain information and/or reports from departments as necessary to determine the overall status of the Affirmative Action Program;
(3) Work in close coordination with the Civil Service Commission in analyzing testing procedures and all other aspects of the recruitment and certification process to ensure that artificial barriers to hiring and promoting minority and women applicants and employees are eliminated;
(4) Operate a system for gathering and reporting statistical information on the employment of minority group members and women and their movement into middle and upper level positions;
(5) Establish a special recruitment and orientation program among women and minority group organizations, develop regular communication channels with minority neighborhoods and act as a liaison between such groups and City departments and agencies to ensure that employment opportunity information is widely disseminated;
(6) Operate an information program designed to ensure that employees, recruitment sources, minority group organizations, women's organizations and the general public are aware of the equal employment opportunity policy of the City and Affirmative Action Program efforts and MBE Program efforts;
(7) Keep abreast of all current equal employment opportunity developments and disseminate all pertinent information to various City departments and the Community Relations Board;
(8) Report to the Affirmative Action Officer on all equal employment opportunity developments and contract compliance standards; and
(9) Act as a staff to the Community Relations Board.
(d) Civil Service Commission. The Civil Service Commission, as the legal testing and selection authority for the City, is hereby charged with the following responsibilities in the implementation of the Affirmative Action Program:
(1) Work in close coordination with the Affirmative Action Officer and the Equal Opportunity Specialist in all aspects of the employee selection procedure;
(2) Conduct test validation studies and institute any change necessary to make each test objective and tailored to actual job functions;
(3) Review and maintain job specifications and descriptions for all Municipal positions and modify those factors which tend to discriminate against minority groups and women.
(Ord. 83-90. Passed 4-4-83.)
(a) Internal. The City shall disseminate its equal employment opportunity policy internally as follows:
(1) The policy shall be publicized in the Annual Report.
(2) A copy of the policy shall be made available to every City employee immediately.
(3) Copies of the policy shall be given to, and discussed with, new employees during their orientation sessions.
(4) Union officials shall be advised in writing of the policy in accordance with Executive Orders 11246 and 11375 and nondiscrimination clauses shall be included in future City-union agreements.
(5) Posters and pamphlets delineating the policy and implementation procedures shall be posted on all department bulletin boards.
(b) External. The City shall disseminate the policy externally as follows:
(1) A clause explaining the equal employment opportunity policy shall be included in all public advertisements for job openings and examination dates.
(2) All recruiting sources shall be informed verbally and in writing of the affirmative action policy and plan, stipulating that these sources actively recruit and refer minorities and women for all positions.
(3) An equal opportunity clause shall be incorporated in all purchase orders, contracts, etc.
(4) A copy of the equal opportunity program shall be made available to all prospective employees to enable such employees to know and avail themselves of its benefits.
(5) Written notification of the policy shall be sent to all contractors, subcontractors, vendors and suppliers, requesting appropriate action on their parts.
(6) Minority and women's organizations, community agencies, community leaders, secondary schools and colleges shall be notified in writing of the policy.
(Ord. 83-90. Passed 4-4-83.)
(a) Internal Monitoring. Close internal monitoring must be maintained within City departments to correctly gauge the effectiveness of the Affirmative Action Program. Every department head shall submit quarterly reports on the status of his or her employees and an analysis of the current employment situation to the Affirmative Action Officer and the Community Relations Board. Such reports shall include the department head's estimation of any existing barrier to equal employment opportunity and any improvement or action taken within the department. The Board shall then act as a sounding board, offering suggestions and/or constructive criticisms concerning the progress of each department.
The Data Processing Department shall prepare, every six months, a comprehensive list of full-time and part-time employees for the Affirmative Action Officer and the Equal Opportunity Specialist. Such list shall contain all pertinent information, such as salary, sex and position classification of such employees.
Annually, an audit of the entire program, including the corrective action programs and their effectiveness in attaining the goals, shall take place. Goals shall also be reevaluated in terms of current population, work force and unemployment statistics.
Applicant flow at the Civil Service Commission and the Division of Purchasing and Personnel shall be monitored through the use of equal employment opportunity forms. Such forms, showing the race and sex of each applicant, shall be filled out by every person applying for a position and shall be kept by the Affirmative Action Officer.
(b) Grievances.
(1) Procedure. All personnel grievances involving alleged violations of antidiscrimination policies in relation to hiring and recruitment or treatment of presently employed persons in the City government shall initially be filed with the Affirmative Action Officer. The Affirmative Action Officer shall investigate the complaint and its resolution. If an applicant or employee is not satisfied, the Affirmative Action Officer shall educate the applicant or employee as to the procedure for appeal and provide any information requested that relates to an appeal.
(2) Records.
A. All grievances shall be submitted in writing and be notarized.
B. All telephone or other conversations relating to the grievance shall be documented for further reference.
C. Files and reports shall be maintained in the Affirmative Action Office on the type of action taken to resolve the employee's or applicant's complaint.
(Ord. 83-90. Passed 4-4-83.)
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