The Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinating Council was
established by act of Congress in 1972, and charged with responsibility
for developing and implementing agreements and policies
designed, among other things, to eliminate conflict and inconsistency
among the agencies of the Federal Government responsible for
administering Federal law prohibiting discrimination on grounds of race,
color, sex, religion, and national origin. This statement is issued as
an initial response to the requests of a number of State and local
officials for clarification of the Government's policies concerning the
role of affirmative action in the overall equal employment opportunity
program. While the Coordinating Council's adoption of this statement
expresses only the views of the signatory agencies concerning this
important subject, the principles set forth below should serve as policy
guidance for other Federal agencies as well.
(1) Equal employment opportunity is the law of the land. In the
public sector of our society this means that all persons, regardless of
race, color, religion, sex, or national origin shall have equal access
to positions in the public service limited only by their ability to do
the job. There is ample evidence in all sectors of our society that such
equal access frequently has been denied to members of certain groups
because of their sex, racial, or ethnic characteristics. The remedy for
such past and present discrimination is twofold.
On the one hand, vigorous enforcement of the laws against
discrimination is essential. But equally, and perhaps even more
important are affirmative, voluntary efforts on the part of public
employers to assure that positions in the public service are genuinely
and equally accessible to qualified persons, without regard to their
sex, racial, or ethnic characteristics. Without such efforts equal
employment opportunity is no more than a wish. The importance of
voluntary affirmative action on the part of employers is underscored by
title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246, and
related laws and regulations--all of which emphasize voluntary action to
achieve equal employment opportunity.
As with most management objectives, a systematic plan based on sound
organizational analysis and problem identification is crucial to the
accomplishment of affirmative action objectives. For this reason, the
Council urges all State and local governments to develop and implement
results oriented affirmative action plans which deal with the problems
so identified.
The following paragraphs are intended to assist State and local
governments by illustrating the kinds of analyses and activities which
may be appropriate for a public employer's voluntary affirmative action
plan. This statement does not address remedies imposed after a finding
of unlawful discrimination.
(2) Voluntary affirmative action to assure equal employment
opportunity is construction of any affirmative action plan should be an
analysis of the employer's work force to determine whether precentages
of sex, race, or ethnic groups in individual job classifications are
substantially similar to the precentages of those groups available in
the relevant job market who possess the basic job-related
qualifications.
When substantial disparities are found through such analyses, each
element of the overall selection process should be examined to determine
which elements operate to exclude persons on the basis of sex, race, or
ethnic group. Such elements include, but are not limited to,
recruitment, testing, ranking certification, interview, recommendations
for selection, hiring, promotion, etc. The examination of each element
of the selection process should at a minimum include a determination of
its validity in predicting job performance.
(3) When an employer has reason to believe that its selection
procedures have the exclusionary effect described in paragraph 2 of this
section, it should initiate affirmative steps to remedy the situation.
Such steps, which in design and execution may be race, color, sex, or
ethnic ``conscious,'' include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) The establishment of a long-term goal, and short-range, interim
goals and timetables for the specific job classifications, all of which
should take into account the availability of basically qualified persons
in the relevant job market;
(b) A recruitment program designed to attract qualified members of
the group in question;
(c) A systematic effort to organize work and redesign jobs in ways
that provide opportunities for persons lacking ``journeyman'' level
knowledge or skills to enter and, with appropriate training, to progress
in a career field;
(d) Revamping selection instruments or procedures which have not yet
been validated in order to reduce or eliminate exclusionary effects on
particular groups in particular job classifications;
(e) The initiation of measures designed to assure that members of
the affected group who are qualified to perform the job are included
within the pool of persons from which the selecting official makes the
selection;
(f) A systematic effort to provide career advancement training, both
classroom and on-the-job, to employees locked into dead end jobs; and
(g) The establishment of a system for regularly monitoring the
effectiveness of the particular affirmative action program, and
procedures for making timely adjustments in this program where
effectiveness is not demonstrated.
(4) The goal of any affirmative action plan should be achievement of
genuine equal employment opportunity for all qualified persons.
Selection under such plans should be based upon the ability of the
applicant(s) to do the work. Such plans should not require the selection
of the unqualified, or the unneeded, nor should they require the
selection of persons on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or
national origin. Moreover, while the Council believes that this
statement should serve to assist State and local employers, as well as
Federal agencies, it recognizes that affirmative action cannot be viewed
as a standardized program which must be accomplished in the same way at
all times in all places.
Accordingly, the Council has not attempted to set forth here either
the minimum or maximum voluntary steps that employers may take to deal
with their respective situations. Rather, the Council recognizes that
under applicable authorities, State and local employers have flexibility
to formulate affirmative action plans that are best suited to their
particular situations. In this manner, the Council believes that
affirmative action programs will best serve the goal of equal employment
opportunity.
Respectfully submitted,
Harold R. Tyler, Jr.,
Deputy Attorney General and Chairman of the Equal Employment
Coordinating Council.
Michael H. Moskow,
Under Secretary of Labor.
Ethel Bent Walsh,
Acting Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Robert E. Hampton,
Chairman, Civil Service Commission.
Arthur E. Flemming,
Chairman, Commission on Civil Rights.
Because of its equal employment opportunity responsibilities under
the State and Local Government Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972 (the
revenue sharing act), the Department of Treasury was invited to
participate in the formulation of this policy statement; and it concurs
and joins in the adoption of this policy statement.
Done this 26th day of August 1976.
Richard Albrecht,
General Counsel,
Department of the Treasury.
