Federal Affirmative Action: Better EEOC Guidance and Agency Analysis of Underrepresentation Needed
GGD-91-86
Published: May 10, 1991. Publicly Released: May 16, 1991.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the federal affirmative employment program, focusing on: (1) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) major workforce data requirements for agency multiyear affirmative employment plans; and (2) agency compliance with requirements.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | EEOC should strengthen the emphasis of the federal affirmative employment program on improving minority and female representation in upper grade levels by including in its revised directive better guidance on what constitutes a major occupation. |
Closed – Implemented
EEOC has not responded to this recommendation. Revised guidance on what constitutes a major occupation was to be addressed in a draft management directive on Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Employment for Minorities, Women, and People With Disabilities. However, the management directive remains in draft and there are no current plans to finalize and publish it, according to the Federal Sector Programs Director.
|
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | EEOC should strengthen the emphasis of the federal affirmative employment program on improving minority and female representation in upper grade levels by expanding agency data collection and analysis requirements to include major occupation workforce data by grade level or grade groupings and the systematic use of representation indexes to analyze workforce data and estimate the number of people needed to attain full representation. |
Closed – Not Implemented
EEOC has not responded to this recommendation. Expanded agency data collection and analysis requirements to include major occupation workforce data were to be addressed in a draft management directive on Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Employment for Minorities, Women, and People With Disabilities. However, the management directive remains in draft and there are no current plans to finalize and publish it, according to the Federal Sector Programs Director.
|
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | EEOC should strengthen the emphasis of the federal affirmative employment program on improving minority and female representation in upper grade levels by withholding plan approval until all required data and analyses are included. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Standard internal operating procedures have been developed and implemented ensuring required agency data has been included in accomplishment reports and plans prior to approval. If data is not included in agency submissions, the report or plan will be rejected with a deadline for submission of the missing data provided in the EEOC response.
|
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | EEOC should strengthen the emphasis of the federal affirmative employment program on improving minority and female representation in upper grade levels by analyzing the time agencies took to prepare and EEOC to approve affirmative employment plans, develop standards for completing these processes, and hold agencies and EEO officials accountable for meeting the standards. |
Closed – Implemented
EEOC has analyzed the amount of time agencies have taken to prepare and submit affirmative employment plans and the time it took EEOC to approve these plans. EEOC has developed new procedures for ensuring timely submission and approval of agency plans.
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| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | EEOC should strengthen the emphasis of the federal affirmative employment program on improving minority and female representation in upper grade levels by: (1) compiling major occupation workforce data by agency; (2) identifying agencies with full EEO representations and successful affirmative employment strategies; and (3) sharing this information with other agencies with common occupations. |
Closed – Implemented
EEOC has not fully responded to this recommendation. EEOC does not routinely compile workforce data on major occupations. Collecting this information was provided for in a draft management directive on Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Employment for Minorities, Women, and People With Disabilities. However, the management directive remains in draft and there are no current plans to finalize and publish it, according to the Federal Sector Programs Director. The director said, however, that some analysis of representation rates in specific major occupations occurs during on-site technical visits to individual agencies.
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Civil rights law enforcementEmployee promotionsEmployment discriminationEmployment of minoritiesFair employment programsFederal employeesGS grade classificationHiring policiesOccupational surveysReporting requirements