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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 05-03-2007-6bORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: May 3, 2007 Action Agenda Item Noe ~~- b SUBJECT: 2007 Affirmative Action Program and Report DEPARTMENT: Personnel PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT (S): (Under Separate Cover) 2007 Revised Affirmative Action Program 2007 Affirmative Action Program Report INFORMATION CONTACT: Annette Moore, 245-2317 Policy and Compliance Officer Rod Visser, 245-2550 Acting Human Resource Director Allison Newcomer, 245-2555 Employment Manager PURPOSE: To adopt a revised Affirmative Action Program and receive the Affirmative Action Program Report for the period ending December 31,.2006,. BACKGROUND: Executive Order 11246 prohibits federal contractors with contracts in excess of $10,000 and their subcontractors from discriminating in employment decisions based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin and requires that federal contractors take affirmative actions to ensure that all aspects of their employment practices provide equal employment opportunities for current and prospective employees. Executive Order 11246 further requires that non-construction contractors with 50 or more employees and contract of $50,000 or more develop and maintain written affirmative action Programs (AAP) which detail affirmative action programs at each of its establishments. State and local governments (or any agency, instrumentality or subdivision thereof) are exempt from the requirements of the equal employment clause in a contract and the filing and maintaining of an affirmative action Program if they do not "participate in work on or .under the contract or subcontract." For the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2006, some Orange County Departments had direct and pass-through state agency federal contracts totaling in excess of $70 million dollars. The United States Department of Labor through the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) administers and enforces Executive Order 11246. HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY'S EEO/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY • February 2, 1981 -Orange County adopts 5-0 a Resolution affirming Orange County's commitment to Equal Opportunity Employment as part of its County Personnel Practices. • February 17, 1981 -Orange County Board adopts 4-1 an Affirmative Action Program. 2 • April 19, 1983 -Commission for Women produced an Affirmative Action Report, which included ten (10) recommendations. The Board asked the County Manager to study the Report and "work with the Board to `enact the recommendations."' August 16, 1983 -The County Manager with the Commission for Woman endorsed seven of the ten recommendations. The recommendations endorsed were: (1) the development of department goals; (2) provision of training to department heads and supervisors; (3) evaluation of achievement as a part of overall job performance; (4) improvement in the selection process; (5) establishment of an active file of available minority and female applicants for selection referral; (6) implementation of routine recording procedures and inclusion of an annual report to the Board for public record; and (7) publish a report to be made available to the public. There were some questions from the Board about including persons with disabilities as a protected category. • October 3, 1983 -The Board voted 5-0 to amend the Affirmative Action Program to include Departmental Goals for all protected classes to monitor Orange County's progress. • May 6, 1985 -Affirmative Action Progress Report -The 1985 Affirmative Action Program included department goals to be achieved over afve-year period. Placement goals were established to monitor Orange County's progress in the under/over utilization of minorities and women. •~ October 5, 1981 -The Board adopts revision of the Orange County Personnel Policy, includes the Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Policy.. • March 5, 1990- Affirmative Action Report - An update was provided to the Board on Orange County's progress. Commissioner requested information on historical data, goals for persons with disabilities, and goals for County Departments. • September 17, 1991 -The Equal Employment/Affirmative Action Policy in the Orange County Personnel Ordinance was revised to its current form. • April 20, 1993 -Affirmative Action Program was accepted 5-0 by the Board of Commissioners. • April 18, 1995 -The Board adopted 5-0 an updated Affirmative Action Program and was given a report on the completed Affirmative Action Program period. • September 16, 1997 -The Board accepted 5-0 Affirmative Action Program. • November 16, 1999 - A report was provided to the Board on the completed affirmative action period. The Board accepted 5-0 the updated 1999 Affirmative Action Program. Highlights of the Revised Affirmative Action Program In addition to Executive Order 11246, the Rehabilitation Act of 1974 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and their implementing regulations require that certain federal contractors take steps to employ and advance individuals with disabilities and qualified protected veterans and that they develop and maintain a separate written affirmative action programs for these protected groups. State and local governments (or any agency, instrumentality or subdivision thereof) that do not "participate in work on or under the. contract or subcontract" are exempt from the requirements of the equal opportunity clause in contracts or subcontracts. Unlike the Executive Order 11246, the implementing regulation for the Rehabilitation Act of 1974 and the VEVRAA does not provide an exemption for local governments to maintain a written affirmative action program. Since 1981, Orange County has voluntarily adopted an Equal Opportunity Policy and an Affirmative Action Policy with regards to race and sex as promulgated by Executive Order 11246, as amended. See Orange County Personnel Ordinance, Article II, Section 1.0 Currently, Orange County does not have a separate written Affirmative Action Program that covers qualified persons with disabilities and qualified protected veterans. The attached revised Affirmative Action Program includes a Section VIII, "Equal Opportunity for Qualified Individuals with Disabilities and Qualified Protected Veterans proposal is being brought forward for your consideration and review". The revision incorporates the components required by §§ 41 CFR Part 60-2.10, 41 CFR Part 60-250 and 41 CFR Part 60-741. The section of the Program for qualified individuals with disabilities and veterans adds new areas of review such as: a review of the personnel process, a review of physical and mental qualification and class specification standards, reasonable accommodations to physical and mental limitations, harassment prevention procedures, procedures for external and internal dissemination of the policy, outreach and positive recruitment strategies, training as well as including sample Invitations to Self-Identify for both Qualified Individuals with Disabilities and Qualified Protected Veterans. Also included is the Affirmative Action Program Report that reviews the program period ending December 31, 2006. The Program Report compares the County's use of the targeted populations (minorities and women) within its workforce to the availability of the target population within the recruitment area labor force based on 2000 census data. The comparison suggested areas within the workforce of underutilization. However, in developing tentative affirmative action placement goals other factors such as turnover and recruitment experience were considered. Highlights of the Program Report • Appendix A, Workforce Analysis by Department, provides an overview of the workforce and assists county departments in identifying where women or minorities are underutilized. These charts compare Orange County Departments within the total Orange County workforce with the area recruitment workforce. Appendix K, Comparison of Department with Orange County Workforce and Recruitment Availability by EEO Category, an analysis of each County department Workforce compared to the total Orange County Workforce and area Recruitment Workforce. This analysis will identify any area of underutilization of woman and minorities within each department overall and by the eight EEO categories. 4 Summary of Affirmative Action Program Report 2007 • The four-county area comprised of Orange, Durham, Alamance, and Wake Counties defines the recruitment area. Based on 2006 applicant-flow data, this recruitment area accounts for 79.4 percent of Orange County employment applicants. • As of December 31, 2006, Orange County's workforce consisted of 801 permanent employees, 460 (57.43 percent) of these were woman. This exceeds the 47.14 percent availability of women in the recruitment area labor force. • As of December 31, 2006, Orange County's workforce consisted of 260 (32.46 percent) minority employees. This exceeds the 31.06 percent availability of minorities in the recruitment area labor force. • We did not track persons with disabilities in the Orange County workforce but the area workforce consists of 10.39 percent persons with disabilities. During the upcoming Program period Orange County will collect data from those who self-identify for reporting during the next Program period. The utilization analysis demonstrates that the County has strong minority and female representation in its workforce. Areas of particular strength includes the following EEO categories: • Office and Administrators • Professionals • Administrative Support The analysis also indicates that underutilization of women in relation to the availability date in the following categories: • Protective Services: Sworn; • Protective Services: Non-Sworn; • Skilled Craft; • Service and Maintenance; and The analysis reflects the underutilization of minorities in relation to the availability data in the following categories: • Technicians; and • Protected Services: Sworn Placement Goals and Timetables Orange County is committed to the ideal of achieving representation of the targeted populations in the workplace at least proportional to the recruitment area availability. To this end, the County: • Seeks to maintain current levels of representation of the targeted populations in EEO categories where no underutilization currently exists, and • Establishes goals and timetables for each EEO category in which underutilization of the targeted populations is indicated by the utilization analysis. • Tracks the utilization of persons with disabilities and veterans in the Orange County workforce • Will meet with each department head to review the department's workforce analysis and identify areas of underutilization and establish individual goals and timetables. RELEVANT LA1fiiS AND REGULATIONS Laws • Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 USC §793) • American with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 - • Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) of 1974 (38 USC §4212) • Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). • Equal Opportunity for Employment and Compensation by State Departments and Agencies and local Political Subdivisions (NCGS 126-16) • Retaliation by State Departments and Agencies and Local Political Subdivisions (NCGS 126-17) Regulations • 41 CFR Part 60-2 -Affirmative Action Programs • 41 CFR Part 60-250 -Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination Obligations of Contractors and Subcontractors Regarding Special Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era • 41 CFR Part 60-741 -Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination Obligations of Contractors and Subcontractors Regarding Individuals with Disabilities The Affirmative Action Program for Orange County upon approval of the Board of County Commissioners will be kept on file in the Personnel Department, at the Orange County Library and will be on the Orange County website: www.co.orange.nc.us for review by interested person. In addition, the Program will be disseminated both internally and externally and each department head and principal supervisor will receive a copy of the Program. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None RECOMMENDATIONS: The Manager recommends that the Board (1) approve the Revised Affirmative Action Program; (2) authorize the Manager to update the Affirmative Action Program Report as necessary; (3) receive the January 2007 Affirmative Action Report and (4) authorize the Chair to sign the letter transmitting the Affirmative Action Program.