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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending Part 10, Article 1009 of the Administrative Code, by adding new §§ 5-1009.08 and 5-1009.09 to provide for the creation of workforce diversity management goals and objectives and for yearly audits of staff diversity within the County and with regard to County contractors.
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WHEREAS, Allegheny County has historically had policies in place to provide equal opportunity in employment for all persons, and to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or age; and
WHEREAS, County Council recognizes that this longstanding policy of equal opportunity applies to and must be an integral part of every aspect of personnel policy and practice in the employment, development, advancement, and treatment of county employees; and
WHEREAS, it has traditionally been the practice of the government of Allegheny County to recruit qualified individuals from appropriate sources in an effort to achieve a workforce drawn from all segments of society; and
WHEREAS, County Council reaffirms these ongoing policies and practices, and finds that additional policies and processes are desirable for the purposes of clarifying existing provisions of the Administrative Code and ensuring the continued success of Allegheny County in establishing a diverse workplace;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1.
Article 1009 of the Administrative Code is amended by adding a new §1009.08 as follows:
§ 5-1009.08. Policies and Objectives for Diversity Management.
A. It shall be the policy of Allegheny County to meet the following objectives for diversity management of County employees and contractors:
1. Allegheny County shall create and maintain a highly competent, diverse work force that meets its needs.
2. Allegheny County shall create a work environment in which all employees have the opportunity to develop their potential and contribute fully to mission accomplishment.
3. Allegheny County shall respect the dignity of all employees;
4. Allegheny County shall market its diversity management message to its work force and, by modeling leadership in this area, demonstrate its commitment to stakeholders, partners, customers, and constituents.
B. These diversity management policies shall serve as the guiding principles by which diversity management strategies are formulated according to the guidelines established by this Administrative Code.
C. All efforts undertaken by the Chief Executive shall, to the extent practicable, further partnerships and cooperation among county, other public and private sector employers, and appropriate diverse organizations whenever such partnerships and cooperation are possible and would promote the employment of qualified diverse individuals or contractors.
D. The Chief Executive shall, as necessary and appropriate to further these objectives, consult with and seek information and advice from experts in the areas of special targeted recruitment and diversity in employment.
SECTION 2.
Article 1009 of the Administrative Code is amended by adding a new §1009.09 as follows:
§5-1009.09. Implementation Plan.
On or before June 1, 2006, the County Executive shall develop an implementation plan in accordance with the provisions of this section for submission to County Council. The implementation plan shall be a public document and, at a minimum, must:
A. Outline an awareness campaign to be carried out by the administration that will inform the County workforce, as well as to stakeholders, customers, partners, and constituents, of its diversity management objectives.
B. Provide for an annual submission of a County Workforce Analysis for the prior calendar year that will assess the current diversity of the County workforce and identify the desired diversity for the County workforce. The workforce analysis shall include the following data:
1. The percentages of all Allegheny County employees by race according to general categories established by the U.S. Census Bureau (Caucasian, African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or Other);
2. The percentages of all Allegheny County employees by age in the following increments: 15-19, 20-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-59, 60-64, and 65+;
3. The percentages of all Allegheny County employees by gender;
4. The percentages of all Allegheny County employees by disability status, which shall be reported on a voluntary basis by existing and new full-time and part-time, permanent County employees provided that the employee falls into one of the following categories:
i. Sensory Disability - Blindness, deafness, or serious vision or hearing impairments.
ii. Functional Disability - Physical condition which substantially limits basic activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying objects.
iii. Cognitive Disability - Physical, mental, or emotional conditions which cause substantial difficulties in learning, remembering information, or concentrating.
iv. Mobility Disability - Physical, mental, or emotional conditions which cause substantial difficulties in moving freely in the workplace.
Employees who voluntarily provide this information are not required to indicate their specific disability category, not shall any evaluation be conducted by the County of the disability status under the Americans with Disabilities Act or any other federal, state, or local statutory or other authority; and further, it shall not be construed as a finding of disability by any such authority.
5. A summary of the number of employees in each of eight position categories by County Department. The categories shall be as follows:
i. Officials and administrators - Employees who set or maintain broad policies or direct individual departments.
ii. Professionals - Employees who perform functions that require specialized and/or theoretical knowledge usually acquired through college training or the equivalent in work experience and other training.
iii. Technicians - Employees who perform functions that require a combination of basic scientific and/or technical knowledge and manual skill which can be obtained through post-secondary education or on-the-job training.
iv. Protective service workers - Employees entrusted with public safety, security, or protection from destructive forces.
v. Paraprofessionals - Employees who perform some of the duties of a professional or technician in a supportive role, which normally requires less formal training and/or experience than that necessary for professional or technical status.
vi. Administrative support - Employees who are responsible for an internal and external communication, recording and retrieval of data, information, or other paperwork required in an office.
vii. Skilled craft workers - Employees who perform jobs which require special manual skill and a thorough, comprehensive knowledge of the processes involved in the work which is acquired through on the job training and experience, or through apprenticeship or other formalized training programs.
viii. Service maintenance - Employees who perform duties which result in or contribute to the comfort, convenience, hygiene, or safety of the general public or which contribute to the upkeep or care of buildings, facilities, or grounds of public property.
6. A summary of the number of new employees hired in the prior calendar year, showing the numbers of new employees by position category, as well as by race, age, gender, and disability status.
7. A summary of the Minority/Women/Disadvantaged Business Enterprise status of each independent contractor retained by the County during the prior calendar year, together with the total contract values assigned to each during that calendar year.
8. An analysis of the reasons for gasp between current and desired states of diversity.
C. Provide that the workforce analysis will be repeated on a yearly basis to measure progress toward the desired state of diversity.
D. At the option of County Council, an independent consulting firm may be chosen by Council to review the findings made in the Executive's workforce analyses. The first independent review may be authorized no earlier than January 1, 2009, and at least three years must elapse between independent reviews thereafter. Independent reviews shall be funded by Council.
E. Provide for access by the public to the workforce analyses and independent reviews.
F. Outline a plan to establish or reaffirm existing criteria for disciplinary action against employees of all classifications for violations of the equal employment or diversity policies.
1. All County employees shall continue to bear the responsibility of abiding by both the letter and spirit of the County's equal employment policies by promptly reporting any violations of these policies and cooperating fully in any investigations under these policies.
2. The criteria for disciplinary action shall recognize that employees who set or maintain broad policies or direct individual departments or divisions bear additional responsibilities under diversity policies by virtue of their positions to ensure that employment, performance, and conduct decisions and practices are based on a consistent set of criteria that is applied to all employees and not based on factors unrelated to professional conduct, while ensuring that tradition, stereotypes, or other factors do not create a limit to the advancement of persons historically excluded from upper or middle management positions.
G. Provide information on how the documentation on all employees will be maintained and remain consistent.
H. Direct how reported violations of equal employment or diversity policies shall be investigated and acted upon and directing how and what corrective action shall be taken when a violation is found.
I. Recognize that failing to report or act upon a violation of these policies is itself a violation, and therefore take all practicable steps to prevent retaliation for reporting violations.
J. Provide for the means to ensure that all employees are aware of the requirements of the equal employment opportunity and diversity policies.
K. Provide for appropriate adjustments to the implementation plan on an annual basis to reflect changes to the diversity management strategies according to measured progress. Each year's analysis shall be compared to prior years' analyses to derive trends and show progress.
1. For the first analysis, the County diversity analysis shall be compared to information from the 2000 United States Census Bureau on race, age, gender, and disability status to evidence how the County workforce compares to the County's residents.
2. In subsequent years, the results of the County analysis shall be evaluated in relation to Census Bureau data only in the years in which new decennial census data is published.
L. Provide a plan for recruiting qualified diverse employees. This plan shall include a recommendation from the Chief Executive with regard to whether hiring and/or residence policies should be altered to permit or facilitate the hiring of highly qualified, diverse employees who do not reside within Allegheny County.
M. Assess and eliminate any systemic barriers to the effective recruitment and consideration of diverse employees, including but not limited to:
1. Broadening the area of consideration to include applicants from all appropriate sources; and
2. Ensuring that selection factors are appropriate and achieve the broadest consideration of applicants and do not impose barriers to selection based on any criterion other than merit.
N. Address how to improve outreach efforts to organizations outside the Allegheny County government in order to increase the number of diverse candidates in the selection pool.
O. Provide information on the promotion of participation of diverse employees in management, leadership, and career development programs.
P. Provide that performance plans for officials and administrators include specific language related to significant accomplishments on diversity recruitment and career development and that accountability is predicated on those plans.
Q. Ensure that officials and administrators receive periodic training in diversity management n order to carry out their responsibilities to maintain a diverse workforce.
R. Reflect a continuing priority for eliminating any under-representation of diverse groups in the county workforce and incorporate actions under this policy as strategies for achieving workforce diversity goals.
SECTION 3. If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 4. Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.