AFFIRMATIVE ACTION GUIDELINES SHOULD BE

1. Revised annually.

2. Contain annual percentage goal based on availability of workforce.

3. An annual numerical goal must be set. This is based on the application of the annual percentage goal to the number of anticipated openings for that year.

EFFECTIVE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLANS CONTAIN

1. Written affirmative action policy statement

2. Senior official to direct the program

3. Wide communication of EEO/AA policies

4. Expanded recruitment of qualified underrepresented group members

5. Redesign of jobs to eliminate underrepresented group barriers

6. Development of job-related selection practices

7. Training programs for supervisors

8. Career counseling for underrepresented group member employees

THREE REASONS TO ADOPT AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM

1. A government contractor (private sector)

2. Lost a discrimination case or entered into a consent degree (private sector)

3. Attempting to implement a voluntary program (public sector)

VOLUNTARY AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM

1. The plan doesn’t violate the interests of nonprotected employees

2. The plan doesn’t require the discharge of any nonprotected employees and their replacement with minority group employees

3. The plan does not create an absolute bar to the advancement of nonprotected group employees.

4. The plan is a temporary measure, not intended to maintain a protected group balance but simply to eliminate a manifest protected group imbalance.

NEW AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OBLIGATIONS

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) revised the Affirmative Action regulations effective December 13, 2000. These apply to any federal contractor with more than 50 employees and more than $50,000 in annual federal contracts. (Executive Order 11246)

New Workforce Analysis Requirements (now a two-factor test vs. former eight-factor test) Organizations are allowed to continue the former eight-factor test if they choose.)

Availability Analysis of women and minorities in each of the job contractor’s job groups. Now only required to look at external availability and internal availability of women and minorities.

Job Groups – employers with less than 150 employees may use the job groups designated in the EEO-1 reporting rather than being required to create particular job groups tailored to their own organization. Examples of common groups are Professional, Technical/Paraprofessional, Clerical, Executive, Skilled Craft, and Services.

Definition of Applicant – a broader definition of job applicant requires employers to maintain ethnicity, race, and gender data on all applicants (when possible) regardless if they possess the minimum qualifications for the job.

NEW TWO FACTOR ANALYSIS

A streamline approach to measuring workforce availability

1. Percentage of minorities and women with requisite skills in the reasonable recruitment area

2. Percentage of minorities and women among those promotable or transferable within the establishment

OLD EIGHT FACTOR ANALYSIS

The employer’s affirmative action plan must contain a utilization analysis with regard to minorities, in which the contractor must consider all of the following eight factors:

1. Minority population of the labor area surrounding the facility.

2. Size of the minority unemployment force in the area.

3. Percentage of the minority workforce as compared with the total
   area workforce.

4. General availability of minorities in the area having the
   requisite skills.

5. Availability of minorities having requisite skills in an area in
   which the contractor can “reasonably recruit”.

6. Availability of promotable and transferable minorities/women
   within the employer’s organization.

7. Existence of training institutions which train workers in the
   requisite skills.

8. Degree of training that the contractor is able to offer to make
   jobs available to minorities.

The wording of the eight-factor analysis for women is basically the same, except that in one of the factors, the guidelines advise employers to consider the availability of women in the labor or recruitment area “seeking employment”.

If underutilization is found, the employer must take action to correct the problem, and must set specific goals and timetables that are “significant, measurable,” and “reasonably” attainable by means of applying “every good faith effort” to make the affirmative action program work.