WORKability II: Solutions – People with Disability in the Open Workplace

[Taken from Executive Summary] People with disability represent a significant proportion of Australia\u27s working age population (16.6%), yet they participate in the workforce at lower rates, they are less likely to be employed when they do attempt to participate, and they will earn less if they do get a job. This has been the case for a long time and the problem is not just ongoing, it seems to be getting worse. The National Inquiry into Employment and Disability (the Inquiry) was launched on 4 March 2005 to address this important issue. The Inquiry\u27s interim report - WORKability I: Barriers - makes it abundantly clear that people with disability face higher barriers to participation and employment than many other groups in Australian society. This final report - WORKability II: Solutions - focuses on how to address these barriers and ensure equality of opportunity for people with disability in the open workplace

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

Retail Distribution Centers: How New Business Processes Impact Minority Labor Markets

[Excerpt] As part of the emphasis on proactive prevention in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) Five Point Plan, this report seeks to aid retailers and similar employers in taking full advantage of America’s labor markets. Our nation’s retailers fulfill an important role in our economy and according to the EEOC’s EEO-1 reports in 2002, employ nearly 15 percent of all private sector employees. In this second in a series of reports on this important industry, this report examines a unique sector of retailing: distribution centers. In contrast to traditional warehouses, a modern distribution center is essentially an operations center, managing the flow of information and goods between retailers and suppliers through the use of standardized bar codes, high-speed conveyors, laser scanners, and computerized databases. These distribution centers represent not only a significant change in the way retail firms operate, but unlike store fronts they are often not very visible to the general public. These centers are commonly located away from central cities, either outside metropolitan areas altogether or on the edge of such areas. In searching for inexpensive land, favorable leases and low tax rates, retailers can easily lose sight of the value of a diverse workforce. This report attempts to alert retailers and others to the potential impact that distribution center location can have on the ability to develop and maintain a multi-cultural workforce. Readers, especially retailers, are encouraged to share their best practices in making location decisions for distribution centers in a manner that encourages a diverse work force

Glass Ceilings: The Status of Women as Officials and Managers in the Private Sector

The main purpose of this report is to use data from the 2002 EEO-1 Survey of Firms in Private Industry to explore the status of women in management. The research will develop some new ways of analyzing the EEO-1 data that focus on access to management positions generally, and perhaps more importantly, access to management positions at headquarter facilities. The primary contribution of these analyses of the EEO-1 survey is the ability to raise important problems and questions about gender-based discrimination given the wide variations in the types of firms and industries in the American economy. While this initial report on glass ceilings focuses on the status of women, the analyses developed here can be applied to examine minority groups

Annual Report on the Federal Work Force, Part I: EEO Complaints Processing (Fiscal Year 2010)

[Excerpt] EEOC adjudicates discrimination complaint and monitors federal agency compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws and procedures and reviews and assesses the effect of agencies’ compliance with requirements to maintain continuing affirmative employment programs to promote equal employment opportunity and to identify and eliminate barriers to equality of employment opportunity. Part I of the report covers the period from October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010 and contains selected measures of agencies’ progress toward achieving the following elements of model EEO programs: the integration of EEO into the agency’s strategic mission, efficiency, and responsiveness and legal compliance elements of model EEO programs. The fiscal year (FY) 2010 Annual Report on the Federal Work Force Part I, submitted to the President and Congress, presents a summary of selected EEO program activities of 68 federal agencies. The report provides valuable information to all agencies as they strive to become model employers

Annual Report on the Federal Work Force (Fiscal Year 2008)

[Excerpt] The EEOC is charged with monitoring federal agency compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws and procedures, and reviewing and assessing the effect of agencies’ compliance with requirements to maintain continuing affirmative employment programs to promote equal employment opportunity and to identify and eliminate barriers to equality of employment opportunity. This report covers the period from October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008 and contains selected measures of agencies’ progress toward model EEO programs. Working within our mission as an oversight agency, EEOC strives to create a partnership with agencies. In FY 2008, EEOC’s Relationship Management program comprised 10 Cabinet/Mid-Size agencies and continued its small agency program with 14 agencies. The FY 2008 Annual Report on the Federal Work Force, submitted to the President and Congress, presents a summary of selected EEO program activities in the federal government, including work force profiles of 59 federal agencies. The report provides valuable information to all agencies as they strive to become model employers

Annual Report on the Federal Work Force (Fiscal Year 2007)

[Excerpt] The EEOC is charged with monitoring federal agency compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws and procedures, and reviewing and assessing the effect of agencies’ compliance with requirements to maintain continuing affirmative employment programs to promote equal employment opportunity and to identify and eliminate barriers to equality of employment opportunity. This report covers the period from October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007 and contains selected measures of agencies’ progress toward model EEO programs. Working within our mission as an oversight agency, EEOC strives to create a partnership with agencies. In FY 2007, EEOC expanded its Relationship Management program from 12 Cabinet/Mid-Size agencies to 13 and continued its newly launched small agency program with 14 agencies. The FY 2007 Annual Report on the Federal Work Force, submitted to the President and Congress, presents a summary of selected EEO program activities in the federal government, including work force profiles of 59 federal agencies. The report provides valuable information to all agencies as they strive to become model employers

Annual Report on the Federal Work Force, Part II: Work Force Statistics (Fiscal Year 2010)

[Excerpt] EEOC is charged with monitoring federal agency compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws and procedures and reviewing and assessing the effect of agencies’ compliance with requirements to maintain continuing affirmative employment programs to promote equal employment opportunity and to identify and eliminate barriers to equality of employment opportunity. This report covers the period from October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010 and contains selected measures of agencies’ progress toward model EEO programs. Working within our mission as an oversight agency, EEOC strives to create a partnership with agencies. The FY 2010 Annual Report on the Federal Work Force, submitted to the President and Congress, presents a summary of selected EEO program activities in the federal government, including work force profiles of 64 federal agencies

High End Department Stores, Their Access to and Use of Diverse Labor Markets: Technical Report

Our nation’s retailers fulfill an important role in our economy and according to the Commission’s EEO-1 reports, employ nearly 15 percent of all private sector employees. This report is one in a series that examines the retail industry. The focus here is on retail department stores, the largest employer of all retail subsectors except for food and beverage stores. It is also a major employer of women who make up a large portion (75 percent) of the retail salespersons in these stores. There is a wide range of stores within the broad category of department stores. The most exclusive high end department stores are considered as offering superior employment situations in terms of environment, compensation and benefits. This study seeks to determine how people of color fare in these stores. Two key questions surround these stores. Do high end department stores focus so much on locations in affluent neighborhoods that they limit access that nonwhite workers might have to employment there? Second, regardless of accessibility to diverse work forces, do high end department stores maintain a diverse work force? Department stores in the ten largest metropolitan areas are examined: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Miami, Washington, Houston, Detroit and Boston. Major findings include: • The labor market for African American and Hispanic sales workers relevant to high end department stores is not significantly different than the labor markets for other types of department stores. • The labor market for Asians sales workers is somewhat better for high end department stores than for other types of department stores. • On average, high end department stores are more likely to have significant shortfalls in the employment of African Americans, Hispanics and Asians as sales workers. • Chain ownership has a significant effect on diversity of employment. • There appears to be some evidence that exclusive department stores have substantially more disparities with Hispanic sales workers than other kinds of race/ethnic groups

State and Local Human Rights Agencies: Recommendations for Advancing Opportunity and Equality Through an International Human Rights Framework

State and local human rights agencies can play a critical role in promoting and protecting human rights close to home. State and local human rights and human relations commissions already operate every day to prevent and eliminate discrimination. These institutions have multiple functions that include enforcing anti-discrimination laws, engaging in community education and training and advocacy. Central to their mission is encouraging and facilitating institutional change to eradicate discrimination and promote equal opportunity. Thus, advancing human rights protections intersects with and, in fact, supports the work of state and local human rights and human relations commissions to encourage and ensure fairness and opportunity locally. This report highlights ways in which an international human rights framework can advance the critical work of state and local human rights and human relations commissions and other state and local agencies, and recommends reforms at the national level that would result in more effective articulation between local, state and federal efforts