TITLE
Recommendation to refer the report on hires for 2005, the second year of the City’s three-year Equal Employment Opportunity Program Plan (2004-2006), to the Personnel and Civil Service Committee for review.
DISCUSSION
The City of Long Beach has been actively monitoring its workplace hiring practices for nearly 35 years. Beginning in 1973, the City developed an Affirmative Action Plan to report on population and labor market availability by gender and race. Numeric “goals and objectives” were established to address areas of under-representation. By the mid- 199O’s, however, changes in federal and state laws required that the City discontinue the practice of developing specific goals and objectives.
While attempting to comply with the desire to achieve a workforce that is reflective of the diverse community we serve, the City must operate within the constraints of Proposition 209 (the California Civil Rights Initiative), which was passed by the voters in 1996. Proposition 209 prohibits the City from giving preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. Proposition 209 also prohibits the City from using race or ethnic-based quotas or numerical goals in its hiring practices. As a result, the City has changed from establishing numeric goals and/or quotas to establishing narrative objectives to address under-utilization. Examples of narrative objectives include:
- To ensure equal access to all employment opportunities and to address categories that are under-represented, the City will continue to work with Civil Service Department staff to focus its outreach efforts in areas where female and minority candidates are concentrated.
- To attract a larger applicant pool, available resources throughout the Southern California region continue to be used in the recruitment and selection process. Specifically, community organizations, community colleges and universities, trade schools and profession...
Click here for full text