HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06021998 - C122 C.122
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY CALIFORNIA
Adopted this order on June 2-199a by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Uil.kema, Gerber, DeSaulnier, Canciamilla, Rogers
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
SUBJECT: GRAND JURY REPORT NO. 9803
IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the 1997y-98 Contra Costa
Grand Jury Report No. 9803, "Affirmative Action In County Hiring, " is
REFERRED to the County Administrator.
I hereby certify that this is a true
and correct copy of an action taken and
entered on the minutes of the Board of
Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: June 2, ,194$
PHIL BATCHELOR, Clerk of the Board
of Supervisors and County Administrator
By , 4 1 d-A BA Deputy
cc: CAO
Grand Jury
A REPORT BY
THE 1997-98 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY GRAND jURY
1020 Ward Street
Martinez, California 94553
Report No. 9803
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN COUNTY HIRING
Declare a Victory and Withdraw
APPROVED BY THE GRAND JURY:
Date: 1 "
A- M.
ACCEPTED FOR FILING: GRAND JURY FOREMAN
Date: .�!I yj i'8 `�
JO VAN DE POEL
E OF THE SUPERIOR COURT
r
Section 933.(C) & 933.05 California Government Code
Section 933. Comments and ReRorts on Section 933.05 Response,tg Grand Jury
Grand Jury Recommendations Rcomrnendats-Content
(C)No later than 90 days after the gram jury ftuirements. Eers„9nal&ppearance by
submits a final report on the operation of any Responding,P„urty: nd Jury,Resort
public agency subject to its reviewing authority, to Affected Agnm
the governing body of the public agency shalt (a)For purposes of subdivision(c)of
comment to the presiding judge of the superior Section 933,as to each grand jury finding,the
court on the findings and recommendations responding person or entity shall indicate one of
pertaining to matters under the control of the the following;
governing body,and every elective county (1)The respondent agrees with'the finding,
officer or agency head for which the grand jury (2)The respondent disagrees wholly or partially
has responsibility pursuant to Section 914.1 with the finding,in which case the response
shall ctnwmt within 60 days to the presiding shall specify the portion of the finding that is
judge Of the superior court,with an information disputed and shall include an explanation of the
copy sent to the board of supervisors,on the reasons therefor.
findings and recommendations pertaining to (B)For purposes of subdivision(c)of
matters under the control of that county officer section 933,as to each grand jury
or agency head and any agency or agencies recommendation,the responding person or
which that officer or agency head supervises or entity shall report on of the following actions;
ccMttrols,in the findings and recommendations, (1)The recommendation has been implemented,
All such courts and reports shall forthwith with a summary regarding the implemented
be submitted to the presiding judge of the action.
superior court who impaneled the grand jury. A (2)The recomrrdation has not yet been
copy of all responses to grand jury reports shall implemented,but will be implemented in the
be placed on file with the clerk of the public future,with a timeframe for implementation.
agency and the office of county clerk,or the (3)The recommendation requires further
mayor when applicable,and shall remain on file analysis,with and explanation of the scope and
in those offices. One copy shall be placed on file parameters of an analysis or study,and a
with the applicable grand jury final report by, tirneftrre for the matter to be prepared for
and in the control of the currently impaneled discussion by the officer or director of the
grand jury,where it shall be maintained for a agency or department being investigated or
minimum of five years. Leg.H.1961 ch. 1284, reviewed, including the governing body of the
1963 ch.674, 1974 chs. 393,1396, 1977 chs. public agency when applicable.'This timeframe
107, 187, 1980 ch. 543, 1981 char. 203, 1982 ch, shalt not exceed six months from the date of
1408 sec. 5, 1985 ch.221 sec.1,off. 7112185 ch publication of the grand jury report.
690 sec. 1, 1988 ch. 1297,1997 ch.443 (4)The recommendation will not be
implemented because it is not warranted or is
not reasonable,with an explanation therefor.
The foregoing are portions of Section 933,the responding party is responsible for compliance with
all of the requirements.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN COUNTY HIRING
Declare a Victory and Withdraw
Background:
Since 1975 Contra Costa County has been hiring and promoting personnel under a
Consent Free issued by a federal district judge. The Consent Decree is the result of an
agreement among patties to a lawsuit brought against the County for"an alleged pattern
and practice of employment discrimination against females and persons of racial and
ethnic minority status,"although the Court issued no findings substantiating any of the
allegations.
Findings:
1. Contra Costa County in September 1997 suspended its affirmative action program in
awarding construction contracts. However,the County continues to use affirmative
action goals in personnel hiring and promotion,operating under the 1975 Consent
Decree.
2. The Consent Decree states in part: "It is the goal of the parties that the percentage of
minorities and females employed in each job classification and each department in
county employment reflect the supply of qualified members of minority groups and
females in the workforce in Contra Costa County." Imbalance is deemed to exist when
employment numbers are less than 8€9%of the number representative of the percentage in
the population qualified for a given job classification who"are willing to apply for
county employment."
3. Census data are used to determine numbers of minority and female workers available
in the population of Contra Costa County. Census information also is used by the state
Employment,Development Department(EDD)for affirmative action purposes.
4. The Consent Decree rewires recruitment efforts designed to attract minority and
female applicants. The County has developed an outreach plan which includes
distribution of job announcements to about 1200 outlets including colleges and
community groups,as well as to EDD offices. Staff members work with minority groups
and maintain job postings in special locations to reach minority populations.
S. The Consent Decree requires the County to have an Affirmative Action Meer. That
position currently is filled and is supported by clerical staff, In addition,members of the
Human Resources Department staff provide administrative support for the affirmative
action Program,and each County department has an affirmative action coordinator.
3803-1
6. The County reports annually to the Board of Supervisors on the results of the
affirmative action program. The 1996 report,issued October 9, 1997,is a 100+ page
report which states in the cover memorandum that the program"has been successful."
Overall goals and county workforce realization at the end of 1996 as cited in the report
are as follows;
1994 Labor Force 12/31/96 County
Hispanics 10.5% 9.7%
African Americans 7.6 14.2
Asian/Pacific Islanders 8.9 8.4
American Indians/Alaskan Natives .ft_ .8
o
Females 45.4% 62.6%
The percentages are even greater for minorities and women in the County workforce
numbers update for the end of 1997.
These tabor force percentage goals were applied for each group against County
workforce realization percentages in each of eight occupational categories-
officials/administrators,professionals,technicians,protective service workers,para-
professionals,administrative support workers,skilled craft workers,and
service/maintenance workers.
7. The Affirmative Action Progress Report applies the overall percentages of race/gender
groups in the labor farce to each County job category in determining whether
representation goals were met. Census data for Contra Costa County by race/gender and
jab category are available but are not cited in the report. Census Department
occupational categories do not entirely match County job categories.
8. The luring process for some County jobs includes"stratified random selection." For
example,2,889 candidates applied in response to the latest Firefighter vacancy
announcement,from which 15 were hired. The"stratified random selection"included in
the process to reduce the number of candidates is as follows:
• Percentages of race and bender in the original applicant pool are preserved.
• A written test is administered. Test results are pass/fail only,not ranked.'
• From the group of applicants who pass the written test,a reduced number must be
selected for the agility test.
• This selection is done using a computer program to group dictates into racelgender
categories and then to randomly select the requisite number of candidates from each
category. This reduced number.must reflect the same race/gender distribution as in
the original applicant pool.
9803-2
4 {
9. The Consent Decree provides that either party after five years may apply to the Court
for an order vacating the Decree on the ground that no further Court supervision is
required. The Decree has been in effect more than 22 years.
Conclusions:
1. By the County's description,the affirmative action program"has been successful."
This statement is supported by overall workforce numbers by raceJgender,although not
necessarily by job category for each race/gender group. it is fair to conclude that"further
supervision by the Court is not necessary,"which is the reason cited in the Consent
:Decree for requesting lifting of the agreement.
2. Removal of staffing and other requirements of the Consent Decree which have
financial costs could result in redirection of resources.
3. In some jobs,the quality of applicants is sacrificed for affirmative action. For
example,Firefighter candidates with higher than minimum qualifications may be passed
over no matter what race/gender group they belong to in the torturous hiring process.
Candidates=selected in the"stratified random selection"used might have education
above the high school level or job-related qualifications such as firefighter,emergency
medical technician or paramedic certification for which they receive no credit,
Candidates who=selected randomly from the protected race/gender groin and who
have greater than minimum qualifications can cite them in the later interview Mages of
the hiring,process.
Other jabs for which"stratified random selection"has been used include Institutional
Services Aide,Custodian,and Laborer.
Recommendations:
The 193798 Contra Costa County Grand Jury recommends that.
I. The County petition federal district court to lift the 1975 Consent Decree.
2. The County continue to recruit broadly to attract candidates from all groups in the
population.
3. The County hire and promote the best qualified candidates,regardless of gear and
race or ethnicity.
9803-3