commbuys.eeo.aa.pol.state.guide.updated.10.6.21.docx

GUIDANCE FOR EEO/AA POLICY STATEMENT

The policy statement outlines your company's/agency's commitment to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action as a company/agency objective of equal importance to other company/agency objectives.

The Policy Statement should include:

A. Non-Discrimination in employment and service delivery as an organizational priority and practice.

B. Access to employment and service delivery by all otherwise eligible persons regardless of their race, creed, color, sex, national origin, political affiliation, age, or disability.

C. Goal of having staff at all levels of the organization reflect the proportion of minority, female and disabled persons represented in the service delivery area.

D. Identification of an individual in the organization who is entrusted with enforcing the non-discrimination policy.

E. Signature and title of the organization's Chief Executive Officer.

You may use the attached sample statement as a model. It must be completed and submitted to MassDEP on your agency letterhead. The Chief Executive Officer of your company/agency must sign the Statement, expressing the management endorsement of the policy and assigning responsibility for making that endorsement. The Policy Statement is the basis for the rest of the Affirmative Action Plan, which describes how you will put your commitment to Affirmative Action in practice. The Policy Statement can function as the introduction to your Affirmative Action Plan.

The key individual for developing and implementing the Affirmative Action Program is your company’s Affirmative Action Officer. When assigning/appointing the individual designated on the Policy Statement it should be kept in mind that for the Affirmative Action Officer to be effective, he/she should:

· Participate in the planning, development and implementation of policies involving the budget, personnel, recruitment, contract compliance, training, performance appraisals and program and policy development. The Affirmative Action Officer should work in conjunction with the appropriate staff assigned to the aforementioned responsibilities.

· Be actively involved with minority and women's organizations, training programs and other organizations relating to people identified as members of protected groups.

· Conduct periodic audits of training programs and hiring and promotion patterns to remove barriers to goals and objectives, as well as audits of other plans.

· Review company/agency policies to assure equal opportunity for protected groups and prevent possible adverse impact on these groups.

· Hold regular discussions with managers and supervisors to advise them of their responsibilities and accountabilities, and review progress toward divisional affirmative action goals and implementation of agency affirmative action policies.

· Monitor and review the qualifications of all employees to ensure that minorities, women and other protected group members are given full opportunities for training and promotion.

· Be familiar with, and understand the various State and Federal regulations that impact employment practices (i.e., Title VII, Section 504, Chapter 533, Age Discrimination Act).

· Meet regularly with the hiring sources to review progress toward agency affirmative action goals.

Updated 10/6/21