Office of Equal Employment Opportunity

The EEO Office develops training for all SMDC/ARSTRAT employees and ensures that training mandated by Headquarters Army Office of Diversity and Leadership (HQDA D&L) is available to employees. Training developed by the EEO office is as follows:

• Supervisory Responsibilities in EEO
• Individuals With Disabilities Training
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• EEO Complaint Process

• NO FEAR ACT
• Anti-Harassment Training

• Historical Perspective
  
  For much of the last century, minorities and women confronted legal and social exclusion. Beginning in the 1940s, a series of executive orders and statutes were adopted to address a long history of employment discrimination in the federal government. Although progress was made after those actions, it was insufficient; Congress, in 1972, determined that discrimination against federal employees continued and it was necessary to provide federal employees needed protection.
  
  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  
  The commission was established on July 2, 1965, after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is the responsibility of the commission to enforce principle federal statutes prohibiting employment discrimination, and make EEO policy through issuance of management directives. The commission is made up of five commissioners and a general counsel appointed by the president. The president selects the chair and vice-chair. Commissioners are appointed for five-year, staggered terms. The goal of EEO laws is to ensure that all Americans are judged on merit and their ability to do the job and not on personal characteristics. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution promised that all Americans have a right to equal protection under the law. Through federal anti-discrimination laws, Congress acknowledged that for certain Americans, historic discrimination had created barriers to the promise of EEO.
  
  Affirmative Action 
  
  Affirmative Action is defined as a tool to take positive, legal action to overcome discrimination barriers and is mandated by executive orders and judicial decisions. The desired outcome of affirmative action is temporary actions and remedies taken to overcome discrimination and employment barriers that should result in the workplace reflecting the population served. The extent of permissible affirmative action is strictly limited under law. It is only lawful when it is: 1) designed to respond to a demonstrated imbalance in the workforce; 2) flexible, 3) time limited, 4) applied only to qualified individuals 5) respecting rights of non-minorities and 6) a business necessity and (7) not a quota system. 
  
  Affirmative employment is about efforts to make possible equitable representation in the organization at all grade levels and not preferential hiring. It is based on goals and is not guaranteed. It provides an opportunity to look at policies, practices, and procedures to ensure fairness in the workplace and not just policies for selected individuals.
  
  The United States government employs more than two million men and women across the country and around the world. The ability of the government to meet the complex needs of the nation and the American people rests on these dedicated and hard-working individuals. With increasing public expectations of governmental institutions, federal agencies must position themselves to attract, develop and retain a top-quality diverse workforce that can deliver results and ensure the nation’s continued growth and prosperity.
  
  Equal employment opportunity in the federal workplace is key to accomplishing this goal. To develop a competitive, highly qualified workforce, federal agencies must fully utilize all workers’ talents, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex and/or disability. While the promise of workplace equality is a legal right afforded to all of the nation’s workers, equal opportunity is more than a matter of social justice. It is a national economic imperative. Federal agencies must make full use of the nation’s human capital by promoting workplace practices that free up opportunities for the best and brightest talent available. All workers must compete on a fair and level playing field and have the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential.
  
  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Management Directive (MD) 715 provides policy guidance and standards for establishing and maintaining effective affirmative programs of equal employment opportunity under Section 717 of Title VII (PART A) of the Civil Rights Act and effective affirmative action programs under Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act (PART B). MD 715 also requires agencies to take appropriate steps to ensure that all employment decisions are free from discrimination. It sets forth the standards by which EEOC will review the sufficiency of agency Title VII and Rehabilitation Act programs, which include periodic agency self-assessments and the removal of barriers to free and open workplace competition.
  
  Essential Elements of a Model Title VII and Rehabilitation Act programs are:
  
  
  • Demonstrated commitment from agency leadership;
  • Integration of EEO into the agency’s strategic mission;
  • Management and program accountability;
  • Proactive prevention of unlawful discrimination;
  • Efficiency; and
  • Responsiveness and legal compliance
  
  EEO MD 715 requires each federal agency to report annually on the status of activities undertaken pursuant to its equal employment opportunity program under Title VII and activities undertaken pursuant to its affirmative action obligations under the Rehabilitation Act. Agency reports must also include a plan that sets forth steps it will take in the future to correct deficiencies or further improve efforts undertaken pursuant to MD 715. Agency reports must be submitted to the EEOC annually. Examples of certain information in the report (but not all inclusive) include the following:
  
  
  • Copies of relevant EEO policy statements issued or reinforced during the previous fiscal year;
  • A narrative description of the agency’s mission, mission-related functions, and a copy of the agency’s organization chart;
  • A description of how the agency’s Title VII and Rehabilitation Act programs measure up against the essential elements of a model program described in this directive;
  • A description of activities undertaken during the preceding year in connection with the self-assessment and barrier identification and elimination under this Directive;
  • A description of action items and plans to be implemented or accomplished by the agency during the upcoming year in connection with carrying out its responsibilities under this directive;
  • A description of action items and plans to provide maximum opportunity for employees to advance to their highest level of potential under this directive;
  • Data required in connection with EEO complaints.
  
  Affirmative Employment Programs include the Special Emphasis Programs.

• An alleged discrimination incident, act, or event or
• The effective date of the alleged discriminatory personnel action or
• The date that the aggrieved individual knew, or reasonably should have known, of the event or personnel action

• It saves money and time
• A neutral third party mediates
• It encourages open communication
• It allows parties to resolve differences themselves
• The EEO complaint process continues if no agreement is reached

The mediation process consists of the following:
• Physical setting that is a private area away from work location, seating of parties equal
• Mediator opens the session, then parties have the opportunity to make opening remarks and present their issues.
• Through several means, the mediator facilitates joint discussion where open exchange is encouraged during which the parties may want to produce evidence.
• The mediator will caucus and meet with both complainant and management separately.
• Parties will reconvene and determine if an agreement has been reached.
• If an agreement is reached, the mediator writes the agreement; however, each of the parties is responsible for the substance of the agreement.

Disability Program Overview 

Federal law, executive orders, and Department of Defense and Army regulations require the provision of reasonable accommodations. Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits employment discrimination based on disability within the federal government. Congress amended this act in 1992 to adopt the employment nondiscrimination standards of the Americans with Disabilities Acts, which covers the private sector and state and local governments. 

An individual with a disability means a person who has a mental or physical disability that substantially limits one or more major life activity, (walking, talking, breathing, etc.); has a record of such impairment; or is regarded as having such impairment. 

An individual with a disability is qualified if he or she satisfies the requisite skill, experience, education, and other job-related requirements of a position; and can perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation. 

Essential functions refer to job duties so fundamental to a position that the position cannot exist per se if those duties are not performed. A function can be 'essential' if, among other things, the position exists specifically to perform that function; there are a limited number of other employees who could perform the function if it were assigned to them; or the function is specialized and the incumbent is hired specifically based on his ability to perform it. As an example, a motor vehicle operator position that requires extensive driving has a requirement that the operator have and maintain a valid driver's license. The ability to drive is an essential function of the position; a person who cannot drive cannot perform this essential function and would not be considered qualified. Essential functions vary from position to position and must be determined on a case-by-case basis. 

A specific accommodation that would require significant difficulty or expense constitutes an undue hardship. An agency makes a hardship determination on a case-by-case basis, considering the nature and cost of the needed accommodation as well as the impact of compliance on the agency's overall operation. Agencies do not have to provide reasonable accommodations that would impose an undue hardship on the agency (Headquarters, Department of the Army). Most reasonable accommodations require only minimal cost and many none at all. 

Employees are not required to disclose a disability. However, for effective reporting data collection, analysis, and in support of Army's goal to hire and retain individual with disabilities, self-identification provides valuable information. The information denoted on the Self-Identification Form OPM 256, available through the Office of Personnel Management or the EEO Office, is protected by the Privacy Act and used only for statistic purposes. 

The Department of the Army's Reasonable Accommodation Procedures provide detailed information for employees and managers. Requests for reasonable accommodations can be made at any time and do not require that the employee specifically state the Rehabilitation Act or the term 'reasonable accommodation.' Employees can begin the process verbally or orally, but they must submit The Confirmation of Reasonable Accommodation Request Form to the appropriate supervisor or the organization’s Disability Program manager. Requests can be made to the employee's direct supervisor, a supervisor or manager in the chain of command, the servicing EEO Office or Disability Program manager. For assistance in completing the form or for further information, please contact the SMDC/ARSTRAT EEO Office at 256-955-4270 and ask to speak to the Disability Program manager. 

Information regarding specific accommodations can be found at the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) and the Computer-Electronic Accommodation Program (CAP). 

Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) for College Students With Disabilities 

• An annual summer program (students are employed from May through September)
• Co-sponsored and coordinated by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (Department of Labor) and the Department of Defense
• Provides summer work experience, and in some cases, full time employment to college students with disabilities.
• Goals:
  • Erase myths, stereotypes, and misconceptions about people with disabilities
  • Hire highly motivated postsecondary students and recent graduates with disabilities eager to prove their abilities in the workforce.
• It is a valuable source for possible future employment
• Services are FREE!!
• Eligible students must have a disability, be a United States citizen and be enrolled in an accredited institution of higher learning on a full-time undergraduate or graduate basis to seek a degree or have graduated within one year of the release of the WRP database each December
• www.dol.gov/odep/prorams/workforce.htm

SMDC/ARSTRAT implements a Staff Assistance Program (SAP) to evaluate major subordinate elements (MSEs) within the command on specific functional areas. EEO is one of the functional areas of this program that ensures commanders and directors are aware of their EEO requirements and standards along with the current EEO posture of the organization. A subject matter expert (SME) in EEO provides staff assistance to the MSEs in EEO program administration, affirmative employment, EEO training, and complaints administration. Under the SAP execution, the EEO SME ensures that organizations understand their strengths and weaknesses in relation to EEO policies, regulations and directives. If weaknesses are determined, EEO assists in setting standards and priorities for the organization to correct them. The SAP is also used as a teaching and training event to help organizations meet the standards required for operating effectively within EEO. EEO SMEs develop a checklist as a tool to check regulatory compliance easily and quickly. The checklist identifies appropriate references for compliance requirements.

Special Observances are scheduled to highlight the contributions, culture, and achievements of special emphasis groups to the nation. The U.S. Army recognizes the following observances: 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Observance 

• The official holiday is on the third Monday of January. President Ronald Reagan signed legislation creating the holiday in November 1983, which marked the end of a consistent, highly organized lobbying effort spanning the nation for 15 years.
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the only American besides George Washington to have a national holiday honoring his birthday.

• The first ethnic observance was the brainchild of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American author and scholar. He established Negro History Week in 1926. The week evolved into a month-long celebration in 1976 and is observed every February.
• The Army encourages commands and installations to celebrate this observance with appropriate programs that celebrate the contributions, experiences, and status of African Americans in the United States.
• Themes are developed each year by the organization founded by Dr. Woodson, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASLAH), to commemorate the cultural history of how African Americans came to the United States, their struggles with equality and civil rights, their progress in the fields of education, science, medicine, inventions, government/public service and in all aspects of their lives.

• In 1978, members of the Sonoma County California Commission on the Status of Women initiated the first National Women's History Week and sponsored programs for local schools. This was a community effort to encourage the study of women's history and structure a continuing discovery on women's past. Subsequently, similar efforts spread to other communities across the country.
• In 1982, National Women's History Week was first proclaimed a national observance as the result of a joint congressional resolution proposing that such a week be held inclusive of March 8, International Women's Day. This was done to emphasize the importance of women's roles as workers, and as a way to acknowledge the international connections among and between all women. This joint congressional resolution was co-sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Ut) and Representative Barbara Mikulski (D-Md) who served as senator from Maryland until 2017.
• In 1983, the joint resolution designating women’s history week requested that the president issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe the week with appropriate ceremonies and activities. Communities across the country were informed about Women's History Week as a result of this Presidential Proclamation. Subsequent resolutions were issued each year designating National Women's History Week until March 1987 when by joint resolution, Congress designated the entire month of March as National Women's History month.
• The popularity of women's history celebrations has sparked a new interest in uncovering women's forgotten heritage. Women's history month observances have become more than a call to acknowledge outstanding American women, it also has become a vehicle to pay homage to the nameless women who have shaped America's collective past.

• The first Asian Pacific American Heritage Week was celebrated in May 1979. The observance was expanded to a month in 1990 by presidential proclamation. In 1992, Congress passed a measure designating May each year as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
• Asian Pacific Americans are defined as any person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, or the pacific Islands.
• Asian Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic minority group in the United States. Currently, half of all immigrants entering America are Asian.

• The struggle for women's rights began in 1848 with a group of women announcing a "convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious conditions and rights of women."; This was the Seneca Falls Convention held in upstate New York.
• At this convention a Declaration of Sentiments was developed that began: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, That all men and women are created equal”…… Several resolutions were added that called for either women's rights or equal treatment.
• One resolution called for universal suffrage for women, which became the most publicized and controversial aspect of the women's rights movement.
• On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote. However, women remained in the forefront of struggles for social justice because sex discrimination still persisted in American society.
• Through executive orders, affirmative action programs of equal employment opportunity were made available for civilian employees and applicants in the federal government. Women began to hold elective offices at local, state and federal levels, i.e., as mayors, governors, members of Congress and even appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Strides and changes were also made for women in the military that addressed equality of treatment.
• It was on Aug. 26, 1971, that "Women's Equality Day" was first established by Presidential Proclamation and reaffirmed annually. This day represents the fulfillment of the quest started by a group of women in 1848 for equal rights regardless of gender.

• Congress passed a joint resolution on Sept. 17, 1968, creating National Hispanic Heritage Week. The week was expanded to a month by joint resolution in 1988 and is now observed annually from Sept. 15 – Oct. 15.
• A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race is defined by the term "Hispanic."; It is considered as a term regarding ethnicity and it is not a race.
• Other descriptive Terms for Hispanics: Chicano - usually associated with a Hispanic in the civil rights movement. Tejano - someone born in Texas with roots dating back to Mexican ancestry when Texas was part of Mexico; Mexican American- a person of Mexican descent; Latino- usually a person from or of Central or South American descent.
• Based on the 2000 census, Hispanics are now the largest minority group in the United States.

• Observed in the month of October to highlight the accomplishments of individuals who are disabled, their goals and struggles for equality of opportunity.

• On Sept. 28, 1915, the Congress of the American Indian Association declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day. In 1976, Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing the president to proclaim the week of Oct. 10-16 a"Native American Awareness Week." Days and weeks of different months were set aside to honor the first Americans until they were given a month in 1990. Since 1994, each president has issued a proclamation designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month.
• No single federal or tribal criterion establishes a person's identity as a Native American. Government agencies use differing criteria to determine who is a Native American and are eligible to participate in their programs. Tribes also have varying eligibility criteria for membership.
• To be eligible for Bureau of Indian Affairs services, a person must (1) be a member of a tribe recognized by the federal government; (2) half or more Indian blood of tribes indigenous to the United States; or (3) must for some purpose be 1/4th or more Indian ancestry.
• More than 550 federally recognized tribes exist in the United States, including 223 village groups in Alaska.
• The only tribes with more than 100,000 persons are the Cherokee, Navajo, Chippewa, and Sioux.
• About 20 percent of Indians reside on 314 reservations, Indian lands, and in Alaska villages.
• An Indian reservation is land a tribe reserved for itself when it relinquished its other land areas to the United States through treaties. The 17 million Navajo Reservation of northern Arizona extends into New Mexico and Utah. It is larger than Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
• Bureau of Census counts anyone a Native American who declares himself or herself to be so.

• Identify and resolve actual and perceived system inequities that adversely affect women employees; and
• Identify and resolve underrepresentation and underutilization of women

Other Links Of Interest 


• Federally Employed Women www.few.org
• Women's Bureau, Department of Labor www.dol.gov/wb

• Other Links Of Interest
• OPM Nine-Point Plan http://www.opm.gov/pressrel/html/pr-9-pt.htm
• Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities www.hacu.net/
• National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives, Inc. www.nahfe.org/

• The Department of Defense Directive 1440.1 dated May 21, 1987, authorizes as an integral part of the civilian equal employment opportunity program, the establishment of a Black Employment Program.
In implementing DoD Directive 1440.1, the Department of the Army established its Black Employment Program with Army policy dated Feb. 3, 1988. The policy provided for the appointment of a BEP manager at each command/installation level. It is DA policy to ensure equal opportunity in the hiring, advancement, training, and treatment of black employees and to strive toward the achievement of a civilian workforce in which black employees are represented in every major organizational element, occupational category, and grade level commensurate with their representation in the relevant civilian workforce.
 
USASMDC/ARSTRAT is committed to diversity in the civilian workforce and to equal representation of African American persons within that workforce at all grade levels, in every occupational category, and in every major organizational element. At the end of fiscal year 2012, African Americans constituted 16.3 percent of the workforce as compared to their 10.5 percent of the national civilian labor force taken in the year 2000. The 2010 Census data showed that of the total U.S. population, 38.9 million people or 13 percent, identified as Black/African American. “African American” refers to persons who have origins in any of the back racial groups of Africa. Currently, African Americans are the second largest minority group within the United States. 


• Other Links Of Interest
• Blacks In Government www.bignet.org
• NAACP www.naacp.org
• National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education www.nafeo.org/
• National Urban League www.nul.org/

• Other Links Of Interest
• Federal Asian Pacific American Council www.fapac.org/
• White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders www.whitehouse.gov/aapi

• Other Links Of Interest
• Bureau of Indian Affairs www.bia.gov/
• American Indian Higher Education Consortium www.aihec.org/
• Society of American Indians In Government Employees (SAIGE) www.saige.org/

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) www.eeoc.gov
• American Association for Affirmative Action www.affirmativeaction.org/
• Office of Personnel Management www.opm.gov
• FirstGov www.usa.gov
• Department of Labor www.dol.gov/
• Department of Justice www.justice.gov
• No Fear Act www.eeoc.gov/statistics/nofear/qanda.cfm

• League of United Latin American Citizens www.lulac.org/
• Hispanic Employment Program www.hepm.org/
• Hispanic Employment Initiative http://archive.opm.gov/feorp02/rotnpp.asp
• National Image www.nationalimage.org/
• National Indian Education Association www.niea.org
• American Indian Science and Engineering Society www.aises.org/
• American Indian Heritage Foundation www.indian.org/

• ADA Home Page www.ada.gov/
• American Association of People With Disabilities www.aapd.com/
• Army Equity and Inclusion Agency, Accessibility Statement https://www.army.mil/armyequityandinclusion#org-accessibility/
• DA Reasonable Accommodation and Personal Assistant Services Procedures: https://www.army.mil/armyequityandinclusion#org-civilian-equal-employment-opportunity (MD715 A.2.b.3/A.2.c.3)
• Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund www.dredf.org/
• National Disability Rights Network www.napa.org/
• Jobs for Disabled People www.css-online.org/
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government www.dhhig.org/
• National Association of the Deaf (NAD) www.nad.org/
• National Federation of the Blind https://nfb.org
• Office of Disability Employment Policy www.dol.gov/odep/
• Access Board www.access-board.gov/
• Section 508 & Access board www.access-board.gov/508.htm
• Computer Electronic Accommodation Program (CAP) www.cap.mil/
• Center for IT Accommodation (CITA) & Section 508 www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21293
• Employee Assistance Referral Network www.askearn.org/

• Army Regulation 690-12 www.apd.army.mil/pdfiles/r690-12.pdf
• Army Regulation 690-600 www.apd.army.mil/jw2/xmldemo/r690-600/cover.asp
• Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended 1972 www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm
• Civil Rights Act of 1991 www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/cra-1991.cfm
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 501 and 504 www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/rehab.cfm www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/sec504.htm
• Americans With Disabilities Act www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm
• Equal Pay Act www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa.cfm
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/adea.cfm
• Genetic Non-Discrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/gina.cfm

• www.eeoc.gov/laws/regulations/index.cfm
• http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/directives/index.cfm
• Title 29, Code of Federal Regulation (CFR), Part 1604, Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex
• Title 29, CFR, Part 1605, Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Religion
• Title 29, CFR, Part 1606, Guidelines on Discrimination Because of National Origin
• Title 29, CFR, Part 1607, Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures
• Title 29, CFR, Part 1608, Affirmative Action Appropriate Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as Amended
• Title 29, CFR, Part 1614, Federal Sector Equal Employment Opportunity
• Title 29, CFR, Part 1630, Regulation to Implement the Equal Employment Provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act
• EEO Management Directive 110 – Federal Sector Complaints Processing Manual, October 22, 1992
• EEO Management Directive 715 – Policy Guidance and Standards for Establishing And Maintaining Affirmative Action Programs, October 1, 2003

• • www.opm.gov