Minnesota Administrative Rules

5000.3480 IMPLEMENTING EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.

Subpart 1.

Consistent positions.

The contractor shall conduct detailed analyses of position descriptions to ensure that they accurately reflect position functions, and are consistent for the same position from one location to another.

Subp. 2.

Worker specifications.

The contractor must validate worker specifications by division, department, location, or other organizational unit and by job title using job performance criteria. Special attention must be given to academic, experience, and skill requirements to ensure that the requirements in themselves do not constitute inadvertent discrimination. Specifications must be consistent for the same job title in all locations and must be free from bias as regards to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, status regarding public assistance, age, sexual orientation, and disability except where such status is a bona fide occupational qualification. Where requirements screen out a disproportionate number of minorities or women, the requirements must be professionally validated to job performance.

Subp. 3.

Position descriptions.

Approved position descriptions and worker specifications, when used by the contractor, must be made available to all members of management involved in the recruiting, screening, selection, and promotion process. Copies must also be distributed to all recruiting sources.

Subp. 4.

Selection process evaluation.

The contractor shall evaluate the total selection process to ensure freedom from bias and, thus, aid the attainment of goals and objectives.

All personnel involved in the recruiting, screening, selection, promotion, disciplinary, and related processes must be carefully selected and trained to ensure elimination of bias in all personnel action.

Selection techniques other than tests may also be improperly used so as to have the effect of discriminating against minority groups and women. Such techniques include, but are not limited to, unscored interviews, unscored or casual application forms, arrest records, credit checks, considerations of marital status or dependency or minor children. Where data exists suggesting that there is unfair discrimination or exclusion of minorities or women, the contractor shall analyze its unscored procedures and eliminate them if they are not objectively valid.

Subp. 5.

Recruitment techniques.

Suggested techniques to improve recruitment and increase the flow of minority or female applicants are as follows in items A to J.

A.

Certain organizations such as the Urban League, Job Corps, Equal Opportunity Programs, Inc., concentrated employment programs, Neighborhood Youth Corps, secondary schools, colleges, and city colleges with high minority enrollment, the state employment services, specialized employment agencies are normally prepared to refer minority applicants. Organizations prepared to refer women with specific skills are: National Organization for Women, welfare rights organizations, Women's Equity Action League, Talent Bank for Business and Professional Women (including 26 women's organizations), Professional Women's Caucus, Intercollegiate Association of University Women, black women's sororities and service groups such as Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and Zeta Phi Beta; National Council of Negro Women, American Association of University Women, YWCA, and sectarian groups such as Jewish women's groups, Catholic women's groups, Protestant women's groups, and women's colleges. In addition, community leaders as individuals shall be added to recruiting sources.

B.

Formal briefing sessions shall be held, preferably on company premises, with representatives from these recruiting sources. Plant tours, presentations by minority and female employees, clear and concise explanations of current and future job openings, position descriptions, worker specifications, explanations of the company's selection process, and recruiting literature shall be an integral part of the briefings. Formal arrangements shall be made for referral of applicants, follow-up with sources, and feedback on disposition of applicants.

C.

Minority and female employees, using procedures similar to item B, shall be actively encouraged to refer applicants.

D.

A special effort shall be made to include minorities and women on the personnel relations staff.

E.

Minority and female employees shall be made available for participation in career days, youth motivation programs, and related activities in their communities.

F.

Active participation in "job fairs" is desirable. Company representatives participating shall be given authority to make on-the-spot commitments.

G.

Active recruiting programs shall be carried out at secondary schools, junior colleges, and colleges with predominant minority or female enrollments.

H.

Recruiting efforts at all schools shall be undertaken whenever possible. Some possible programs are:

(1)

technical and nontechnical co-op programs at predominantly black and women's colleges;

(2)

"after school" or work-study jobs for minority youths, female and male;

(3)

summer jobs for underprivileged youth, female and male;

(4)

summer work-study programs for female and male faculty members of the predominantly minority schools and colleges; and

(5)

motivation, training, and employment programs for the hardcore unemployed, female and male.

I.

When recruiting brochures pictorially present work situations, the minority and female members of the workforce must be included, especially when brochures are used in school and career programs.

J.

Help wanted advertising shall be expanded to include the minority news media and women's interest media on a regular basis.

Subp. 6.

Promotion.

The contractor shall ensure that minority and female employees are given equal opportunity for promotion. Suggestions for achieving this result include:

A.

Post or otherwise announce promotional opportunities.

B.

Make an inventory of current minority and female employees to determine academic, skill, and experience level of individual employees.

C.

Initiate necessary remedial, job training, and work-study programs.

D.

Develop and implement formal employee evaluation programs.

E.

Make certain "worker specifications" have been validated on job performance related criteria. Neither minority nor female employees shall be required to possess higher qualifications than those of the lowest qualified incumbent.

F.

When apparently qualified minority or female employees are passed over for upgrading, require supervisory personnel to submit written justification.

G.

Establish formal career counseling programs to include attitude development, education aid, job rotation, buddy system, and similar programs.

H.

Review seniority practices and seniority clauses in union contracts to ensure the practices or clauses are nondiscriminatory and do not have a discriminatory effect.

I.

Make certain facilities and company-sponsored social and recreation activities are desegregated. Actively encourage all employees to participate.

J.

Encourage child care, housing, and transportation programs appropriately designed to improve the employment opportunities for minorities and women.

Statutory Authority:

MS s 363.074; 363A.37

History:

9 SR 2748; 17 SR 1279; 24 SR 273

Published Electronically:

October 2, 2013