Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report on the Operations and Accomplishments of the Office of the General Counsel

[Excerpt] The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) to give litigation authority to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and provide for a General Counsel, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for 4-year term, with responsibility for conducting the Commission\u27s litigation program. Following transfer of enforcement functions from the U.S. Department of Labor to the Commission under a 1978 Presidential Reorganization Plan, the General Counsel became responsible for conducting Commission litigation under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). With the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the General Counsel became responsible for conducting Commission litigation under the employment provisions of that statute (Title I; effective July 1992). The mission of EEOC’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) is to conduct litigation on behalf of the Commission to obtain relief for victims of employment discrimination and ensure compliance with the statutes that EEOC is charged with enforcing. Under Title VII and the ADA, the Commission can sue nongovernmental employers with 15 or more employees. The Commission’s suit authority under the ADEA (20 or more employees) and the EPA (no employee minimum) includes state and local governmental employers as well as private employers. Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA also cover labor organizations and employment agencies, and the EPA prohibits labor organizations from attempting to cause an employer to violate that statute. OGC also represents the Commission on administrative claims and litigation brought by agency applicants and employees, and provides legal advice to the agency on employment-related matters

Opening Doors to all Candidates: Tips for Ensuring Access for Applicants with Disabilities

[Excerpt] The goal of the hiring process is to attract and identify the individual who has the best mix of skills and attributes for the job available. Ensuring that all qualified individuals can participate in the process is key to achieving this goal. By examining their hiring procedures and implementing some simple steps, employers can widen their pool of potential talent and ensure that they do not miss out when the best person for the job happens to have a disability

Diverse Perspectives: People With Disabilities Fulfilling Your Business Goals

[Excerpt] By fostering a culture of diversity, or a capacity to appreciate and value individual differences, in all aspects of their operations, employers benefit from varied perspectives on how to confront business challenges and achieve success. Although the term is most often used to refer to differences among individuals such as ethnicity, gender, age and religion, diversity actually encompasses the infinite range of individuals’ unique attributes and experiences. As the nation’s largest minority—comprising almost 50 million individuals—people with disabilities contribute to diversity, and businesses can enhance their competitive edge by taking steps to ensure they are integrated into their workforce and customer base

Career-focused Mentoring for Youth: The What, Why, and How?

[Excerpt] When asked to describe an ideal employee, attributes such as being a hard worker, a team player, and a good communicator are frequently cited by employers as being even more important than technical expertise. According, however, to a recent survey of 461 employers conducted by the Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resources many new entrants to the workforce lack these important skills. These business leaders reported that while the three R\u27s are still fundamental to every employee\u27s ability to do the job, knowledge of applied skills is even more important. (Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce (2006)). One remedy may be found in mentoring. Career-focused mentoring provides young people the opportunity to get a glimpse of the world of work that may not otherwise be available to them. It also allows them to gain and practice skills that are useful in professional and other settings, and to prepare for life as an adult

Advancing Opportunities: Accomodations Resources for Federal Managers and Employees

[Excerpt] Every day the nation benefits from the contributions of individuals with disabilities who serve in the federal workforce. Many of these individuals are entitled to workplace adjustments, or accommodations, in order to effectively carry out their duties. A variety of resources are available to assist federal managers in making these accommodations so they can hire, retain and advance qualified individuals with disabilities. An accommodation is a modification to a work environment or job functions to enable a qualified person with a disability to benefit from the same employment opportunities and rights afforded similarly situated individuals without disabilities. The following examples illustrate accommodations in practice in the federal setting

Women of Color: Their Employment in the Private Sector

This examination of the employment status of minority women or women of color relies primarily on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission\u27s (EEOC) EEO-1 report. Characteristics of employment are examined from five different perspectives: total employment, employment by job group, employment of officials and managers, the movement of women from white collar to management positions and per capita charge rates by industry. Among the conclusions included in the report: race/ethnicity and industry both have an effect on per capita charge rates; firms in Engineering and Management Services are least likely to be the subject of a charge by each of the minority groups of women, except Asian women; Automotive Dealers and Service Stations is consistently ranked among the industries with the highest per capital charge rates; Construction-based industries, such as Special Trade Contractors and General Building Contractors, have high per capita charge rates for both African American women and Hispanic women. The highest ranked industry with highest level of per capita charges by Asian women is Apparel and Other Textile Products and for Native American women it is Social Services

Encouraging Future Innovation: Youth Entrepreneurship Education

[Excerpt] Entrepreneurs drive America’s economy, accounting for the majority of our nation’s new job creation and innovations. According to the U. S. Census Bureau’s 2002 Survey of Business Owners, self-employed individuals who have no paid employees operate three-fourths of U.S. businesses. The U. S. Small Business Administration reports that America’s 25.8 million small businesses employ more than 50 percent of the private workforce, generate more than half of the nation\u27s gross domestic product, and are the principal source of new jobs in the U.S. economy

Diversity in the Finance Industry

The Finance Industry is an important aspect of the economy including banking, credit, securities and insurance activities. It offers many well-paying jobs, and is expected to see growth in the coming years. This report examines the Finance Industry with respect to the employment of women, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and American Indians /Alaskan Natives. Of particular interest is the status of these groups in management positions. EEO-1 data is utilized to examine the subsectors of the Finance Industry. • The percentage of women officials and managers is highest in the Banking/Credit subsector (48.6 percent) and their lowest percentage is in the Securities subsector (33.8 percent). The percentage of women officials and managers in each of the subsectors falls below the percentage of women employed as professionals, which might be considered a source for management jobs. • Similar disparities between the percentage of African American officials and managers and the percentage of African American professionals are also observed. Among the Financial Industry subsectors, the percentage of African American officials and managers is highest in the Banking/Credit subsector (7.0 percent) and lowest in the Securities subsector (4.4 percent). • The percentage of Hispanic officials and managers is highest in the Central Banking subsector (5.1 percent) and lowest in the Securities subsector (2.9 percent). In all subsectors, the percentage of Hispanic officials and managers is less that the percentage of Hispanic professionals. • The highest percentage of Asian officials and managers is in the Securities subsector (6.4 percent) and the lowest percentage of Asian officials and managers is in Central Banking and Insurance (2.8 percent). Like the other groups examined, the percentage of Asian officials and managers falls below the percentage of Asian professionals in each subsector. • Employment as officials and managers is examined in more detail for each of these groups by determining their chance of being officials and managers in contrast to professionals and sales workers. This shows that each subsector has a large portion of establishments where such chances are unfavorable to women, African Americans, Hispanics and Asians when compared to white males. Entry into management may be a particular concern for Asians. • While the relative chance of being an official or manager is better in the Securities subsector for each of the groups analyzed, the low proportion of women and African American professionals in this subsector may be partly responsible for these results