Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Policy
Printer-Friendly Version
Adopted: January 8, 1997
http://www.nantucket-ma.gov/Pages/NantucketMA_HR/employees/policies/affirm
I. POLICY STATEMENT
The Town of Nantucket, recognizing the right of an individual to work and to advance on the basis of merit, ability and potential without regard to race, gender, color, mental or physical limitation, religious creed, national origin or ancestry, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status or maiden name, or political affiliation, resolves to take Affirmative Action measures to ensure equal opportunity in the areas of hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, recruitment, layoff, termination, rate of compensation, in-service or apprenticeship training programs, and all terms and conditions of employment.
Nondiscrimination and equal opportunity are the policy of the Town of Nantucket in all of its programs and activities. To that end, all Town of Nantucket employees shall rigorously take affirmative steps to ensure equality of opportunity in the internal affairs of all agencies, as well as in their relations with the public, including those persons and organizations doing business with any agency of the Town of Nantucket. Each agency, in discharging its statutory responsibilities, shall consider the likely effects that its decisions, programs and activities shall have in meeting the goal of equality of opportunity.
Affirmative action requires more than vigilance in the elimination of discriminatory barriers on the grounds of race, gender, color, mental or physical limitation, religious creed, national origin or ancestry, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status or maiden name, or political affiliation. It must also entail positive and aggressive measures to ensure equal opportunity in internal personnel practices and in those programs which can affect persons outside of town government. This affirmative action shall include efforts necessary to remedy the effects of present and past discriminatory patterns and any action necessary to guarantee equal opportunity for all people. -NANTUCKET BOARD OF SELECTMEN
II. DISSEMINATION OF POLICY
The Town of Nantucket recognizes the importance of communicating its EEO policies and procedures to employees and prospective employees. To ensure the dissemination of these policies, the Town has taken, or will take, the following action:
Internal Dissemination
1. Written communication from the Affirmative Action officer reemphasizing the Town's commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action is posted throughout Town buildings.
2. A copy of the Town's Affirmative Action Policy Statement shall be provided upon request to all job applicants.
3. Hold meetings with department managers to discuss EEO programs.
4. Report progress of the Affirmative Action Program annually.
External Dissemination
1. Inform recruitment sources of the Town of Nantucket's Equal Employment Opportunity policy.
2. Work with local community agencies to assure that females and minorities are aware of openings and are submitting applications. These agencies include: See Affirmative Action Mailing List (Appendix 1)
3. Distribute job posting bulletins listing all current openings, job duties, qualifications and general information to community organizations serving minority and female applicants.
4. Include an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action clause in all employment advertisements.
III. Responsibility For Implementation
A. EEO Administrator
The Town's Personnel Officer shall be the EEO Administrator. In this capacity, he/she is responsible for the following:
1. Developing policy statements, affirmative action programs and both internal and external communication programs.
2. Ensuring the consistency and completeness of the Town of Nantucket's Affirmative Action Plan with federal, state and local agencies' rules and regulations.
3. Assisting department managers in collecting and analyzing employment data identifying problem areas, and developing programs to address any problem areas.
4. Designing, implementing and monitoring internal audit and reporting systems to measure program effectiveness, and to determine where progress has been made and where further action is needed.
5. Serving as a liaison between the Town of Nantucket government regulatory agencies, minority and women's organizations, and other community groups serving women and minorities.
6. Ensuring that current legal information affecting affirmative action is disseminated to appropriate personnel.
B. Managers and Supervisors
Department managers have the ultimate responsibility for decisions affecting progress toward removing barriers to equal employment opportunities. Their responsibilities include:
1. Assisting in identifying problem areas.
2. Reviewing qualifications of all employees to ensure that minorities and women are given full opportunity for transfers and promotions.
3. Taking action to prevent harassment of all employees.
4. Conducting and supporting career counseling for all staff members.
5. Ensuring that posters and notices concerning EEO/AA are properly displayed.
6. Ensuring that minority and female employees are afforded full employment opportunities and are encouraged to participate in all Town-sponsored educational, training, and social activities.
7. Ensuring that their department fully complies with the spirit and policies of the Affirmative Action Program.
IV. Execution of Affirmative Action Programs
The following programs have been designed to meet the Town of Nantucket's affirmative action goals:
1. A list of community employment agencies providing referral services to women and minorities has been developed.
2. The employment opportunities shall be advertised in area newspapers whose readership includes the local community. All recruitment advertisements will continue to state "Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action."
3. Women and minorities will continue to be encouraged to take advantage of the Town's tuition reimbursement program (provided funding is available) as part of an ongoing effort to assist them in gaining the training and education requirements that may be necessary to qualify for positions of higher responsibility.
V. Internal Audit and Reporting System
To assure that the Town of Nantucket's Affirmative Action Program is fully implemented and is progressing toward accomplishing its goal of providing equal opportunity, the following internal audit system has been established:
1. All employment activities are monitored including, but not limited to, the following:
Applicant Flow
Transfers/Promotions
Salary Actions
Terminations
In-House Bidding
2. Detailed data on the above-listed areas is compiled by department managers quarterly and is submitted to the Affirmative Action Officer for review.
3. Staff meetings are held by the Affirmative Action Officer to update department heads on affirmative action issues and to identify and resolve problem areas.
4. A summary of key activities and accomplishments in implementing the affirmative action plan is submitted to the Town Administrator semi-annually.
VI. Support of Community Action Programs
The Town of Nantucket actively seeks to support community action programs designed to improve job skills and/or employment opportunities for all protected classes.
VII. Compliance With Sex Discrimination Guidelines
The Town of Nantucket seeks to comply with all state and federal laws regarding nondiscrimination. The Town reaffirms its commitment to give attention to the special following concerns associated with equal treatment on the basis of gender:
Recruitment
Applicants from both genders will be sought for all vacancies unless gender is a bona fide occupational qualification.
Personnel Policies and Practices
The Town of Nantucket ensures that women are treated equally with men in all aspects of employment. All written personnel policies and job practices related to opportunities, pay rates, hours or other working conditions will state that no employee will be discriminated against based on gender.
Similarly, no distinction will be made between married and unmarried persons of one gender that is not also made for the opposite gender; or differences in mandatory or optional retirement age based on gender.
Seniority
No seniority list or system will be maintained based solely on gender.
Compensation and Promotion
All employees will be paid and promoted on the basis of the job-related skill, effort and responsibility required as well as the working conditions, competitive market forces and performance factors. Gender will not be considered in pay and promotion decisions.
Pregnancy and Related Medical Conditions
The Town of Nantucket will not discriminate against employees on the basis of pregnancy or related medical condition.
VIII. Harassment: Sexual, Racial, Religious, Age
Harassment of any kind is not productive and does not belong in a work setting. Any individual who is subjected to verbal or non-verbal abuse relating to gender, race, religion or age or who experiences sexually-orientated physical touching is expected to report it immediately to his or her supervisor or the Personnel Officer. Any individual who is aware of such verbally or physically abusive conditions should report such activity to his or her supervisor immediately.
XI. Consideration of Minorities and Females Not In The Workforce
The Town of Nantucket will consider, for employment, qualified women and minorities not currently in the workforce who can be recruited through affirmative action efforts.
X. Affirmative Action Plan For The Disabled
General
The Town of Nantucket supports community programs designed to provide employment opportunities for the disabled. Recognizing that disabled individuals are a valuable human resource, the Town of Nantucket has formalized its support of these programs by implementing an affirmative action plan for the employment and advancement of qualified disabled individuals.
Definition of Disabled Applicants and Employees
The law defines "Disabled Individual" as any person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities, (2) has a record of such impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment. For purposes of this section, a disabled individual is "substantially limited" if he or she is likely to experience difficulty in securing retaining or advancing in employment because of a disability.
Consideration of Qualifications
All applicants applying for employment with the Town of Nantucket are invited to voluntarily identify themselves as disabled and indicate any reasonable accommodation that may be made to enable them to perform a job that they would not otherwise be able to do.
If a disabled applicant or employee is not selected for employment, promotion or training, the reason for the non-selection is documented and maintained in the personnel file, or with the application.
Whenever an accommodation is made for the hire, promotion or training of a disabled individual, a description of the accommodation is documented and kept with the personnel file, or with the application.
Physical and Mental Requirements
Job requirements are reviewed and updated periodically to ensure that they are realistic and do not contain unnecessary qualifications which serve to screen out disabled individuals.
Accommodations to Physical and Mental Limitations of Employees
The Town of Nantucket will try to reasonably accommodate the physical and mental limitations of qualified, disabled applicants or employees so as to ensure that each one is afforded equal opportunity for employment and advancement. In determining the degree of accommodations that may be reasonably undertaken, business necessity and expenses will be considered with such other related factors as: efficiency, health and safety, the essential functions of each specific job. Each decision regarding accommodations will be determined on an individual basis.
Dissemination
(See Affirmative Action Plan for Minorities/Women)
Responsibility for Implementation
(See Affirmative Action Plan for Minorities/Women)
Development and Execution of Affirmative Action Programs
At least annually, all aspects of selection, training and promotion are reviewed to ensure freedom from stereotyping disabled persons that limits their access to jobs for which they are qualified.
Disabled employees are encouraged to participate in community-sponsored programs designed to provide career-related information.
XI. Description of the Employment System
The intent of the employment system is to promote the following objectives in the following order of priority:
1. To insure efficient operation by attracting, hiring and retaining the most qualified employees.
2. To provide upward mobility to all employees in the system.
3. To aggressively advance the progress of the Town's affirmative action objectives.
4. To provide employment opportunities to all applicants.
To this end the following employment system has been established in order to increase and monitor activities associated with the above goals:
VACANCIES
Notice of Vacancy to Affirmative Action Officer: Whenever a position is vacated, the supervisor shall notify the Affirmative Action Officer of the vacancy regardless of whether the position is to be filled. If the termination is due to voluntary resignation, a copy of the employee's resignation shall be forwarded to the Affirmative Action Officer.
Request to Post/Advertise Vacancy: All requests for posting and/or advertising vacancies shall be directed to the Town Administrator. Every posting and advertisement shall contain the following wording:
The Town of Nantucket is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Applications from Women and Minorities are Encouraged.
The Affirmative Action Officer shall approve all postings/advertisements prior to their release. A copy of same shall be retained by the Affirmative Action Officer for use as a source of data for the "Hiring" section of the quarterly report to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
Job Descriptions: A current job description shall be attached to each request for posting/advertising. Any time a new job description is created or an existing one is modified, the Affirmative Action Officer shall review and approve the description prior to its submission to the Personnel Board or other applicable authority for acceptance. The Affirmative Action Officer shall be responsible to ensure the job description is consistent with the Town's affirmative action plan, including assurance that all stated hiring requirements are consistent with the performance requirements of the position and do not pose any undo restrictions that may prevent women and minorities from applying or being hired for the position.
INTERVIEW PROCESS
Responsibility: The party responsible for interviewing and recommending candidates for employment is expected to exercise professional judgment in selecting the most qualified individual for the position under consideration.
Contacting Potential Qualified Applicants: The party responsible for interviewing shall attempt to contact and interview all individuals identified by the Affirmative Action Officer as potential qualified affirmative action applicants. The person interviewing shall DOCUMENT all contacts and attempted contacts on the list provided by the Affirmative Action Officer. The list shall be returned to the Affirmative Action Officer at the time a hiring recommendation is made.
Employment Application: EVERY APPLICANT FOR A POSITION MUST COMPLETE AN EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION FORM. Previous applications which are less than three (3) months old may be used, but should be reviewed for completeness and accuracy.
Data Sheet: An affirmative action data sheet shall be made available to each job applicant. This form may be voluntarily completed by the applicant.
Evaluation and Assessment Tools: Every effort shall be made to base the selection based on objective criteria. In the event some form of measurement or evaluation tool is used, the tool must be approved by the Affirmative Action Officer prior to its use. The Affirmative Action Officer's role is to ensure that the use and content of evaluation instruments is consistent with the performance requirements of the position, and do not pose any undo restrictions that may prevent women and minorities from applying or being hired for the position. Any such tool used for one candidate must be equally applied for all candidates.
Information Provided to Applicants: At the time of the interview, every interviewee shall be provided with a copy of the job description for the position he or she is seeking, a summary of the Town's employment system and the EEO grievance procedure.
SELECTION and HIRING
Affirmative Action Officer Review of Recommendation: Once a selection has been made, the following information must be submitted to the Affirmative Action Officer prior to the appointment being made:
1. All Data Sheets (Included with Employment Application Form)
2. A listing of potential qualified Affirmative Action applicants with documentation of all contacts made and attempted;
3. The selected candidate's name along with supporting information.
Failure to submit any of the above material shall result in the recommendation being returned to the sender without Affirmative Action Officer approval. Should there be a question, issue, or concern on the part of the Affirmative Action Officer, the Affirmative Action Officer will contact the sender.
Appointment: Upon approval of the selection, the Affirmative Action Officer shall sign off on the Characteristic Summary Sheet and forward the information to the Appointing Authority. If the selection is not approved by the Affirmative Action Officer, the Appointing Authority shall be notified of the rejection and the reason why candidates are being rejected.
XII. Affirmative Action Grievance Procedure
The Town of Nantucket has established the following procedure specifically to address resolution of grievances resulting from action prohibited by the Town's Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Policy. The use of this procedure does not preclude separate or concurrent action by a grievant from utilizing other remedies available, including those established by collective bargaining agreements, the Town of Nantucket's Personnel Bylaw, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Application: This procedure applies to all alleged grievances in employment where it is alleged that differential treatment was evidenced on the basis of race, gender, color, mental or physical limitation, religious creed, national origin or ancestry, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status or maiden name, or political affiliation.
Eligibility: All applicants for employment and employees of the Town of Nantucket who allege violation of the Affirmative Action Plan may submit a grievance under this procedure.
Coverage: Where a dispute exists as to whether a particular matter is subject to this procedure, the Town reserves the right to make final judgment on such question through its Affirmative Action Officer. In general, this procedure shall not apply where the appealing party is not involved or where issues of discrimination or harassment are not involved.
Grievance Procedure:
1. The aggrieved party should first discuss the grievance concerning the alleged violation of the Affirmative Action Plan within ten (10) days of the alleged violation with his or her immediate supervisor, who shall attempt to resolve same.
2. If the grievance is unresolved after ten (10) days of first notification, the aggrieved party may discuss same with his or her department head or appointing authority, who shall attempt to resolve same within the next ten (10) days.
3. If circumstances prevent (1) or (2), or if it remains unresolved, the aggrieved party may discuss the grievance with the Town of Nantucket Personnel Board.
4. If there is determined to be a violation of the Affirmative Action Plan, the Affirmative Action Officer will cause a review of the grievance and resolve same through enforcement of the Affirmative Action Plan or other available means, within fifteen (15) working days of notification in (3) above.
5. If the grievance involves a question of judgment or opinion not covered by personnel policies, the Affirmative Action Officer may counsel with the employee or applicant, the supervisor and/or department head, or appointing authority to resolve the grievance, if possible.
6. Retaliatory action of any kind taken by an employee of the Town against another employee or applicant as a result of that person's seeking redress under these procedures, cooperating in an investigation, or otherwise participating in any proceeding under these procedures is prohibited and shall be regarded as a separate and distinct grievable matter under these procedures.
The Affirmative Action Officer shall be granted the authority to carry out the following activities under the direction of the Board of Selectmen:
1. To receive and attempt to resolve grievances on an informal basis.
2. To provide aggrieved persons with information on equal opportunity procedures including local, state and federal redress procedures.
3. To make every effort to resolve the problem informally. To this end, the Affirmative Action Officer may assist in the resolution of the problem. The aggrieved person has the right to be accompanied, represented and advised by a representative or attorney of their choice. If the aggrieved person and/or their representative is an employee of the Town, they shall be given a reasonable amount of time during the work day to prepare and present a request for resolution of the grievance.
An aggrieved party may also contact either the MCAD or the EEOC.
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD)
One Ashburton Place - Room 601
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 727-3990 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
One Congress Street, Suite 1001
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 565-3200
The Town of Nantucket Affirmative Action Officer can be reached at the following location:
Personnel Officer
Town & County Building
16 Broad Street
Nantucket, MA 02554
(508) 228-7255
Appendix 1
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION MAILING LIST
1. Department of Employment and Training
77 High School Road Extension
Hyannis, MA 02601
No comments:
Post a Comment