GLOSSARY OF EEO TERMINOLOGY EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EEO, like any other field, has its own special terminology. The definitions given in this section should help you understand any technical language you may come across either in official court decisions or in other literature on EEO. Although people commonly use the two terms interchangeably, they actually refer to two different principles. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO) The right of all persons to apply and be evaluated for job opportunities based on their ability to do the job without regard for race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION To actively recruit, hire, train, and promote members of an affected class to bring them into all job categories in proportion to what would be reasonably representative of their availability in the area labor markets. While Title VII outlaws discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion and national origin, affirmative action requires more. Affirmative Action means that special efforts are made to increase the number of women and minorities in the workforce at all levels. Adverse Impact The term used to describe the negative effect an employer's personnel policies or procedures have on minorities or women. Availability Given the geographic labor area from which a facility draws its employees or can reasonably recruit, and given the minimum job requirements in question, availability is that figure which reflects the number of minorities or women in said geographic labor area who possess the minimum job requirements. Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) Employment in particular jobs may not be limited to persons of a particular sex, religion or national origin unless the employer can show that sex, religion or national origin is an actual qualification of performing the job. Business Necessity A term used by the courts to describe a possible justification for unintentional discrimination. That is, the adverse impact of an otherwise neutral personnel practice may be justified by business exigencies. HENRY & GONZALEZ, TEXAS, CHAIRMAN STEPHEN L NEAL NORTH CAROLINA BARNEY FRANK, MASSACHUSETTS KWEISI MFUME MARYLAND MAXINE WATERS CALIFORNIA LARRY LAROCCO IDAMO BILL ORTON. UTAH JIM BACCHUS FLORIDA HERBERT C KLEIN. NEW JERSEY CAROLYN 8 MALONEY NEW YORK PETER DEUTSCH FLORIDA LUIS V GUTIERREZ, ILLINOIS BOBBY L RUSH, ILLINOIS LUCILLE ROYBALALLARD, CALIFORNIA ELIZABETH FURSE OREGON NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ NEW YORK ALBERT R. WYNN MARYLAND CLEO FIELDS, LOUISIANA MELVIN WATT NORTH CAROLINA CALVIN M DOOLEY CALIFORNIA ERIC FINGERHUT, OHIO U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS 2129 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING August 3, 1993 JAMES A LEACH, IOWA BILL MCCOLLUM. FLORIDA MARGE ROUKEMA, NEW JERSEY DOUG BEREUTER NEBRASKA THOMAS RIDGE PENNSYLVANIA TOBY ROTH WISCONSIN ALFRED A MCCANDLESS CALIFORNIA RICHARD M. BAKER, LOUISIANA JIM NUSSLE IOWA CRAIG THOMAS, WYOMING (202) 225-4247 Mr. Edward G. Boehne President Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 Dear President Boehne: Last year, the Committee requested and you provided information regarding equal employment opportunity at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. As part of our continuing oversight under Rule X of the House of Representatives of the operation and activities of the agencies and departments subject to the Committee's legislative jurisdiction, the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs requests updated answers to the following questions; 1. With respect to the internal structure of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia: a. Provide current staffing statistics for the bank showing the number and percentage of employees for each pay grade, by race, sex, and disability, as of December 31, 1992. Include a separate breakdown for race and sex of the ten highest paid employees, the top ten percent highest paid employees and the ten percent lowest paid employees. b. Provide a description of the responsibilities and qualifications for each job category represented at the bank. For each pay grade, please provide staffing statistics by job category. C. If the personnel or structure in the office which administers your equal employment opportunity programs has changed since your July 1992 response, please describe the current structure and personnel composition of this office. d. Describe and attach copies of all current policies and procedures regarding equal employment opportunity. What goals does the bank have for 1994? e. Please provide an evaluation of the process by which the bank sets its Page 2, President Boehne f. Please analyze the impact of your equal opportunity employment policies and goals in relation to the bank's actual employee statistics. Describe in what ways these goals and policies may be adjusted to encourage greater minority and women hiring and advancement. a. Describe in detail any formal or informal policies on cash awards, merit awards, bonuses, geographical differentials, travel reimbursements, membership dues in private clubs and associations and any other compensation or benefits programs. List the criteria that are used for eligibility for each program. b. Provide separately for each category of compensation a list by pay grade, any cash awards, merit awards or any other bonuses paid in 1992. Include in this list a breakdown for minority and women employees. c. Please provide information on the compensation and benefit expenses for the bank for FY 1992. What are the anticipated compensation and benefit expenditures for FY 1993? 3. With respect to complaints based on any applicable equal employment opportunity or pertinent civil rights laws, and your complaint resolution process: a. b. informal or formal, C. Describe in detail your complaint resolution process. How many complaints, claims, notices, allegations or charges, were filed for calendar year 1992? For each category listed in b. above, please give a breakdown of the grounds alleged for discrimination by category, whether race, religion, sex, national origin, or age, and the status or resolution of the complaint. Thank you for your attention to and consideration of this matter. I would appreciate a response by September 10, 1993. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Michele McMahon of my staff at (202) 225-4247. Sincerely, Hany Sugles Henry B. Gonzalez HBG:mm Enclosed are our responses to the questions in your August 3 letter regarding equal employment opportunities for minorities and women at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. I would again like to share with you some additional information on our efforts to increase the representation of minorities and women at higher levels, participation in training and development programs by women and minorities to advance their careers, and environmental factors that will continue to impact our affirmative action goals for the next few years. Progress in Affirmative Action In 1992, as in previous years, the Bank continued to focus on the development of minorities and females for advancement to higher level managerial/professional positions. Two women were promoted to officer positions and two minority officers were promoted. Female representation at the higher level managerial/professional positions increased from a representation of 27.9% as of year-end 1991 to 30.3% by year-end 1992, exceeding our goal by 4.3%. For the same time period the number of minorities in these higher level positions increased from 11.5% to 13.8%, exceeding our year-end target of 13%. Training & Development The Bank continues to sponsor a number of internal and external programs for employees at all staff levels and minority and female participation continues to increase. Executive level training is provided for upper level management at various universities and management development organizations. In 1992, twelve people participated in such 2 programs, of which one was a female officer. Of the remaining eleven employees, five were minority females. Our tuition reimbursement program continued at a high level with 227 employees participating in the program in 1992, of which 58.15% were women and 43.17% were minorities. The Bank's internal training programs showed increased participation, going from 477 participants in 1991 to 559 employees taking the courses in 1992. Female representation in these programs was 54.72% and minority representation was 35.22%. Two additional programs, Managing Diversity for Officers and ADA-Interviewing, were also conducted during 1992. The Bank continued to support the following programs which promote and enhance Affirmative Action for minorities and women. The Philadelphia Academy High School Program (Business Experience Educational Program, "BEEP") Minority students from participating high schools are accepted for co-op work assignments at the Bank. These students are placed in various departments to gain meaningful work experience and job skills. Upon successful completion of their work assignments, the students are considered for Bank employment. Minority Resource Council This in-house Council consists of minority managerial/professional employees who assist and support the Bank's recruitment programs. These employees provide input to help identify minority recruitment sources and contracts for the Bank. They also may accompany Bank recruiters to selected colleges. |
