CRO Current Activities |
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Updated December 15, 2008
Contact the Civil Rights Office (CRO) for more information about current status of any activity below.
DOI-HACU Leadership Group Meeting
March 4, 2009 is the date for the next DOI-HACU Leadership Group Meeting. It will take place at the Madison Hotel in Washington, DC and immediately follows HACU's Capitol Forum. A preparation meeting is scheduled on January 7, 2009 for DOI's internal stakeholders.
EEO Roundtables
CRO is again presenting a series of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Roundtable Sessions starting in January 2009. These session topics are currently being planned to enhance understanding of civil rights matters by supervisors. The sessions provide a convenient educational venue for supervisors to raise EEO issues, concerns, questions, etc. in a confidential, open forum. Supervisors that attend a session will receive valuable information while meeting their mandatory training requirements. Please see our Calendar of Events for dates and times of the sessions.
MD-715 Corporate Committee
Earlier this year, the Commissioner authorized the creation of a "Corporate Committee" comprised primarily of
managers and supervisors to implement the Bureau of Reclamation's MD-715 Plan. The MD-715 Plan is a
management tool that requires collaboration from all levels of an organization to work toward achieving a model
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program. The RLT submitted names of primary and alternate members to
serve on the committee. The inaugural meeting of the Corporate Committee will be
scheduled in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009. A charter will be the first order of business for the committee.
Roseann Gonzales, Director of Program and Policy Services, has volunteered to serve as Executive Sponsor.
Reasonable Accommodation Procedures Directive & Standard
CRO, in coordination with the Human Resources Division and Equal Opportunity Managers, has undertaken the revision of D&S HRM 06-01—Reasonable Accommodation for Qualified Individuals with Disabilities to reflect all Departmental requirements, distinguish and clarify roles of "responsible officials", identify internal processes, and outline internal reporting requirements. The draft was recently reviewed by Reclamation EEO and HR Managers. The comments will be addressed by a team. Once the final draft is agreed upon, the D&S wil be reviewed formally internally and externally. The procedures will then be incorporated into the Reclamation Manual.
Reclamation-wide Accessibility Conference
The Civil Rights Office, Denver and Regional Accessibility Coordinators recently held the 2008 Accessibility Conference, October 21-23, 2008 hosted by the MP Region in Sacramento, CA. This learning opportunity provided training for new Access Coordinators, updates on current and proposed standards, discussed emerging accessibility program issues, and provided a policy overview. A CRO webpage to provide conference information such as presentations, handouts, and photos will be available November 7, 2008.
Additionally the Civil Rights Office, Denver and Regional Accessibility Coordinators continued working on the Guidance Manual which supplements the CRM 03-01 Directives and Standards for Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Federally Conducted Programs, Activities, and Services (Accessibility Program). Estimated completion for this document is summer 2009. Comments and suggestions for topics of particular interest and further guidance to be included in the Guidance Manual can be e-mailed to CRO.
Public Civil Rights (PCR) Interagency Policy Planning Forum Efforts to Develop Policy
The PCR Team is involved with an interagency effort to develop overarching public civil rights policy for the Department of the Interior (DOI). The first forum meeting was sponsored by Reclamation and held in Denver March 3-7, 2008. Participating bureaus include Reclamation, US Geological Survey, Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Office of Surface Mining and Minerals Management Service, as well as the Departmental Office for Civil Rights. The group convened again in May to continue work on the draft policy. The policy is currently being reviewed by Interior bureau civil rights offices. After final comments are reviewed, the policy will be issued as a Civil Rights Directive, by the Director for the Office of Civil Rights with the intention of moving the policy through the process for inclusion in the DOI Departmental Manual.
Last Update: December 19, 2008 8:40 AM