The beginning of the year is a great time to assess your current human resources systems and ensure they address existing local, state and federal requirements. With a new year and a new budget in hand, it’s a smart idea to invest some time into ensuring that your company is complying with all EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) laws. And often, that means having a robust Affirmative Action program in place that includes a clear, written Affirmative Action Plan.
Who’s Your HR? is always available to answer questions about Affirmative Action compliance and other HR issues. To get you started, here is some information about whether your business is required to have an Affirmative Action Plan, and how to establish one that works smoothly.
Remember, all the information in this blog post is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. I am not an attorney, nor do I provide legal advice. The information provided is my personal opinion and not that of any organization, business, company, agency or other individuals. The author is not liable for any losses or damages related to actions or failure to act related to the content of this article. If you need specific legal advice, consult with an attorney who specializes in your subject matter. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (www.hrraw.com), is strictly at your own risk.
Penny Horton | January 16, 2020
What Is an Affirmative Action Plan?
An Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) is a tool used by a company to maintain equal employment opportunities for any potential employees and existing ones. It relies on statistical analyses based on demographics of your area’s workforce pool, in comparison to your company’s staffing pool. The goal is to have your staff reflect the demographics of your area, while also providing protected classes equal access to employment within your company.
What Are the Protected Classes?
Minorities, women, veterans and disabled groups aren’t typically employed at the rates they could be, considering their availability in a relevant labor pool. Using data analysis, AAPs compare the composition of your company’s workforce to that of other relevant labor pools. This equips you to address areas that are lacking by actively supporting employment opportunities for these protected classes.
How Does an Affirmative Action Program Work?
Affirmative Action programs are built to be action-oriented, with practical steps that address the underemployment of protected demographics, creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace. An effective program contains internal reporting and auditing systems that measure the progress made going forward to ensure that there is no discrimination in hiring processes, promotion within the company, as well as training among company staff.
AA programs contain all of the practices, policies, and procedures that an EEOC compliant company would implement, to make sure that all qualified employees and applicants have an equal opportunity for advancement, recruitment, and every other aspect of employment.
Who Should Have an Affirmative Action Plan?
While employers should always be aware of EEOC rules and regulations, only certain companies are required to have a written, up-to-date AAP on file, ready for audit. For example, all contractors and subcontractors doing business with the U.S. Federal government are required to have an Executive Order AAP if they meet certain employment and contract levels, including:
- Have 50 or more employees
- Have a contract of $50,000 or more
- Have government bills of lading which, in any 12-month period, equal $50,000 or more
- Serve as a depository of government funds in any dollar amount
- A financial institution that is an issuing and paying agent for savings bonds and notes in any dollar amount
AAPs for Individuals with Disabilities and Veterans may also be required for contractors and subcontractors. Who’s Your HR? or your legal counsel can help you identify which requirements you have.
What Should We Be Tracking?
Making sure that your company tracks how well you address affirmative action is important for staying in compliance with the EEOC. What sorts of things should be monitored and documented?
- Recruiting Practices
The ways you find worthy, qualified candidates affect who you hire. Recruiting practices that address the need to hire underserved populations can make all the difference. Career fairs that focus on diversity, for example, promote your company to candidates who identify with a wide range of diversity demographics such as racial and ethnic minorities, first generation students, low income, LGBTQ, veterans, as well as those with disabilities.
- Hiring Procedures
Taking deliberate steps to hire those from diverse populations is a significant step toward staying compliant. Diversity hiring is based not only on merit, but with added care taken to ensure the hiring process is free from biases regarding a candidate’s age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and other personal characteristics that are unrelated to their job performance.
- Training
A constant equipping of management and HR staff on issues such diversity and inclusion will ensure that an Affirmative Action Plan results in a workplace that minimizes discrimination in all forms. Effective training in these areas can result in valuable opportunities for growth in creating a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Be in Compliance with an AAP That Works Well for Your Company
At Who’s Your HR?, we know that creating an AAP can get put on hold while other, more immediate HR needs are being handled. But it’s essential to have one in place, and fortunately, you don’t want to wait until you receive a notification that one needs to be ready in 30 days. Who’s Your HR? can help you create and implement an Affirmative Action Plan that is audit-ready, training materials to enhance diversity-minded hiring, and more. We’ll take the pressure off your HR team, do the project right, and help you achieve your business goals with great HR results. Contact us to learn more.
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