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Photo: Michael Carpenter
One-Stop Career
Centers provide personalized, customer-oriented services that are responsive to
the needs of people with disabilities. |
Overview
DOL is committed to fostering workplaces that guarantee equal
opportunities and fairness to working Americans. President Bush has said,
“I will constantly speak for the values that unite our country: personal
responsibility, equal justice, and equal opportunity for everybody. These are
important common values.” DOL pursues the President’s commitment
through its efforts to help recipients of DOL financial assistance comply with
laws such as the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and
by assuring that Federal contractors afford minorities, women, individuals with
disabilities, and veterans an equal opportunity to compete for employment and
advancement.
Serving the Public
The principle underlying the civil rights and equal employment
opportunity provisions that the Department administers is that Federal tax
dollars may not be used to discriminate or to perpetuate discrimination in the
workplace or in the availability of program services
The requirement that Government contractors refrain from discriminating
in employment has been an established part of Federal contracting policy since
1941, when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, and it continues
today. The Employment Standards Administration (ESA) has the responsibility of
assuring that employers doing business with the Federal Government comply with
the equal employment opportunity and affirmative action provisions of their
contracts. ESA enforces laws and regulations protecting employees and
applicants from discrimination regardless of their gender, race, national
origin, color, religion, or status as a qualified individual with disabilities
or protected veteran.
Recipients of Federal financial assistance, such as job training and
placement service providers under the Workforce Investment Act, also must
refrain from discriminating in providing services or benefits. DOL’s
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management assures
compliance with the civil rights laws that apply to recipients of DOL financial
assistance. Education and technical assistance to the States play key roles in
promoting voluntary compliance with applicable non-discrimination laws.
Together, these equal opportunity programs serve much of the American
workforce, as more than 25 percent of the labor force in America (25 million
workers) work for Federal contractors or subcontractors, and a majority of the
American workforce qualifies for job training and/or placement services from
programs receiving financial assistance from DOL. In administering and
enforcing these anti-discrimination and equal employment opportunity laws, DOL
strives to give as many working Americans and job seekers as possible the
chance to develop their full potential and follow their dreams.
Program Costs
Net FY 2002 costs for Outcome Goal 3.2 are $117 million, an increase of
7.6 percent over FY 2001 costs. Outcome Goal 3.2 ranks eighth in cost among the
nine outcome goals, with 0.18 percent of the Department’s total costs. The
focus of this spending is to ensure that Federal contractors and States that
receive Workforce Investment Act funding achieve equal opportunity workplaces
and deliver program services in a nondiscriminatory manner.
Text version
DOL Challenges for the Future
DOL’s procedures and policies for assuring equal opportunity
workplaces must be adaptable, so they can reflect and accommodate change in
Federal contractor industries now and in the future. The Department must also
pursue avenues of cooperation — through partnerships with employers,
associations, and other Federal agencies as well as compliance assistance
— to expand equal opportunity for employees and job applicants in those
companies that have a contractual relationship with the Federal government.
To this end, the Secretary of Labor’s Opportunity Awards, the
Exemplary Voluntary Efforts Awards, and the Exemplary Public Interest
Contributions Awards Program provide a mechanism for DOL to partner with the
private sector in identifying programs of particular merit for achieving
workplaces that afford equal opportunity. Meritorious programs are then
showcased as models for other employers to follow.
DOL must also meet the challenge of continually reviewing program
activities and processes for ways to use and manage technology to achieve
greater efficiencies, improve service delivery, and lighten burden on
constituents. For example, with the increase of new, advanced, and more
affordable technology for assisting persons with disabilities, the Department
faces an important challenge to ensure that Federal contractors — as well
as those programs and agencies that prepare adults and youth for employment
— provide the necessary accommodations to support persons with
disabilities. Through several coordinated initiatives, the Department is
assisting employers and providers of job training and employment services to
improve employment options and career success for persons with disabilities in
the workforce of the 21st Century.
Foster Equal Opportunity Workplaces
Federal contractors achieve equal opportunity workplaces as
indicated by:
1. Improving the equal employment opportunity performance of Federal
contractors and subcontractors within industries where data indicate the
likelihood of equal employment opportunity problems is greatest.
2. Improving the equal employment opportunity performance of Federal
contractors and subcontractors that have had prior contact with DOL/OFCCP
through evaluations, outreach, or technical assistance.
Results: The goal was achieved. The Department fully achieved
all six indicators measuring improvements in the industries with the greatest
likelihood of equal employment opportunity problems, and the three indicators
measuring improvement by contractors and subcontractors previously
contacted.
Program Description: DOL administers nondiscrimination and equal
employment opportunity laws and regulations as they relate to Federal
contractors and subcontractors that employ a total of about 25 million workers
nationwide. The Employment Standards Administration’s Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) takes a leadership role in these
activities. The laws and regulations protect employees and job applicants
against discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin,
status as a qualified individual with disabilities or as a protected veteran.
DOL’s responsibilities in this arena span about 15,000 employers that
provide supplies and services to the Federal government, and include compliance
assistance, evaluation, and complaint investigation activities.
Analysis of Results: The Department identified two
industries—Wholesale Trade of Durable Goods, and Engineering and
Management Services—with a likelihood of equal employment opportunity
problems, and established the following indicators to measure progress in each
industry in FY 2002: 1) a one percent increase in overall compliance levels; 2)
a one percent decrease in severe (discriminatory) violations; and, 3) a one
percent increase in “focused” and “off-site” type
compliance evaluations. The same indicators and targets were established to
measure the progress of supply and service contractors and subcontractors that
had prior contact with DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs.
Employers with a Likelihood of Equal Employment Opportunity
Problems
Federal contractors and subcontractors in the Wholesale Trade of
Durable Goods and Engineering and Management Service industries employ
approximately 1.6 million workers, and were selected for attention based on
their relatively large number of establishments, their geographic distribution
throughout the country, and their compliance history with DOL. Employers in
these industries received compliance assistance to educate them on compliance
with equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination mandates and
regulations before compliance evaluations or complaint investigations were
undertaken during FY 2002. Following this intervention, the rate of overall
compliance increased by 7.53 percentage points in the Wholesale Trade of
Durable Goods establishments reviewed, and by 14.88 percentage points in the
Engineering and Management Services establishments. The rate of focused and
off-site review of records evaluations—less burdensome forms of
evaluations conducted when employers’ records indicate a significant
likelihood of compliance—increased by 16.30 percentage points for
Wholesale Trade of Durable Goods establishments and by 23.02 percentage points
in Engineering and Management Services establishments.
The number of severe violations—i.e., findings of
discrimination—uncovered in performance evaluations declined by 5.44
percentage points among Wholesale Trade of Durable Goods establishments, and
declined by 7.38 percentage points among Engineering and Management Services
establishments.
Contractors/Subcontractors Previously Contacted
All three of the performance indicators were achieved for supplies and
services contractors and subcontractors. In particular, overall compliance with
requirements increased by 10.01 percentage points, findings of discrimination
decreased by 7.09 percentage points, and the rate of focused and off-site
compliance evaluations rose 15.70 percentage points from the baseline levels
identified prior to DOL evaluations, outreach, or technical assistance. Success
in meeting these goals suggested that the Department’s compliance
assistance initiative resulted in better equal employment opportunity
performance.
The performance data used to evaluate progress toward these goals are
housed in two OFCCP systems – the Case Management System and the Executive
Information System. These systems track the compliance activity of evaluated
employers throughout the nation. At the end of each fiscal year, data from the
two systems are cross-matched to ensure accuracy in both systems.
Goal Assessment and Future Plans: In order to more clearly measure the
relationship between DOL compliance assistance and evaluation activities and
the reduction in discrimination among contractors, DOL will implement a new
goal in FY 2003 with only two indicators. The first indicator will continue the
emphasis on reducing the incidence of discrimination among Federal contractors,
and the second indicator will measure the improvement in the rate of compliance
among Federal contractors with all other regulatory requirements.
(Goal 3.2A — FY 2002 Annual Performance Plan)
Promote Equal Opportunity Under the Workforce Investment Act
States that receive DOL financial assistance under the Workforce
Investment Act provide benefits and services in a nondiscriminatory manner as
evidenced by:
- The issuance, within 180 days of the initial submission of a
State’s Methods of Administration (MOA), of a compliance determination or
a conciliation agreement which indicates that the MOA gives reasonable
guarantee that benefits and services are provided in a nondiscriminatory
manner.
- A strengthening of working relations with State agencies, through
their participation in a strategy of improving compliance assistance for
Workforce Investment Act One Stop Systems and Centers, and assessing the
effectiveness of that strategy.
Results: This goal was achieved. The Department issued timely
compliance determinations or entered into conciliation agreements within 180
days, and strengthened working relationships with State agencies.
Program Description: The Department’s Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management provides compliance
assistance, and monitors compliance with equal opportunity laws and regulations
for all entities receiving Federal financial assistance through workforce
programs administered by DOL. The first indicator for this goal assesses the
compliance of State grant recipients with equal opportunity and
nondiscrimination laws and regulations, pursuant to Section 188 of the
Workforce Investment Act, requiring the adoption of Methods of Administration
(MOA’s). MOA’s establish equal opportunity policies, procedures, and
systems that, when successfully implemented, provide a reasonable guarantee of
compliance with nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and laws and
regulations.
Analysis of Results: In FY 2002, of the 53 MOA’s required
to be approved under Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act, there were 14
remaining. During FY 2002, the Department approved 11 State MOA’s, and 3
States entered into conciliation agreements with DOL within the required 180
day period.
DOL continued to enrich its partnership with the National Association
of State Workforce Agencies’ Equal Opportunity Committee. The Equal
Opportunity Committee and the Department jointly hosted a national Equal
Opportunity conference, and the Committee assisted in the development of a
Methods of Administration’s Train-the-Trainer course.
Strategies: With the States’ Methods of Administration
approved and in effect, the Department will focus more directly on improving
nondiscriminatory access for persons with disabilities to the benefits and
services offered by the States under the Workforce Investment Act. During FY
2003, DOL will conduct technical assistance reviews of the Local Workforce
Investment Area One-Stop Career Centers in New York City and Miami for
compliance with Federal disability requirements. The Department, with the input
of State recipients, will develop and design a Disability Review Guide that
will be used as the compliance measurement tool in conducting the technical
assistance reviews. In advance of the technical assistance reviews both Local
Workforce Investment Areas will receive in-depth training on applicable Federal
disability requirements and the Disability Review Guide.
Goal Assessment and Future Plans: The strategies presented above
support new goals for FY 2003 and beyond that will measure increased access for
persons with disabilities to the full range of services offered under the
Workforce Investment Act, expanding their opportunities for successful
employment. During FY 2003, the Department will develop baselines that will
enable performance targets to be established in future years. n
(Goal 3.2B — FY 2002 Annual Performance Plan)
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