FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 18, 1997

CONTACT: Michael Orenstein (202) 606-1800 mworenst@opm.gov

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Janice Lachance called upon federal agencies to adopt a nine-point plan aimed at recruiting greater numbers of qualified Hispanic-Americans for federal service and improving their opportunities for management and senior executive positions.

Hispanics are the only minority group with smaller representation in the federal workforce than in the overall civilian labor force. In a report prepared for Congress earlier this year, OPM noted that Hispanics made up 6 percent of the federal workforce in 1996, compared to 10.5 percent of the civilian labor force.

As we observe National Hispanic Heritage Month, said Acting OPM Director Janice Lachance in proposing the plan, it is fitting that all agency heads and managers pause to recognize that much needs to be done to assure equality in federal employment for all citizens of the United States regardless of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Lachance announced the plan at an Hispanic Heritage Month kick-off event sponsored by Secretary of Energy Federico Peña and Xavier Becerra, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Briefly, the nine points of the OPM plan are these:

• OPM will work with federal agencies and educational institutions in identifying job opportunities to support the White House initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.

• We will increase federal job vacancy information to students, faculty and the Hispanic community.

• We will expand the use of the Presidential Management Intern program to recruit and hire more Hispanic college graduates.

• OPM will assist the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) by coordinating placement of interns across federal agencies.

• We will work with agencies to use the Student Employment Program to identify job opportunities for Hispanic students.

• OPM will help agencies develop mentoring programs to encourage young Hispanics to enter federal careers.

• We will promote the participation of Hispanics in leadership development programs.

• We will seek to ensure Hispanic Employment Program Managers are integral members of their agencys management team.

• Finally, we will emphasize our successes in OPMs Annual Report to Congress on the Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program.

Earlier this year, OPM arranged to have five member colleges of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities receive touch-screen computer kiosks that provide up-to-date federal job openings. Computers, telephone automation and the Internet are part of OPMs effort to cast a wide net as it seeks to inform and recruit qualified job seekers from all segments of society.

Earlier this week, Acting Director Lachance announced the appointment of Henry Romero as an OPM Associate Director. Romero, currently the Justice Department personnel director, will head the agencys newly established Workforce Compensation and Performance Service. A former member of the Navy Departments Advisory Council on Hispanic Employment, he will oversee the development of federal pay and compensation strategies to recruit and retain the federal workforce of the 21st century.

The complete nine-point plan is attached.

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