MAY 9, 2000

                                                                                    Memorandum
 

TO:             Solicitor
                   Assistant Secretaries
                   Inspector General
                   Bureau Directors and Office Heads

FROM:       John Berry, Assistant Secretary - Policy

SUBJECT:  Eliminating Barriers to Diversity

For the last several months, we have had concentrated discussions about ways by which we can further enhance the diversity of our workforce. As you are aware, our progress has been very slow. We must continue finding ways to help us reach qualified diverse candidates and to ensure that they have an equal opportunity for employment with the Department. To facilitate this, I am requiring all Bureaus to review their hiring policies and practices to remove any inappropriate barriers that may exist which hinder achieving a diverse workforce. Examples of some of the most common barriers include: requiring Bureau or Washington office experience; considering candidates on fewer than all certificates; using outdated position descriptions and crediting plans; and referring too few candidates from the rating and ranking process to the selecting official.

I am sure that you and your Human Resources and Equal Opportunity staffs will be able to identify other barriers that stem from ourpractices. It is now time for renewal of our commitment to improve diversity and for us to meet the employment demands of our Departments future.

In addition to eliminating barriers, I am requiring each Bureau and Office to take more progressive action to ensure that we are making our best efforts at improving diversity. Effectively immediately, I am requiring all Bureaus and Offices to:

1. Advertise all under-represented occupations to the greatest extent possible.

2. Conduct targeted recruitment and establish Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP) applicant files for all positions in under-represented occupations that are projected to be filled.

3. Re-advertise all under-represented occupations that do not yield qualified candidates in the applicant pool from under-represented groups. No certificate will be issued to the selecting official without candidates from under-represented groups, unless approved by the Bureau Director. Prior to such approval the Bureau Director must review all applications to determine if the proposed certificate is correct. If the Bureau Director is the selecting official, the applicable Assistant Secretary is to approve.

4. Track the diversity of the applicant pool throughout the selection process and report to the Bureau Director (and subsequently to me) the trends and patterns of hiring practices.

5. Conduct exit surveys to determine why employees are leaving the Department and take appropriate actions where necessary to improve career enhancing opportunities.

6. Report to me your Bureaus implementation of upward mobility and developmental programs.

Any Departmental Manual provisions that are inconsistent with these requirements are suspended for the next six months. Bureau and Office instructions in conflict with these requirements must also be suspended for this period.  I will continue to meet with the Bureau and Office Directors on a monthly basis. At those meetings, I will review your reports on the elimination of barriers and the results of your hiring practices. I have asked Minnijean Brown-Trickey, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Workforce Diversity and Man Ban, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Human Resources to work closely with you. Success in this endeavor depends on your commitment.