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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03091993 - 1.58 BLACK EMPLOYEES ' ASSOC=AT 'QED CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FEB 2 410 CLERK BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CONTRA COSTA CO. February 23, 1993 Mr. Phil Batchelor County Administrator Contra Costa County 651 Pine St. , 11th Floor Martinez, CA 94553 Budget Reduction Plan Position Paper Dear Mr. Batchelor: The Black Employee' s Association of Contra Costa County was established to strengthen the employment environment of African Americans in the County and address the inequity which exist with respect to hiring, retention and promotional. opportunities within the County. The purpose of this position paper is to express our concerns relative to the proposed budget reduction plans and the adverse impact they will have on affirmative action progress made in the County over the past several years. More specifically our concerns are as follows: 1. Lack of affirmative action sensitivity in the instructions to Department Heads in the development of their Budget Reduction Plans. 2. Anticipated adverse impact layoffs will have on females, 'minorities and African Americans in particular. 3. Ongoing Commitment to Affirmative Action 4. Personnel Management Regulations Restrictive Seniority Policy. It is our understanding that Employer policies or practices that have an adverse impact on employment opportunities of members of any race, sex, or ethnic group are unlawful unless justified by a defense. C''1 C, Adverse impact exist where there is a substantially different rate of selection in hiring or other employment decisions concerning retention, promotion, transfer, demotion, dismissal, or referral that works to the disadvantage of members of a race, sex, or ethnic group. There are several Federal laws and regulations the County must comply with. for example: I. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972) : Title VII prohibits discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin in any term, condition or privilege of employment. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applied to private employers in 1964, to government employers in 1972. Title VII addresses: EMPLOYMENT Section 703(A) ( 42 U. S. C. S 2000e-2(a) ) "It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer (1) To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to their compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual' s race, color, religion, sex or national origin; or (2) .To limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual' s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. " Section 703(H) ( 42 U.S.C. S 2000e-2(h) ) " . . .Nor shall it be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to give and to act upon the results of any professionally developed ability test .provided that such test, its administration or action upon the results is not designed, intended, or used to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin." II. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) CFR-45 Section 70. 4 Equal Employment Opportunity: Equal employment opportunity will be assured in the state system and Affirmative Action provided in its administration. Discrimination against any person in recruitment, examination, appointment, training, promotion, retention, discipline or any other aspect of personnel administration because of political or religious opinions or affiliations or because of race, national. origin, or other non-merit factors will be prohibited. Discrimination on the basis of age or sex or physical disability will be prohibited except where specific age, sex or physical requirements constitute a bona fide occupational qualification necessary to proper and efficient administration. III. California Fair Employment Practices Act (as amended) . The Act provides that the State of California protect the right and Opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain and hold employment without discrimination on account of race, religious creed, color, national origin, marital status, or age between ages of 40 and 65. It establishes the Fair Employment Practice Commission which has the power to receive and investigate complaints alleging discrimination in employment. As you are aware, last year over 500 vacant funded positions were eliminated. Approximately 137 employees were laid off and African Americans accounted for 21.9% of those laid off. This year we do not have vacant funded positions to significantly absorb the 1993-1994 budget deficit. The 75-100 million dollars anticipated deficit will have a devastating adverse impact on minority employees, and more specifically African Americans. According to the policy statement in the County' s Affirmative Action Plan adopted by the Board of Supervisors "It is also the policy of the County to comply with applicable local, state and federal statutes concerning equal employment opportunity" . Therefore, the County has no discretion regarding compliance with federal and state mandates without the risk of being penalized. It is important to note that the 1975 Consent Decree approved by the Honorable Stanley A. Weigel, United States District Judge, has not been dismissed, thus remains active under the supervision of the Court. This Federal Court Order mandates the County to implement the requirements in the order as the County' s Affirmative Action Program. What is alarming to us is the detailed report commonly referred to as the "January 28, 1993 - 73 recommendations Board Order" and the Budget Reduction Plan instructions dated February 4, 1993 , neither document directly or indirectly mentioned affirmative action concerns or considerations. This clearly represents a lack of sensitivity to affirmative action mandates. Now that we have openly and honestly expressed our concerns, we the Black Employees Association want to know, what are the County' s plans regarding addressing the affirmative action issues raised in this position paper? If our organization can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to call on us. Sincerely, Sincerely, y ?Incoming Presi nt Outgoing President cc: Contra Costa County Department Heads