ML20249C157

Informs Commission of Status of Equal Employment Opportunity (Eeo) Program at NRC

ML20249C157
Person / Time
Issue date:	06/10/1998
From:	Callan L NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
References
SECY-98-137, SECY-98-137-01, SECY-98-137-1, SECY-98-137-R, NUDOCS 9806260128
Download: ML20249C157 (64)

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JUNE 10.1998 SECY-98-137 EQB; The Commissioners EB.QM; L. Joseph Callan Executive Director for Operations

SUBJECT:

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO) BRIEFING PURPOSE:

To inform the Commission of the status of the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program at the NRC.

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BACKGROUND _;

The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, requires the Executive Director for Operations (EDO) to report to the Commission, at semi-annual public meetings, on the status of the Agency's Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program. The attached Report provides the status of EEO Programs at the NRC. This Report will be presented at the Commission briefing scheduled for June 25,1998.

Following the last briefing on October 14,1997, the Commission requested, through a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) dated January 14,1998, that the staff respond to several issues. A copy of the Commission's Staff Requirement's Memorandum and a complete copy of our response dated April 29,1998, is included as Attachment 1 to this Paper.

Among the requests from the Commission was that the Director of NRR and a Regional Administrator make a presentation at the next Commission Briefing. In response to this request, the NRR Office Director and the Regional Administrator from Region I have provided statements for this Report, and will address implementation of EEO policy within their respective organizations during the Commission Briefing. The statements by the NRR Office Director and Region i Administrator are included as Attachments 2 and 3, respectively.

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Contact:

NOTE: TO BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE Irene P. Little, SBCR AT THE COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULED pQL{

(301)415-7380 ON JUNE 25, 1998 Paul E. Bird, HR 3G, (301)415-7516

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This Report also includes an overview of EEO Accomplishments for the Period July 1,1997,-

through March 31,1998 (Attachment 4), EEO Workforce Profile Data by race, gender, and age -

(Attachment 5), and Bases and issues Alleged in EEO Complaints FY 1994-1998 (Attachment 6). Additionally, this Report includes a statement from one of the Agency's collateral-duty EEO counselors, describing the role of an EEO counselor and the kinds of issues employees bring to EEO counselors (Attachment 7); and a joint statement from the six EEO advisory committees, including status reports from four of the EEO subcommittees, and a separate statement by the Joint Labor Management EEO Committee (JLMEEO) (Attachment 8). The EEO Counselor and a representative from the EEO advisory committees will also make a statement during the Commission Briefing.

DISCUSSION:

.The primary and continuing goal of the EEO Program at the NRC is to provide equal

employment opportunities for all of its employees and to increase workforce diversity. in.

support of this goal, the staff continues to engage in efforts in the four major areas of emphasis:

(1) enhancing opportunities for advancement of minorities and women in professional positions; l.-

(2) expanding the pool of minorities and women for supervisory, management, executive, and l

senior level positions; (3) enhancing efforts to attract, develop, and retain employees with disabilities; and (4) improving communication about EEO and affirmative action objectives, improving management responsiveness, and evaluating progress. Our statement of accomplishments in these areas during the period July 1,1997 through March 31,1998, is included as Attachment 4 to the Report.

As the Agency continues to manage a declining workforce and works toward a 1:8 supervisory / employee ratio, the goals of increasing workforce diversity and maintaining a viable EEO program are becoming more challenging. Additionally, in this downsizing environment, managers face the challenge of implementing reorganizations to facilitate greater organizational effectiveness while adhering to the Agency's EEO goals and objectives. The Director, SBCR, participates in the review of reorganizations to assist managers in identifying options that have the least adverse impact on the EEO Program.

It is also important to note that the level of hiring and promotion activity during this reporting period reflects a decline. We had 3067 permanent employees on board at the end of the last reporting period, and 3004 permanent employees at the end of this reporting period, a decrease of 63 (Attachment 5, Table 1). The number of employees in supervisory positions decreased by 20 (from 429 to 409) (Attachment 5, Table 2). This trend is expected to continue, at least over the : short term. Even though hiring and promotion opportunities may be limited, we must not l

lose sight of our goal to ensure fair and equali opportunity for minorities and women in hiring, i

promotions, and other career enhancing opportunities.

In support of our goal of moving toward enhancing and managing a more diverse workforce, we

~ have taken the first steps in implementing a managing diversity process in the Agency. In February 1998, a managing diversity orientation session was presented to the Agency's senior-level managers and representatives of the EEO advisory committees. Based on the attendees' l

1 critiques of the presentations, changes were made and two subsequent sessions were held for

' Headquarters' managers and supervisors. This program will be presented to managers and l

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3 s'upervisors in each of the four Regions by the end of 1998. Consideration is also being given to scheduling an additional session at Headquarters. The next phase of managing diversity is planned for FY 1999,' and will involve presentations to all employees at Headquarters and in the regions. SBCR and HR will continue to work with the EEO advisory committees as we move through the managing divarsity process.

' We will continue our partnership with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Engineering -

- (ORISE) and use this partnership as a resource to ircease diversity in our applicant pool.

ORISE implements NRC's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Program, which provides'research opportunities for students and professors affiliated with HBCUs. Under this program, students and professors conduct research directly related to NRC's mission. As a part of this effort HR and SBCR will review resumes of these students to identify those who are qualified to compete for positions at NRC.

. As discussed during the last EEO briefing in October 1997, the staff has initiated efforts to update the Agency's Affirmative Action Plan. A team comprised of one representative from each of the support offices (SBCR, HR, and ADM) was formed to draft an updated Affirmative Action Plan for the Agency. The draft Affirmative Action Plan is complete and SBCR is working with the -

EEO advisory committees to finalize the plan.

Additionally, guidance was provided to managers and supervisors on including EEO goals and initiatives in their respective operating plans. Office directors and regional administrators will now provide progress reports on EEO and human resource accomplishments, along with other program achievements, during the quarterly update of the operating plans.

During FY 1998, the Agency continues to maintain a cadre of 30 collateral-duty EEO counselors who work with employees and managers to attempt to resolve allegations of discrimination that could lead to formal complaints. During the period October 1,1997, through March 31,1998,30 individuals sought EEO counseling. Concems that employees raised with the EEO counselors are summarized in Attachment 7.

During FY 1998, only two formal discrimination complaints have been filed under the EEO Complaint Process. One of these complaints was filed by an outside job applicant. As reflected in the following data, there has been a decline in the number of formal complaints filed in the past five years:

Fiscal Year Number of Complaints 1994 9'

1995 17 1996 11

~1997 7

1998 2

. Based on our review of the formal discrimination complaint data, reprisal associated with prior EEO complaint activity continues to be the most frequent basis raised in EEO complaints. The chart at Attachment 6 provides the bases, types, and number of issues alleged over a 5-year

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J To further minimize any significant increase in formal discrimination complaint activity, SBCR will continue to address EEO and affirmative employment concerns raised by employees and the EEO advisory committees, and attempt to resolve issues without undue delay and at the lowest level possible. SBCR will also continue to work closely with management to facilitate the resolution of issues and will keep management and employees informed of EEO and affirmative l

employment programs and initiatives.

SBCR will continue to ensure that EEO counselors are provided training to enhance their skills.

An objective of the EEO Counselor's Conference, scheduled for June 16-17,1998, is to enhance the counselor's skills in conducting interviews and preparing an effective EEO Counselor's Report. These skills will facilitate the counselor's efforts in resolving EEO concems and/or preparing a report that can withstand scrutiny on review if a formal complaint is filed.

l SBCR has begun to review the bases for allegations of discrimination raised at the informal stage to determine if any correlation exists between the number and types of bases and issues resolved at the informal stage and the number and types of issues and bases that are pursued through the formal stage of the process. This type of information can help to identify problem areas that may need to be addressed by SBCR, HR, or line management.

The following are highlights of activities during this reporting period. In some instances progress has been made; however, we still have room for improvement (i.e., ensuring that minorities are given a fair opportunity to move into the SLS and for rotational assignments). Attachment 5 contains more details on these data:

The Agency hired 82 employees: 50 (61%) white men,14 (17%) white women, and 18 (22%) minorities. This compares to 86 hires during the last reporting period: 51 (59 %)

white men,19 (22%) white women, and 16 (18%) minorities.

Fifty-nine employees were hired into professional positions: 41 (69%) white men,4 (7%)

white women, and 14 (24%) minorities. During the last reporting period 25% of the professional hires were minorities or women, compared to 31% during this reporting period.

Five employees with disabilities were hired bringing the total number of employees with self-identified disabilities to 198.

Two Hispanic employees were hired during this period. According to the EEOC workforce profile data, Hispanics continue to be the most severely under-represented group in Federal service. NRC's efforts to increase Hispanic representation are detailed in Attachment 4.

One hundred ninety-one employees served in rotational assignments: 107 (56%) white men,50 (26%) white women,6 (3%) African American men,10 (5%) African American women,6 (3%) Asian Pacific American men,6 (3%) Asian Pacific American women, 2 (1%) Hispanic men,2 (1%) Hispanic women, and 2 (1%) Native American men. During l

' the last reporting period,120 employees served in rotational assignments: 73 white i

men,30 white women, and 17 minorities.

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l-5 The total number of women in the Senior Executive Service (SES) increased from.17 to 21 (19%) and the number of minority men increased from 14 to 15 (7%).1 (During the prior reporting period, the number of women in SES positions increased by 2.)'

The number of women in grades 13-15 decreased from 422 to 414. The number of f

minorities at the same grade levelincreased from 347 to 356.

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' Seven' employees (6 white men,1 white woman) moved to the Senior Level Service bringing the total to 41.

The number of managers / supervisors decreased from 429 to 409. Following is the current breakout: 303 (74%) white males,51 (13%) white women,15 (4%) African American men,14 (3%) African American women,14 (3%) Asian Pacific American men,

. 5 (1%) Asian Pacific American women,5 (1%) Hispanic men,1 (0.2%) Hispanic woman, and 1 (0.2%) Native American man. The decrease of 20 is identical to the decrease in this area during the last reporting period and there are no significant changes in the breakout. This steady decline in managerial / supervisory positions is due to the Agency's efforts to achieve a 1:8 supervisory: employee ratio. We are pleased that this decline has not adversely impacted minority or women representation in supervisory / managerial positions.

EEO ADVISORY COMMITTEES The staffs of SBCR and HR have continued to work with the EEO advisory committees and the Joint Labor Management EEO (JLMEEO) Committee. The joint statement provided by the EEO advisory committees and the JLMEEO Committee's statement are included as Attachment 8.

During the last EEO briefing, a representative of the EEO advisory committees recommended restoration of the NRC Intem Program as a means of attracting and recruiting a diverse group of qualified applicants for positions in NRR. We have now re-established the intem Program to include intem positions in both Regional and Headquarters offices. For FY 1998 and FY 1999, NRR, NMSS, RES, AEOD, and the Regions have agreed to support this program to the extent possible within their allocated resource levels. The Agency has targeted 11 positions for the Intem Program during FY 1998.

The Managing Diversity Subcommittee has completed the actions within its charter and has dissolved. - Its primary _ concem was support for implementation of a managing diversity process.

As previously discussed, the first stage of the managing diversity process has been implemented and the second phase is planned for FY 1999. The statement from the Managing Diversity Subcommittee describes the EEO Advisory Committees

• continuing role in the managing diversity process.-

~ The Performance Monitoring Subcommittee's primary focus was determining the impact of s6veral Agency programs / initiatives on achievement of the Agency's EEO goals. The Subcommittee completed its review of these programs / initiatives and made several

' recommendations including an increased effort by the Agency to establish more upward mobility positions, and additional efforts to increase women and minority participation in the Resident

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6 and Senior Resident Development Programs. (The formal centralized Resident and Senior.

Resident Development Programs are inactive at this time.) The Subcommittee's statement which addresses its recommendations for each program / initiative reviewed is included as The Selection Subcommittee developed several recommendations for consideration. During the last Commission Briefing, we discussed some of the recommendations that had been accepted. SBCR and HR have continued their review and consideration of the remaining recommendations. ' In response to one of their recommendations, HR is currently working on a question and answer brochure which describes the merit selection process..This brochure will be distributed to all employees.

h A Paraprofessional Subcommittee was recently established to consider issues which may have an impact on NRC administrative support staff. SBCR and HR will work closely with this Subcommittee to address their issues.

- During the last Commission Briefing, the JLMEEO Committee recommended that the Agency -

conduct a Sexual Harassment Awareness Day. As a result of the joint efforts of SBCR and the JLMEEO Committee, this activity was held on May 21,1998. Since the last Commission Briefing, the Committee has made additional recommendations regarding the Agency's process for granting EEO Awards and for filling Commission Assistant positions. SBCR and HR will continue to work with the Committee to address these issues.

We will be prepared to discuss the information presented in this paper at the June 25,1998 EEO Commission meeting.

.Jo a an Ex ive Director for Operations Attachments:

1.

4/29/98 Response to 1/14/98 Staff Requirements Memorandum 2.

Statement by Samuel J. Collins, D/NRR

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- Statement by Hubert J. Miller, RA/ Region 1 4.

EEO Accomplishments for the period July 1,1937, through March 31,1998

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- EEO Wor.kforce Profile Data 6.

Bases and lasues Alleged in Formal EEO Complair is FY 1994-1998

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Statement by Susan Y. Smith, EEO Counselor 8.

-Joint Statement by the Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committees and Their Four Subcommittees, and Statement by the Joint Labor Management Equal Employment Opportunity Committee s

- DISTRIBUTION:

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l APRIL 29,1998 RESPONSE TO JANUARY 14,1998, STAFF REQUIREMENTS MEMORANDUM l

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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April 29, 1998 MEMORANDUM TO:

Chairman J2ckson l

Commissioner Dieus l

Commissioner Diez Commissioner McGaffigan FROM:

L. Joseph Callan Executive Director for perations

SUBJECT:

STAFF REQUIREMENTS MEMORANDUM FOLLOWING EEO BRIEFING ON OCTOBER 14,1997 The response to the Staff Requirements Memorandum dated January 14,1998, following the EEO program briefing on October 14,1997 is attached. It will also be included in the EEO briefing paper that you will receive prior to the EEO brie 3ng scheduled for June 1998.

Attachment:

As stated cc w/ attachment:

SECY OGC OCA OPA CIO CFO 4

RESPONSE TO SRM ON EEO BRIEFING Provide information comparing the relative success of other technical agencies, such as the Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), with NRC in hiring technical entry-level women and minorities.

Representatives of the Office of Human Resources (HR) contacted the Environmental-Protection Agency (EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Department of Energy (DOE) to gather information for comparing relative success in hiring technical entry level women and minorities. These agencies provided information about their successful recruitment practices but did not have data readily available and/or were not at liberty to provide data regarding entry-level women and minorities hired.

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Each of the agencies expressed a concem that recent hiring limitations and hiring i

priorities for filling critical positions at the full-performance level may give a false impression of their relative success in hiring entry-level women and minorities when i

cynpared to other organizations.

EPA utilizes a multi-million dollar grant program, along with a professional recruiting

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service to recruit college graduates to fill designated entry-level positions with qualified applicants including women and minorities. In the past, EPA has been very successfulin hiring technical entry-level women and minorities for regional positions utilizing these programs. At headquarters, however, recent recruitment efforts have been focused primarily on hiring at the full-performance level in order to fill a limited number of mission critical vacancies.

NASA representatives believe they have achieved success in hiring women and minorities for technical entry-level positions through imple' mentation of several recruitment approaches. First, NASA selecting officials conduct on-site interviews for entry-level personnel at professional conferences and at recruiting events, such as those sponsored by Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the Socety of Hispanic Engineers. Second, they identify highly qualified entry-level applicants through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) registers of eligible candidates. Third, students who complete NASA research grant and cooperative education assignments are often converted to permanent NASA positions. The latter method has been one of NASA's most successful strategies for hiring technical entry-level women and minorities.

DOE representatives strongly support the establishment of partnerships with minority and women organizations, such as Hispanic Association of Colleges and Unbrersities, the Amencan Indian Science and Engineering Socety, National Association of Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, and the Center for Advancement of Hispanic Science and Engineers Education. Partnerships with these organizations have extended DOE's

- recruitment efforts and have led to more applicant referrals.- DOE has also been successful in utilizing the

• direct hire" authority extended by the OPM to expedite hiring, including hiring technical entry-level women and minorit' s.

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2 When compared with EPA, NASA, and DOE, NRC has been very successful in using its excepted service hiring authority along with professional recruiting services, on-site interviews at professional organizations and schools, and various recruitment programs (e.g., Intern / Co-operative Education, Graduate Fellows) to identify, attract, and eventually hire technical women and minorities. NRC does not administer a substantial grant or' student research progrnm. In addition, NRC has virtually eliminated the Cooperative Fducation Program due to' budgetary limitations. In FY 1997, NRC hired 73 technical employees (engineers and scientists) of which 9 were entry-level hires (6 white males,1 white female,1 African American male and 1 Asian Pacific American female.)

In the first half of FY 1998 there were a total of 37 technical hires of which none were entry-level hires. However, NRR has recently made employment offers to 8 entry-level employees: 1 Asian male,3 white males and 4 white females.

Based upon our discussions with representatives of these other agencies, we believe that NRC has been relatively successful in attracting and hiring technical entry-level women and minorities. We have not been hampered by competitive service hiring limitations and have been able to utilize entry-level recruitment programs and outside professional recruitment services to achieve success in recruiting. HR plans to explore the additional use of partnerships tvith minority and women organizations, and the restoration of the Cooperative Education Program as a further means of enhancing our recruitment sources to attract highly qualified technical entry-level women and minorities.

Develop a tracking matrix to monitor selection, based on availability on the best qualified list (BQL), of women and minority candidates (to tne extent they are identified as such) by professional (engineering, scientific, legal, professional /adrninistrative) category in each NRC office.

I HR gathers applicant data from the BOL, including data reflecting ethnicity, gender, and occupational category. This information is sorted by Office / Region and is provided to the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) for review and follow up with the offices and regions as appropriate. SBCR and HR are developing an improved tracking matrix to better format this data for review. SSCR will continue to conduct routine assessments of this data to determine selection trends and pattems for each NRC cffice and region.

Provide information on the extent to which the NRC contract with the Southwest Research Center (SwRI) to operate the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analysis 1

(CNWRA), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), requires good performance in the equal employment opportunity (EEO) performance contract clauses of

. DOE, NASA, Department of Defense (DOD) FFRDCs.

' The NRC's contract with SwRI for operation of the CNWRA includes two EEO clauses which are required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).. These clauses establish the EEO performance criteria required of all Federal contractors including those negotiated by DOD, DOE, and NASA. In general, these clauses prohibit discrimination base on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and require the contractor to take

. affirmative action in its employment practices. They also require the contractor to post

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3 notices explaining the EEO clauses; to include an' anti-discrimination clause in solicitations and advertisements; and provide copies of the EEO clause to union / labor representatives copies, etc.-

However, SwRI has gone a step further. It currently has in place an EEO/ Minority Recruiting Plan which summarizes SwRI's demographic profile and outlines strategies to enhance representation of minorities and women. SwRI's EEO policy applies to all personnel activities related to employment; upgrading, demotion, or transfer, recruitment or advertising; layoff or termination; compensation including pay rates; and training.

Specific recruitment strategies include advertisements that target high distribution to minorities, visits to 4-year and junior college schools with high minority populations, participation in student programs at local schools, development of liaisons with local community and national minority organizations, hosting on-site career fairs, and conducting on-going assessments to improve diversity in the workplace.

The total number of staff at SwRI is 60: 5 white women,30 white men,2 African American men,6 Hispanic women,7 Hispanic men,1 Asian woman, and 9 Asian men.

Additionally, there is a total of 10 managers: 5 white men,2 Hispanic men, and 3 Asian men. Representation of African American women and men, and Asian women is low when compared to other groups. Additionally, there are no women and no African American men in manegerial positions. However, this region of the country has a relatively high population of Hispanics and Hispanics are well-represented in the SWRI workforce.

Emphasize in recruitment efforts that challenging technical jobs exist at the NRC.

Over the years, NRC has used various recruitment strategies to emphasize the challenging nature of the technical jobs that exist at this agency. For the past 5 years, the recruitment advertising campaign theme "A Different Kind of Hero" includes specific examples of challenging technicaljobs at NRC and the diversity of employees that occupy these positions. This theme is reflected in our recruitment brochures and the display used at recruitment events and career fairs. In our display material we feature photos of staff members in challenging technical positions and describe the agency's major functions and some of the benefits of Federal employment. We have placed ads using this theme in a variety of professional and minority publications. Additionally, more emphasis has been placed on training employees who serve as recruiters by providing them a brief summary of the Agency's current hiring needs and recruitment strategies.

Our technical staff who attend recruitment events are provided with an outline of key points to emphasize, including a focus on the challenging aspects of NRC positions. As we revise our advertising and recruitment material, we will increase the emphasis on the challenging nature of the technical work carried out by the NRC.

Ensure that in future EEO briefings, HR describes how recruitment source information is disseminated among offices and regions.

HR provides recruitment source information to all program offices and the regions each fiscal year. Specifically, HR develops and coordinates an annual recruitment plan with

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input from SBCR and program managers. This recruitment plan focuses on strategies to meet the anticipated hiring needs of the Agency for the upcoming year. Among the strategies are recruitment visits to selected colleges, universities, and professional organizations, including those which complement our interests in attracting a diverse pool of high quality candidates for NRC positions. The recruitment plan is a dynamic resource document which changes throughout the year as unanticipated hiring needs are identified and new recruitment sources are discovered. HR also provides specific recruitment plans for offices and regions to address unique skill requirements for hard to fill positions. These specific plans may also include attendance at recruitment events and career fairs sponsored by colleges, universities and professional organizations. In cooperation with NRC Off ces and Regions, HR provides follow-up direct mailings to deans and career service offices at the schools on career opportunities for highly qualified students. Further, HR identifies professionaljoumals and local newspapers, including co:lege newspapers for the placement of NRC recruitment ads. Applications for employment from all sources are coordinated through the headquarters *s applicant review system and are made available to managers in headquarters as well as throughout the regions. This system contains approximately 500 current applications receive < within the last six months.

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l Include the Director, Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), and another Regional Administrator among the office directors making formal presentations to the Commission at the next EEO briefing and require that the NRR representative provide statistic 11 data on the number and types of advanced degrees held by members of NRR's professional staff.

The Director of NRR and the Regional Administrator for Region I have been selected to participate in the next EEO Commission Briefing wrently scheduled for June 1998.

SBCR issued guidance for their use in addressing implementation of EEO program policies in their offices. The presentation for NRR will include statistical data on the number and type of advanced degrees held by members of NRR's professional staff. At present, a total of 274 NRR professional employees hold 374 advanced degrees.

Assess the merits of, and need for, restoring the NRC Intern Program.

Intem Programs have been, and continue to be, an effective recruitment incentive for recent graduates and students. We have been successful in utilizing the intem programs to attract and hire a diverse group of high caliber entry-level employees to l

carry out the agency's regulatory health and safety mission. We have recently re-established and expanded our Technica' intem Program to include entry-level positions in NRC Regional and Headquarters offices. For FY 1998 and FY 1999 NRR, NMSS, RES, AEOD, and the Regions have committed to support this program. Recruitment is currently underway to fill intem positions. NRR has recently made eight employment offers to intem candidates including offers to 1 Asian male,3 white males, and 4 white females. Other offices plan to consider intems in the near future.

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5 Highlight specific actions being taken to address the issue of under representation of '

Hispanics in the Agency at all levels.

We are continuing to have difficulty attracting, recruiting, and hiring Hispanic employees.

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' So far this fiscal year we have attended six recruitment events sponsored by professional Hispanic organizations in an effort to attract Hispanic applicants. These include:

National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives, Ariington, VA Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Orlando, FL University of Maryland Multi-Ethnic Career Fair Florida intemational '.'niversity (FIB), Miami, FL University of New Mexico, Albuquerque,' NM '

. New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM The primary goal of these organizations is to promote employment opportunities for

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Hispanic Americans. In addition to these on-site efforts, NRC recruitment advertisements were placed in 7 joumals and 13 newspapers targeting Hispanic populations as well as on the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and SALUDOS websites. We have contacts with and have made recruitment visits to colleges with high

- Hispanic student populations such as the University of Puerto Rico and Florida Intemational University. NRC Hispanic employees serve as members of recruitment teams and are featured as role models in our recruitment advertisement. As a result of these efforts in FY 1997, two Hispanics (1 male and 1 female) were hired in the first half of this fiscal year. We are currently exploring the possibility of participating in the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities SummerJntemship Program in FY 1999.

The Director, SBCR, rnet with the Chair of the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC). Included in this meeting were representatives from NRR, HR, and the H;spanic Employment Program Advisory Committee. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss strategies for recruiting Hispanics. The primary strategy discussed involved establishing relationships with faculty of " math-based" departments at colleges that have a high percentage of Hispanic enrollment. HENAAC has been added to our recruitment schedule for FY 1999.

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1. o January 14, 1998 IN RESPONSE, PLEASE OFFICE OF THE REFER TO M971014A SECRETARY MEMORANDUM TO: L. Joseph Callan Executive Director for Operations i

FROM:

John C. Hoyle, Secreta igm

SUBJECT:

STAFF REQUIREMENTS: BRIEFING ON EEO PROGRAM, 10:00 A.M. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1997, COMMISSIONERS CONFERENCE ROOM, ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND (OPEN TO PUBLIC ATTENDANCE)

The Commission was briefed by the NRC staff, selected office directors, and representatives of the agency's EEO employee advisory committees on the status of NRC's EEO program.

The Commission requested that the staff:

provide information comparing the relative success of other technical agencies, such as DOE, EPA, and NASA, with NRC in hiring technical entry level women and minorities.

develop a tracking matrix to monitor selection, based on availability on the BQL, of women and minority candidates (to the extent they are identified as such) by professional (engineering, scientific, 1cgal, l

professional / administrative) category in each NRC office.

provide information on the extent to which the NR contract with the Southwest Research Center to operate l

the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analysis, a l

Federally Funded Research and Development Center l

(FFRDC), ' requires good performance in the EEO area as well as information on the'EEO performance contract clauses of DOE, NASA, DOD FFRDCs.

I emphasize in recruitment efforts that challenging technical jobs exist at the NRC.

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ensure that in future EEO briefings, the Office of Human Resources describes how recruitment source information is disseminated among offices and regions.

include the Director of NRR and another Regional Administrator among the office directors making formal presentations.to the Commission at the next EEO briefing and require that the NRR representative provide statistical data on the number and type of advanced degrees held by members of NRR's professional staff.

assess the merits of, and need for, restoring the NRC intern program.

highlight specific actions being taken to address the issue of under representation of Hispanics in the agency at all levels.

(EDO)

(SECY Suspense:

4/30/98) cc:

Chairman Jackson Commissioner Dicus Commissioner Dia:

Commissioner McGaffigan OGC CFO CIO OCA 01G Office Directors, Regions, ACRS, ACNW, ASLBP (via E-Mail)

-PDR DCS

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l STATEMENT BY:

SAMUEL J. COLLINS, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION l

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i' Good morning, Chairman and Commissioners. My staff and I are fully committed to equa!

l employment opportunity for all NRR employees, and we fully support the agency's affirmative l

action objectives and goals. I hope that the information I will share with you and members of the audience will demonstrate that commitment.

As of the end of March 1998, halfway through the fiscal year, NRR had 624 full time and part time employees. Of the total staff,25 percent are minorities and 75 percent are white. Twenty-three percent of the total staff are women and 77 percent are men. As of mid fiscal year 1998, we have recruited and hired 9 new employees,56 percent or five of which were minorities and four were white men. Among those hired,78 percent or seven were age 40 and over, and the remaining two were under age forty.

I will be following the format from the last EEO briefing that includes data on NRR awards, appraisals, and demographic statistics. In response to SRM 9800004, I will also provide data on the advanced degrees among the NRR professional staff. Then I will provide information on the implementation of EEO program policies in NRR, followed by a discussion on the development and evaluation of management skills.

As of mid fiscal year 1998,180 awards were issued,22 percent of which were given to minorities,17 percent to white women, and 61 percent to white men. As a comparison, in fiscal year 1997,22 percent of the total 265 awards were given to minorities,22 percent to white women, and 57 percent to white men. An Awards Review Committee process was established this year to assure consistency and adherence to policy in reviewing and approving award recommendations across our large office, in addition, two designated members of the National Treasury Employees Union review and comment on award nominations of bargaining unit employees for performance awards, high quality increases, and special act or service awards.

We view the Awards Review Committee and bargaining unit input as contributing to awards parity and credibility of the performance recognition process.

We have instituted periodic all hands meetings to improve communication within NRR. These meetings are meant to foster exchanges between NRR staff on varied topics. One such meeting was held to discuss the realignment of performance appraisal ratings. To the staffs credit they elected to move forward fairly and not delay with the rebaselining of appraisal ratings.

For the last non-SES appraisal cycle, fiscal year 1997, we had 51 percent outstanding ratings, down from 60 percent in 1996; forty-three percent excellent ratings compared to 37 percent in 1996; and six percent fully successful ratings compared to three percent in 1996. Although NRR has not yet achieved parity with other offices, we have made substantial progress and will continue our efforts to ensure meaningful performance appraisals are conducted.

- 2 in terms of ethnicity, in the outstanding rating category, minorities increased from 19 to 20 percent, white women remained at 20 percent, and white men decreased from 61 percent to 60 percent from fiscal year 1996 to 1997. In the excellent rating category, the percentage -

decreased for minorities from 34 to 30 percent, white women increased from 10 to 11 percent, and white men increased from 56 percent to 59 percent. In the fully satisfactory rating category, minorities decreased from 47 to 41 percent, white women increased from'16 to 22 percent, and white men increased from 37. percent to 38 percent. I believe these numbers illustrate that our.

rebaselining efforts have not adversely impacted women and minorities.

The demographics of the office have remained relatively constant over the past few years even

- while our authorized FTE levels have dropped by 48, from 693 FTE in 1996 to 645 FTE in 1998.

From 1996-1998 the staff has been composed of approximately 24 percent women and 76 percent men. Over the same time period, the average age of our staff has slightly increased, from 46 in fiscal year 1996 to 47 in fiscal year 1997, and to 48 at midyear 1998. Currently, minorities represent 25 percent of the staff, white women represent 15 percent, white men 60 percent, and women and minorities combined represent 40 percent of the total staff. Minority men represent 17 percent, and minority women eight percent. Of the total staff, Hispanics represent two percent, African Americans represent eight percent, Asian Pacific Americans represent 15 percent, and Whites represent 75 percent. Over the past two years, approximately seven percent of our staff claimed disabled status.

In response to the SRM, our records indicate that eighty-six percent of the total staff hold degrees either at the Bachelors, Masters or Ph.D. levels and 45 percent hold an advanced degree. Of the 521 members of our professional staff,514 or 98 percent are degree holders.

1 Of this group,274 or 53 percent hold 374 advanced degrees. Of the 76 Doctorate degrees earned,74 percent were in engineering disciplines, and another 22 percent were in scientific fields such as physics and chemistry. Of the Masters' degrees eamed,76 percent were eamed

. in engineering disciplines, ten percent in the sciences, and fourteen percent in other areas such as economics, and business and public administration. In addition,21'or 57 percent of the 37 members of the administrative staff are degree baldars, of which seven hold advanced degrees.

Of the 66 members of the clerical staff,4 are dev ce noiders, including cne advanced degree

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To enhance career development for the staff we have provided opportunities such as rotations, training,~ and the IDP process. In the past year, NRR supported 10 percent of its total staff (61 employees) for rotational assignments to provide for career development of both management and staff. This is an increase from eight percent in fiscal year 1996.' We have supported key -

rotations for minorities and women, in 1997,21 percent of the staff on rotations were minorities, 16 percent were white women, and 62 percent were white men. As of midyear fiscal year 1998, minorities accounted for 18 percent, white women accounted for 12 percent, and white men accounted for 71 percent of the total rotations. Over the current year we provided 525

' instances of training to our staff, which equates to 84 pcment when comparing instances of training to onboard staff; among those, 24 percent were minorities,12 percent were white women and 64 percent were white men. The NRR Executive Team has begun to actively

' monitor training in the office to ensure an equitsbie participation of women and minorities.

Training plans are mandatory for all supervisors and for all employees who requested extemal training in NRR for this fiscal year. These training plans are designed to fulfill formal qualification requirements, including selected developmental training programs; to maintain or improve skills needed to perform current job duties; and to prepare employees to meet future skill needs of the agencyi Similar training plans for fiscal year 1999 are due in June of 1998. Individual Development Plans, which primarily assist an individual and his/her supervisor to plan and schedule leaming activities to achieve individual development goals, are also utilized by the stsffi To date, seven percent of the staff (41 employees) have an active IDP in place. Of the employees with an active lDP, eighty percent (33) are women and minorities; ninety percent of the total are held by members of the professional staff. I fully support the use of these valuable tools and have emphasized their importance at all hands meetings with the NRR staff.

l To address the perception of pre-selection, all competitive selection:: in the office are currently reviewed and approved by the appropriate Associate Director and my Deputy Office Director to ensure fair and equitable implementation of the agency's merit selection process. We have held an all hands meeting to discuss merit selection and hear the staffs views of this process.

During 1996,32 percent of the total 56 competitive promotions were minorities,16 percent were white women, and the remaining 52 percent were white men. In 1997,33 percent of the total 43 promotions were minorities, 26 percent were white women, and the remaining 42 percent were

' white men. In 1998,10 competitive promotions were made,30 percent of which were minorities,

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. 50 percent white women, and the remaining 20 percent were white men.

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. Additionally, our goal is to have diverse evaluation panels in terms of ethnicity and gender.

Selecting officials are encouraged to use panel members from other divisions and offices on their panels as welli Staff from the Office of Human Resources are instrumental in assuring a diverse composition of the panels. To promote consistency, guidelines on the appropriate uses

. of rotations, details, reassignments, postings, and acting supervisors were developed and.

issued to all NRR managers as part of our continuing efforts to provide a. fair opportunity for all employees.-

Current efforts underway to improve the competitive selection process include the use of generic postings.L NRR is moving toward an environment of generic postings to decrease the time between the need in the organization arising and the filling of a position. These generic postings

- will capture general engineering discip!ines such as electrical, mechanical, nuclear, and ;

chemical engineering. These will be open until filled postings which will allow the office to expeditiously place highly qualified candidates where the needs occur. ?Ne intend to utilize broad rating factors to allow for the widest population of potential applicants.

In February, the pre-selection subcommittee communicated to me a concern that Asian Pacific American men spent a longer time in grade before being promoted. Additionally, the subcommittee noted that Asian Pacific American men are under-represented in the supervisory ranks. I have agreed to review these issues.

Recommendations made by the subcommittee such as the use of a checklist by human resources specialists and improved information being provided to selecting officials are steps in the right direction. Since the Effective Management Participation in Merit Staffing Course was instituted in 1997, about a third of NRR supervisors (24 of the 78 supervisors) have completed the course. I also encourage selecting officials to communicate with candidates who are not selected to provide feedback on the process, the selection, and the individual's capability for the position. Although we have made progress in this area, it is an area for improvement in the '

office.

To enhance communications further, the Deputy Office Director meets annually with each

- branch to provide a forum to discuss issues of concem to employus. As I have mentioned earlier, the "Ask the NRR Executive Team" process was initiated upon my arrival, which invites NRR employees; anonymously if desired, to submit to a member of the Executive Team'(NRR ET) questions of interest for a response to all employees; Numerous -"Ask the ET" inquiries were responded to this fiscal year on issues such as rotational opportunities and process,.

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5 awards, Technical Assistant position grades, and building safety standards. Additionally, we have held several "All Hands" meetings to disseminate information to the staff on current issues such as appraisals, streamlining goals, organizational issues, FTE utilization, and the operating plan process. These meetings have been widely attended and provide an environment for staff to ask questions. We have found both the "Ask the ET" and the "All Hands" meetings to be effective vehicles to disseminate accurate information about topics of general interest.

We have also recently formed an administrative staff subcommittee in conjunction with the Office's local labor management partnership to focus on those unique challenges facing NRR support staff. Members of my staff meet weekly with our human resources staff and I met with members of the EEO Advisory Committees this year to discuss employee concems ano ways to improve the working environment in NRR. This session provided an environment for open, candid discussions about current issues in the office.

This year we actively pursued two new recruitment sources. A Hispanic intem program graduate attended the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineer (SHPE) job fair along with Luis Reyes of Region 11 to recruit potential high quality Hispanic candidates. While we did not receive as many near-term graduate applications, we do have a good supply of potential summer intem candidates. We will pursue these applications consistent with NRR's ability to support summer internships.

NRR, SBCR, and HR met with representatives from the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards to share networks for developing relationships with universities and societies to promote Hispanic employment at the NRC. Commissioner Diaz, you are familiar with this organization's good works as their 1990 National Engineer Achievement Award recipient. From this meeting, we will be provided with key contacts at universities with which we hope to cultivate long-term relationships. I believe this will become a positive recruitment source for our future entry level hiring.

The last class of NRR intems, composed exclusively of two minorities and three white women, is due to graduate this summer. The intem program has been an area where we have been quite successful in recruiting and retaining quality minority and women candidates. Beginning with the first NRR intem class of 1991 through the class of 1998,77 percent (59/77) of the population are still with the agency: 47 percent (28/59) of those are minorities,19 percent (11/59) are white women, and 34 percent (20/59) are white men. Twenty percent (12/59) have achieved positions at the grade 14 or higher in the agency includirig one African American man

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. in the Senior Executive Service. To continue the successes achieved from the intern program, the' staff has applied the lessons leamed from the intem recruitment effort to the recently initiated Lentry level hiring program, Members of the NRR technical staff have been active participants at agency-sponsored recruitment events as well as participants on EEO committees. As a result of these actions, we -

received a positive response to our entry level hiring efforts this year. We received 171

. applications as a result of our combined recruitment efforts with the Office of Human Resources to colleges and universities. A panel of Executive Team representatives reviewed these-applications against office needs. This !ist was then narrowed to 53,15 of which agreed to be interviewed Among those interviewed,40 percent were minorities,20 percent were white

women, and 40 percent white men. Eleven offers have been made,37 percent to minorities,

27 percent to white women, and 36 percent to white men. The demographics of the selected candidates are one Asian Pacific American woman, one Asian Pacific American man, one African American man, one African American woman, three White women, and four White men.

As of the end of April, two white women and one white man have declined, one Asian Pacific American man, one Asian Pacific American woman, one African American woman, one White wornan, and one White man have accepted.

Finally, we are actively reviewing and updating position descriptions to accurately reflect the current duties and responsibilities of all positions..This project is 59 percent completed as of mid year; 132 position descriptions have been reviewed, and 36 position descriptions have been rewritten and or revised. We anticipate this effort to be completed this summer.

In the area of management skills development and evaluation, we are continuing our efforts to provide training. Of the 78 managers and supervisors,45 have completed 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> of leaming activities this year and another 28 are on a path to complete this requirement. One-third of our 78 managers and supervisors on board have completed the EEO Course for mangers and supervisors since 1990. SES managers are encouraged to discuss EEO issues and initiatives 1

during quarterly performance reviews.. These issues are emphasized with Executive Team members during their quarterly reviews and I strongly encourage them to do the same with

. subordinate managers.

Overall, I am encouraged by the progress that has been made in the areas of EEO and affirmative action.L NRR managers and supervisors are aware and concemed about fair opportunity for our employees as evidenced by the distribution of awards, appraisals, rotations, i

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7 and opportunities for advancement. Our progress has occurred within an environment of declining resources and streamlining efforts. Consequently, the diminished opportunities to recruit and promote women and minorities remain a challenge to our EEO program. Lessons l

leamed from the intem and entry level hiring programs indicate that despite our continual increased efforts over the course of eight years to recruit Hispanic candidates into permanent positions, we have only been successful in hiring four Hispanics for the intern program in NRR.

These candidates are highly recruited by private industry and often times we are not competitive l

in salaries; this is particularly true of recruiting activities at the GG -13 level. Additionally we are finding that many candidates have strong geographical preferences for job locations which may override career opportunities and salary. We will continue working to maintain existing contacts and cultivate new relationships with minority universities and professional associations in support of our EEO initiatives. I look forward to the year ahead and appreciate the opportunity to present this information to the Commission.

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j STATEMENT BY:

HUBERT J. MILLER, REGIONAL ~ ADMINISTRATOR, REGION I 1

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IMPLEMENTATION OF EEO PROGRAM POLICIES IN REGION I EEO COMMISSION BRIEFING -JUNE 1998 By Hubert J. Miller, Regional Administrator i am pleased to address the Commission today on the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

Program as implemented in Region 1. In the areas of staff development and the recruitment and selection of new staff, Region I has demonstrated its commitment to equal employment opportunities for all.

Staffino Early in Fiscal Year 1997, Region I was significantly understaffed in the reactor inspection area.

To remedy this situation, we initiated an aggressive recruitment campaign to fill the vacant technical positions. Our recruitment strategy included assigning a technical manager and a representa'.ive from our Human Resources staff to this effort on a full-time basis for six months.

The poor performance status of several of the Region I plants dictated our need to hire experienced personnel who could begin contributing quickly. We focused our advertising to l

attract that type of personnel, and we were very successful. We received and reviewed approximately 700 resumes, and we ultimately interviewed 135 candidates. To conserve resources, we orchestrated the advertising campaign with recruitment trips to targeted locations throughout the United States and conducted preliminary interviews of multiple candidates in their geographical areas.

Our desire was to fill these vacancies with experienced candidates from the nuclear industry. To facilitate a diverse candidate pool, advertisements were placed in various engineering publications and websites with substantial minority and women readership. Colleges with large minority populations were contacted, along with local chapters of professional minority engineering societies. In addition, the local Federal Executive Board made distribution of our vacancy announcement to local Federal agencies. Applications referred by the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) and Region i employees made a significant contribution to the hiring of female and minority employees. This effort resulted in our hiring 25 well qualified and i

experienced technical employees, including 1 White female; 1 African American female; 1 Hispanic female; 1 Hispanic male; and 1 Asian male.

To further support our equal employment opportunity objectives, the Region reserved several positions for entry-level candidates, and included in our recruiting efforts historically black colleges and the minority organizations I noted earlier. Our efforts generated seven well qualified candidates who were interviewed in the Region I office. We received an acceptance from a Hispanic male who will be placed in the NRC Intern Program. In addition, the Region provided an opportunity for a Hispanic female to participate in the Summer Intem Program. The Region also hired a Hispanic female for a permanent administrative position during FY97.

Currently, Region I has 261 full and part-time employees. Thirty-two percent of the staff are women and 13 percent are minorities. Sixty-six percent are 40 years of age or older and approximately 5% are disabled.

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Staff Development Along with the recruitment and selection of staff, we recognize that an effective EEO program is the product of the implementation of a well thought out plan for developing staff and providing meaningful opportunities for career growth. The Region structured a matriculation program to ensure that the newly hired inspectors completed all the required courses and were given the necessary training and on-the-job assignments to prepare them for future job opportunities. The program included developing an in-house schedule for required training courses; developing an informal study group to discuss topics with experienced employees; and scheduling meetings with Regional SES managers in order to give the new employees a better understanding of the organization and management expectations. We also implemented an informal Mentoring Program to provide assistance in completing the inspector qualification process. Upon further review, however, we felt that the informal Mentoring Program did not meet our needs and the process was made more formal. As a result of the program, eleven of the 25 new hires already have been selected for reassignment to Resident inspector positions, including one Asian male and one Hispanic female. Seven inspectors, including one Asian male, one Hispanic male and l

one White female, have completed the qualification process and received Certificates of l

Qualification. The remaining inspectors are expected to complete the qualification process by the end of Fiscal Year 1998.

Further development of current staff, which reflects positively on our EEO initiatives, included a white female NRR Intern who was reassigned to a Resident inspector position; a current White female Resident inspector who was recently reassigned to the Millstone Resident Office to further her development; a White female Senior Resident inspector who was reassigned to the Salem Resident Office; and, a White female Senior Operations Examiner whc is now the Senior Enforcement Specialist. Also, a Hispanic male who completed the Resident traoector Development Program was reassigned to a Resident inspector position. The Region has supported 15 rotational assignments to Agency programs to enhance the career development of Region I staff during FY97/98. Women and minorities were assigned to positions such as NRR Reactor Engineer, Resident inspector, and Human Resources Assistant. Inspectors that have been assigned to lead technical teams include one African American male, one Pacific American male and four White females.

The Region continues to support the Women's Executive Leadership (WEL) Program. Two Hispanic males and one African American female participated in this program during FY97/98.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND RECOGNITION Region I is committed to ensuring that employees receive honest and realistic feedback on their job performance through the Performance Appraisal and awards process. This past appraisal year, we made considerable efforts to ensure that performance objectives were reasonable; that employees were counseled on expectations in a timely and open manner that invited employee participation; that feedback to employees on their performance was timely, honest and objective; and, that performance assessments at the close of the year were fair and honest. To accomplish this objective, the existing Management Directive regarding the performance appraisal rating criteria was literally applied to all appraisals. The outcome of this effort resulted in a performance appraisal profile for FY 97 that showed a decrease in the percentage of

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3 employees who received Outstanding appraisals. The percentage of Excellent ratings remained relatively the same as FY 96, and the percentage of Fully Successful ratings increased. In reviewing the percentages of appraisals in these three highest rating categories, we found a higher percentage of females and minorities received Fully Successful ratings than males and non-minorities. Since this is the first year we have iristituted this policy, we have no prior figures to use for comparison to determine if these differences in percentages reflect disparity in ratings for females versus males, and minorities versus non-minorities. We will continue to apply the Management Directive literally, and monitor the results to identify and correct any potential problem areas.

We feel our best recourse is to continue in this manner. This will ensure that only the best performers, the role models, receive Outstanding performance appraisals.

In the area of Employee Recognition, Region I instituted an Awards Board during FY97, made up of a senior manager from each Division and chaired by the Deputy Regional Administrator.

The Regional Human Resource Officer acts as facilitatory for the Board. The Board was formed to provide a means for all award nominations, including peer nominations, to be reviewed and I

approved by a panel of managers before being recommended to the Regional Administrator.

This format allows for a continuing review of the awards process, ensures that all awards are granted in a fair and equitable manner, and gives due recognition to superior performance. In j

addition, in accordance with Article 29 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, we provide award information from the Board to the Union Officials for their review and feedback.

In addition to Regional awards, last year twelve nominations were submitted for Meritorious Service Awards, including one Asian female, two African American males and two White females; and two Region i employees were selected, one of them a White female. Thirteen nominations were submitted to the Philadelphia Area Federal Executive Board for the annual Excellence in Government Awards, including one Asian female and three White females. Of the thirteen nominations, one White male received the gold medal, and five employees, including two White females, received silver certificates.

The Region has strongly supported the Agency initiative to improve position descriptions to clearly specify the differences in levels of work, by providing our Regional Personnel Officer to lead the effort for all four Regions. In addition, a Region I team has begun revising the elements and standards for technical / professional staff, with the goal of developing performance plans that are measurable and directly tied to Agency goals and the work assigned. These improvements to the current system should provide more effective communication between management and employees when determining performance expectations.

TRAINING Region i is committed to providing timely, effective training for our managers and supervisors, in the past year, supervisors participated in the Effective Management Participation in Merit Staffing workshop sponsored by the Office of Human Resources. Additionally, as part of our FY97 recruiting effort, we provided training for all managers on Effective interviewing

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.4-Techniques. ' in addition to these training activities, Irene Little visited Region I and met with managers and supervisors to discuss the objectives of SBCR, the EEO philosophy, and the

. various projects underway at SBCR.

In 1997, Region i established a Training Council. The members of the Council are the Deputy -

- Regional Administrator and a senior manager from each Division. The Council meets monthly

- to recommend, review, and approve all training for Region i employees. The Council ensures fair and equitable distribution of training opportunities, while monitoring the status of required training. The Council also monitors the status of training for managers and supervisors, particularly training opportunities to improve their ability to manage effectively. We are committed to meeting the annual 24 Hours of Learning Activities requirement.

Recently Region I developed a training tracking system that allows supervisors and employees to project training needs, including non-traditional classroom activities (details, rotational

- assignments, etc.) and then track the scheduling and completion of these training needs projections. This system allows supervisors to track training needs and schedule their employees' time accordingly. The program has, in effect, replaced the paper IDP process, and employees are continually encouraged to develop career goals and planned objectives.

EEO CHAl i FNGES Due to the elimination of 17 supervisory positions in the October 1995 reorganization, and staff and organizational shrinkage since then, opportunities for advancement to supervisory positions in Region I have been virtually nonexistent. The Region has not had the opportunity to post a vacancy for a supervisory position since Fiscal Year 1995. Despite this challenge, I continue to explore every opportunity that will enable my staff to broaden their experience and prepare themselves for supervisory positions. For instance, recently, due to the detail of a Branch Chief to support the Millstone Special Project Office and the establishment of a temporary Branch to

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. allow us to focus on performance concems at Indian Point 2, two temporary Branch Chief vacancies were posted and filled. A White female and an Asian male, both Senior Resident inspectors at high profile plants, were competitively selected to fill the positions.

In addition, supervisory rotational assignment opportunities have been provided to an African American female fulfilling a requirement for the WEL Program and to a White female and an African American female, both from Headquarters, to further their cievelopment. The Region will l

continue to explore opportunities to enable highly qualified employees to fill available supervisory positions.

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- it is important that we continue our commitment to equal ernployment opportunity by, among L

other things, continuing to explore recruitment sources. We have found that the most effective method for attracting and retaining women and minority applicants has been through the hiring of entry-level candidates. We will continue to utilize assistance from our staff, from local chapters of professional societies, and through our ongoing relationships with adopted cc!koes that focus on minority representation to identify well-qualified candidates. Additionally, women and minorities will continue to be included on recruitment trips. The Region will support o

recruiting of entry-level hires contingent upon available FTE.

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COMMUNICATIONS To help avoid'even the appearance of pre-selection in the merit promotion process, it has been Region i policy that supervisors and managers discuss their selections with the non-selected applicants. This enables the employee to speak with the supervisor in depth about the reason

- for non-selection and to receive guidance on how to improve their opportunity for future vacancies.. Also, I review all selections for new hires and competitive internal selections before offers are extended to ensure fair and equitable implementation of the agency's merit selection process.

The Region l Labor-Management Partnership Council (LMPC) meets regularly to consider issues involving Regional staff. The Regional LMPC has proven to be successfulin many areas, such as helping assure a smooth transition during reorganizations. Also, it should be noted that the frequency of grievances in the Region has been relatively low, due in part, we believe, to the effective communication between management and union representatives.

. Other approaches utilized in Region I to enhance communications between management and staff include Division and Regional meetings, our semiannual inspector Counterpart Seminars, semi-annual Awards Ceremonies, and a Region i newsletter published periodically by our Public Affairs staff. Further, the Regional EEO Advisory Committee and the Federal Women's Program Coordinator periodically co-sponsor a " Cultural Enrichment Day".

The Region continues to support programs to accommodate staff needs, including the Alternative Work Program; assisting the needs of disabled employees; the President's Welfare-to-Work initiative; and the Flexiplace Program. The Director, Office of Human Resources, approved four Region i Work-at-Home programs during FY97/98. In addition, the Region made

- accommodations for an employee to work temporarily at another location to alleviate his allergic reactions to products being used during the Region I office renovation project. The Region has accommodated several employees who became disabled, including providing part-time work schedules and light duty on their return to the workplace. Ergonomic chairs and computer keyboards have been provided to those employees with back injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome, in support of the President's Welfare-To-Work initiative, the Region employed a White female welfare recipient during FY97. More recently, the Region identified five positions in the technical and administrative areas that would be considered suitable for the Agency-Wde Flexiplace Program.

. Overall, we believe Region I has developed and implemented programs that are helping maintain the required technically proficient organization, while making very good progress toward a culturally diverse workforce. I thank you for the opportunity to discuss it with you, i

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l-EEO ACCOMPUSHMENTS FOR THE PERIOD JULY 1,1997, THROUGH MARCH 31,1998

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I EEO ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE PERIOD JULY 1,1997 THROUGH MARCH 31,1998

1. ENHANCING OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECRUITMENT / ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS During the period July 1,1997 - March 31,1998,59 of 82 new hires were for professorial r

positions. Professional positions were filled by 41 white men,4 white women,8 Asian Pacific American men,2 Asian Pacific American women,2 African American men,1 Hispanic man, and 1 Hispanic woman. The remaining 23 new hires included 14 administrative positions (9 white men and 5 white women); 3 technical positions (2 African American women and 1 Native l

American man); and 6 clerical positions (5 white women and 1 African American woman).

During this period, we completed selections for "round three' of the Resident inspector Development Program. A total of 12 selections were made. All selectees were white men.

Although the competition included minority applicants who made the Best Qualified List and were interviewed, none were extended offers.

Approximately 15 employees participated in the three developmental programs for secretaries, clerical employees, and administrative assistants. These programs enable clerical, secretarial, and administrative support staff to enhance their knowledge and skills by supporting training and college level courses.

I Managers will continue to utilize current initiatives such as the rotational process to assist the l

Agency in efforts to develop the staff. From July 1,1997, through March 31,1998, the Agency I

supported 191 rotational assignments including 107 (56%) white men, 50 (26%) white women,6 (3%) African American men,10 (5%) African American women,6 (3%) Asian Pacific American men,6 (3%) Asian Pacific American women,2 (1%) Hispanic men,2 (1%) Hispanic women, and 2 (1%) Native American men.

NRC participated in the Women's Executive Leadership (WEL) Program, a developmental program that helps prepare high-potential Federal employees at the GG-11/12 level for future leadership positions. During this period, NRC supported two white women and one African American woman in the 1997-1998 WEL Program. Three employees have been selected for the 1998-1999 WEL Program, including one Asian Pacific American woman, one white woman, and one white man.

Career Counseling was offered to all employees who chose to participate in career and life j

planning activities. Thirty-one employees, including 16 women and 13 minority employees, had one-on-one counseling sessions with a professional counselor. The purpose of the sessions was to help employees identify occupations within the NRC that fit their particular set of skills and abilities. Six of the 31 program participants were managers, who teamed skills they can apply in counseling their own employees about career development in a downsizing environment.

The 1997-1998 recruitment plan is focused on attracting women and minority applicants for entry-and higher level positions in the field of science and engineering. This specifically l

1 supports the Agency's goals to increase diversity in the applicant pools for professional and administrative employees. The plan includes 36 recruitment trips and advertisements in 62 newspapers and journals.

Twenty-three recruitment trips were rnade to minority schools and career fairs sponsored by women / minority technical organizations. At these events, the resumes of highly qualified applicants were forwarded to managers in Headquarters and the regions for current and future vacancies. Recruitment teams were comprised of an Office of Human Resources (HR) representative and one or two technical representatives from Program offices. Every effort was made to assure that the team participants reflected the diversity NRC is seeking.

Advertisements were placed in 28 Hispanic newspapers and joumals. NRC participated in eight diversity career fairs which focused on Hispanic applicants. Likewise, contact was made with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) to discuss ways to enhance cooperative efforts with Hispanic colleges. Further discussion on this issue is scheduled to take place in June 1998.

During this reporting period, the recruitment display used at career fairs was updated. The updated display presents photographs that portray the diversity groups of NRC employees representing a variety of NRC positions. These photographs will also appear in a new recruitment brochure currently being developed.

In March, the Intern Program was reinstated. The focus is to attract highly qualified women and minority applicants. Intern Program applications and Intem Program brochures were distributed to potential candidates during recruitment visits to college campus and professional career fairs.

Initial response to this employment opportunity has been extremely good.

Mailings on the Intern Program have been sent to all universities on the recruitment plan that have a large Native American population. Likewise, NRC participated in career fairs sponsored by the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. Advertisements were placed in Native American publications, including the Native American Yearbook. Winds of Change. the American College Guide for Native Americans. Indian Reoort. and Indian Country Toda_y.

Advertisements were also placed in 12 newspapers in areas having a high Native American population.

2. EXPANDING THE POOL OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES ELIGlBLE FOR SUPERVISORY, MANAGEMENT. EXECUTIVE. AND SENIOR LEVEL POSITIONS The total number of minority employees eligible for supervisory, management, executive, and Senior Level positions increased from 347 to 356. However, the number of women (including minority women) in grades' GG-13 through GG-15 decreased from 422 to 414.

At the end of this period, the total number of employees in Senior Level Service (SLS) positions was 41 including 29 white men,5 white women,1 African American man,1 African American woman,3 Asian American men,1 Asian American woman, and 1 Hispanic woman. Seven selections were made during this period. Selectees included 6 white men and 1 white woman.

The Executive Resources Board (ERB) Review Group continued its activities reviewing Best Qualified Lists for 11 GG-15 positions, and 11 SES positions. The Chairperson, ERB Review Group discussed with Office Directors and Regional Administrators their responsibility to ensure that selecting officials provide appropriate consideration to well-qualified minority and women applicants.

3. ENHANCING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ATTRACTING. DEVELOPING. AND RETAINING DISABLED EMPLOYEES Recruitment continued for persons with disabilities. During this period, contacts were made with several potential applicant sources including the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (Intemet), Job Ready Disabled Veterans Connection, Able Beneficiaries' Link Employees, Job Accommodations Network, National Association of the Deaf, National Information Center on Deafness, American Foundation for the Blind and the Lighthouse, Inc. A total of 34 applications were received from these organizations; 8 were considered for employment; and 1 candidate was hired. In addition,4 other persons with disabilities were hired.

Participation in job fairs and career conferences that target persons with disabilities continued as follows:

National Conference on Employment of People with Disabilities Conference on Working with Employee Disabilities Annual American with Disabilities Act Conference Prospective Employment of Employees with Disabilities Conference CAREER FAIR '97, sponsored by the ABILITIES EXPO and Careers & the DISABLED Magazine National Training Conference on Employment of Federal Employees who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Vacancy announcements for technical and management development opportunities were sent to colleges, universities, and state rehabilitation service offices. In addition, NRC vacancies were advertised in America's Job BANK, a nationwide automated bulletin board for advertising vacancies to disabled persons. Advertisements were also placed in professional magazines such as Careers and the DISABLED and in newspapers.

Reasonable Accommodations The Program Coordinator for Persons with Disabilities serves as liaison with other NRC offices to provide reasonable accommodation services required by persons with disabilities. During this period, the following services or products were provided to employees with disabilities:

Automatic door opening devices, a variety of bathroom modifications,30 ergonomic chairs provided to employees with back problems, 317" computer monitors were provided to employees who are visually impaired,10 ergonomic keyboards,10 ergonomic wrist pads, TTY service for 3 hearing impaired employees and several employee worksite evaluations were conducted.

To heighten the awareness of employees with disabilities, the brochure "NRC Information Guide for People with Disabilities" has been revised and distributed to all employees.

l L

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4. IMPROVING COMMUNICATION /jtl3OUT EEO AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OBJECTIVES. IMPROVING MANAGEMENT RESPONSIVENESS. AND EVALUATING PROGRESS A management team including the Deputy Executive Director for Management Services (DEDM); Director, SBCR; Director, Office of Administration (ADM); and Director, HR, visited Region 11. The purpose of the visit was to discuss ways to improve services to the Region. This visit also included a discussion on the Agency's goals and objectives and how planned activities should support these goals. A site visit to Region IV is planned for later this fiscal year. Site visits with the Regional Administrators, principal staff, and employees were completed for Regions f and lil last fiscal year.

The Director, SBCR, met with Headquarters' division directors to discuss the goals and objectives of the Agency's EEO program, and ways to achieve office / region specific goals. The Director, SBCR, addressed all executives during the November 1997 management retreat on the Agency's goals related to managing diversity and affirmative action and encouraged their support of these initiatives.

SBCR hosted its first Open House on January 21,1998. The purpose of the Open House was to give employees an opportunity to meet the SBCR staff and learn more about the functional areas of the Office. An invitation package was made available to attendees which incuded the SBCR mission statement and pamphlets describing the Mentoring Program, the EEO Complaint Process, the Affirmative Action Program, and the Small Business Program.

Since the last EEO briefing, SBCR and the EEO Advisory Committees sponsored several special emphasis events and exhibits to publicize the contributions made by women and j

minorities. Speakers included Dr. Samuel Betances to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage l

Month along with the Mariachi De Los Amigos Band; Dr. Carolyna Smiley-Marquez, who made a retum visit to celebrate National Native American Heritage Month along with a return visit from the CedarTree Singers and Dancers; Ms. Natii Wright, who produced a dramatic presentation titled " Footprints of Fate" to celebrate the legacy of African Americans during National Black History Month; Ms. Dorothy Nelms to celebrate National Women's History Month; and Mr. Norman Mineta to celebrate National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month along with the Halau Hula Mahina Hawaiian & Polynesian Dancers. Poster exhibits were featured for each of these events as well as for Women's Equality Day, and National Disability Awareness Month.

SBCR and the Joint Labor Management EEO Committee co-sponsored a Sexual Harassment Awareness Day. The purpose of this activity was to heighten employee awareness of NRC's program to prevent sexual harassment. Information was provided to employees on the Agency's sexual harassment prevention policy, examples of unacceptable behavior, resources available to employees for assistance, and information regarding procedures for reporting incidents of sexual harassment.

i SBCR and the Federal Women's Program Advisory Committee (FWPAC) co-sponsored a

• Bring the Children to the Workplace" day. Approximately 150 children participated. The event included an opening session with a film titled "The Magic of the Atom." Four tours were conducted: the Hearing Room, the Emergency Operations Center, the White Flint Country Day School, and the Audiovisual Services Center. The Energy Federal Credit Union included a special presentation focusing on the importance of saving money, and children were allowed to visit their parent's work site.

I 1

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EEO WORKFORCE PROFil F DATA

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BASES AND ISSUES ALLEGED IN FORMAL EEO COMPLAINTS FY 1994-FY 1998 l

.l 1

l 4

I i

4

._ma__

l

@ASES OF FORMAL EEO COMPLAINTS FILED FY 1994 - FY 1998 BASES FY 1994 FY 1995 FY 1996 FY 1997 FY1998 2ND QTR NATIONAL ORIGIN 0

5 2

0 1

RACE AND COLOR 3

8 1

5 1

GENDER 0

4 3

1 0

AGE 1

8 4

3 1

DISABILITY 3

4 3

0 1

1 RELIGION O

2 1

0 0

REPRISAL 4

7 6

9 1

TOTAL 11 38 20 18 5*

ISSUES ALLEGED IN FORMAL EEO COMPLAINTS FILED FY 1994 - FY 1998 ISSUES FY 1994 FY 1995 FY 1996 FY 1997 FY 1998 2ND l

QTR APPOINTMENT / HIRE 4

1 ASSIGNMENT OF DUTIES 6

6 AWARDS 2

REPRIMAND 1

1 TERMINATION 2

OTHER DISCIPLINARY ACTION 4

2 EVALUATION / APPRAISAL 4

4 SEXUAL HARASSMENT 1

NON-SEXUAL HARASSMENT 2

2 1

PROMOTION /NON-SELECTION 4

27 4

3 1

TERMS / CONDITIONS OF 1

EMPLOYMENT TRAINING 1

i OTHER 2

3 TOTAL 11 38 20 18 2*

• NOTE: A single complaint may have more than one basis.

STATEMENT BY:

SUSAN Y. SMITH, EEO COUNSELOR l-1

STATEMENT BY SUSAN Y. SMITH EEO COUNSELOR The primary role of the EEO counselor is to facilitate informal resolution of allegations of discrimination between the involved parties, when possible.

The goal of the counseling process is to resolve the complaint at the lowest possible level. This means that, after meeting with the complainant (and conducting fact finding), the counselor will generally make contact with the first line supervisor and move up the management / organization chain, if necessary, to attempt resolutions. Individuals who feel they have been subjected to discrimination must contact an EEO counselor within 45 days of the event giving rise to their allegation. The EEO counselor has 30 days to complete the fact finding and attemf. iesolution.

An additional 60 days extension may be granted if the employee and counselor feel resolution is imminent. If the issue is not resolved, the counselor notifies the employee in writing (with a copy to the Director, Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR)), advising him/her of the right to file a formal complaint. If a formal complaint is not filed, the counselor has no further role. If a formal complaint is filed, SBCR contacts the counselor and requests a detailed written report of counseling activities.

A significant amount of the EEO counselor's time is spent in discussions with individuals regarding issues that never materialize into formal complaints. That is my primary focus in this statement.

I gathered information from several EEO counselors regarding recurring themes and issues that employees bring to them at the informal stage, but do not raise as formal complaints. These issues include:

1.

Performance appraisals - Employees' perception that ratings, across the board, are being lowered to FS, without good reason.

2.

Preselection - Employees still feel that this is a real problem within the Agency. They feel that it wastes the time of employees, the HR staff as well as management. Staff time is wasted in filling out application packages, HR staff time is wasted in reviewing the applications, arranging for panels, etc; and management time is wasted in interviewing applicants. Employees would like to see greater use of accretion of duties when management already has someone in mind for a vacant position.

3.

Unfair distribution of awards, lack of recognition for excellent / outstanding work, and favoritism by managers.

4.

Lack of communication from managers especially during periods of change. Change is anything that departs from that which the employee has become accustomed. For example, the impact of "new" standards of performance appraisals and going through a reorganization. These changes bring about insecurities among employees. Employees would like to see management involve staff during the planning process, not just inform them after plans have been made to enact the changes.

Some of these issues are not allegations of discrimination. My experience has been that EEO counselors serve as sounding boards for many issues. I find the role of the EEO counselor a critical, challenging and rewarding role.

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l JOINT STATEMENT BY:

THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEES AND THEIR FOUR SUBCOMMITTEES STATEMENT BY:

THE JOINT LABOR MANAGEMENT EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE

..u y,-

-________m_.

May 18,1998 MEMORANDUM TO: Irene P. Little, Director Office of Small Business a.1d Civil Rights FROM:

EEO Advisory Committee Chairpersons

SUBJECT:

EEO ADVISORY COMMITTEES' JOINT COMMISSION BRIEFING STATEMENT Attached are statements from the following Advisory Committees:

David Diec, Chairperson, Performance and Monitor ~

Subco7 ee

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Peter Bloch, Chairperson, Managing Diversity Subj mitteel l

John Minns, Chairperson, Selection Subcommittee SINS Janette Copeland, Chairperson, Paraprofessional Ibcommittee d' Elliott Greher, Chairperson, Affirmative Action Advisory Committee (AAAC)

Reginald Mitchell, Chairperson, Advisory Committee for African Americans AC David Diec, Chairperson, Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee John Wilcox, Chairperson, Committee on Age Discrimination (CA@(APAAC) to nht s 13 Wdc Charleen Raddatz, Chairperson, Federal Women's Program Advisory Committee (FWPAC)@

g Jose Ibarra, Chairperson, Hispanic Employment Program sory Committee (HEPAC)

Attachment A includes EEO Advisory Committees' joint statement. Attachment B includes individual Advisory Committees statement.

Please contact David Dice at (301) 415-2834 if you have any questions Attachments: As stated.

l

Attachment A -

EEO ADVISORY COMMITTEES' JOINT STATEMENT

' Chairman Jackson, Commissioner Dicus, Commissioner Diaz, and Commissioner McGaffigan, Executive Director for Operations, and the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committees (the Committees) sincerely appreciate the opportunity to express our views and concems regarding the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) program. The Advisory Committees are:

Affirmative Action Advisory Committee (AAAC), Advisory Committee for African Americans :

(ACAA), Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee (APAAC), Committee on Age -

Discrimination (CAD), Federal Women's Program Advisory Committee (FWPAC), and Hispanic Employment Program Advisory Committee (HEPAC).

LThis is the fifth time the Committees have consolidated those issues of common interest to all

- the _ Committees into a joint statement. The Committees, in consultation with the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) and the Office of Human Resources (HR), have continued a team approach and have worked together to address and resolve the open Joint Statement issues and questions raised by the Committees in the last EEO Briefing SECY-97-197. In 1996,

' three Subcommittees were established with members from each of the EEO Committees as well as from SBCR and HR. The Subcommittees are: 1) Performance Monitoring,2) Managing Diversity, and 3) Selection. Additionally, we have recently formed the Paraprofessional Subcommittee to address issues that may impact administrative support staff. A eport on each Subcommittee's activities is included in this statement. Statements summarizing the additional concems of individual Committees outside the scope of the Subcommittee's efforts are included as attachments.

Steady progress has been made in the Managing' Diversity, Performance Monitoring, and Merit Selection areas.. However, two issues continue to be of concem to the EEO Committees, collectively. We are concemed that the issue raised by the Asian / Pacific American Advisory Committee has not been fully addressed. This is the issue of the limited number of minorities in SES positions and the impact of time-in-grade. We believe that this issue affects all minorities and women Additionally, we are concemed that the current downsizing and budgetary constraints may adversely impact EEO-related activities, especially in the training area.

We applaud the Agency's decision to restore the NRC Intem Program. We believe this program

. will continue to be an effective means of providing opportunities for minorities and women.

The mutual cooperation and open communications among the EEO Advisory Committees,-

~

SBCR,' and HR are crucial to resolving longstanding issues. We believe the established framework will continue to contribute to the development of effective policy attematives and will address employee concems and interests that are raised by all the EEO Advisory Committees.

p a

l 1.

Since 1996, the EEO Committees have formed a working relationship with SBCR and HR and have continued to work cooperatively on the three Subcommittees. During this period, we have made steady progress on the three issues. However, in gathering the data for the analyses and in talking to our constituents, we continue to sense that NRC employees are skeptical as to the fairness of the system intended to provide equal opportunity for all, especially with the downsizing and budgetary constraints. We are confident the recommendations that we propose to resolve the issues, if fully implemented, will bring the NRC to a more equitable position. In conclusion, the EEO Advisory Committees appreciate the attention the Commission has given to our concerns. The following are reports from the Performance Monitoring Subcommittee, the Managing Diversity Subcommittee, the Selection Subcommittee, and the Paraprofessional Subcommittee.

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Performance Monitorina Subcommittee Reoort l

As indicated in NRC's last EEO briefing statement of October 14,1997, the Subcommittee has l

continued to collect data and evaluate the rernaining 16 initiatives described in SECY-97-021.

Each evaluation contains a brief description of the program / initiatives, and reviews of relevant data and demographics. Where appropriate, recommendations are offered.

In the next 6 months, we will continue to work with SBCR and HR to assess the impact on women and minorities due to office reorganizations, management accountability, increased representation of women and minorities in supervisory, management, executive, administrative and technical areas, and where possible, upward mobility positions, and the root causes of EEO complaints.

Management Development Center Programs Programs in Management Development Center give NRC managers the opportunity to take courses designed to strengthen their knowledge and skills for effective supervision, learn techniques for improving supervisory performance and organizational effectiveness, and become familiar with issues of public administration. These programs were established to

)

provide intensive policy and management training for NRC managers and executives at the GG-14 grade level and above. The seminars are designed to develop and strengthen the necessary skills in core competencies required for each level of executive leadership.

Each year a call memorandum is sent to Office Directors and Regional Administrators, requesting nominations for these programs be submitted to the Office of Human Resources. In FY 1996, a total of 30 NRC managers participated in the program: 1 (3%) Hispanic man,1 (3%) Hispanic woman,2 (6%) African American men, 3 (10%) African American women,4 (13%) white women and 19 (64%) white men. In FY 1997, a total of 36 managers participated in the program: 2 (5%) African American women,1 (2.8%) African American man,7 (19.4%) white women and 26 (72%) white men.

Participation by minorities decreased by almost 50 percent in FY 1997. To ensure that all eligible managers and executives are given an equal opportunity to participate, the Subcommitwe recommends the following (1) announce a notice of solicitation to all employees, and (2) encourage greater minority participation.

Supervisory and Managerial Development Program The mandatory Supervisory and Managerial Development Program is designed to develop persons currently serving in supervisory and management positions at the NRC. This program consists of three developmentallevels: Level l-Basic Supervisory Core Courses, which focus on the basic principles and practices of effective supervision at NRC; Level 11-specialized management courses, which consist of workshops directed toward the application of techniques for improving supervisory performance and overall organizational effectiveness; Level Ill-public administration courses, which provide an understanding of concepts necessary to strengthen the capability of supervisors to manage in the public sector. Since the program is mandatory, the Subcommittee recommends that this program continue to be used as a developmental tool for current managers and supervisors.

1

~ Upward Mobility Program e

The Upward Mobility Program provides NRC employees at lower grade levels with developmental opportunities that will eventually' qualify participants for higher technical and l

administrative positions within the NRC. In FY 1996 and 1997, two white females participated in L

the program..The Subcommittee recommends that NRC continue to offer this program to enhance the career potential of employees and that managers be encouraged to look for opportunities to establish upward mobility positions, Executive Resources Board Review Group e

This group is established to ensure that senior managers at NRC are aware of the availability of -

highly qualified women and minorities for all SES/SLS positions and non-bargaining-unit positions at the GG-15 level. This group encourages strengthening recruitment to attract more women and minorities. We believe this initiative could serve to positively impact the number of -

minorities and females in the pool of candidates for higher level positions. The Subcommittee -

recommends the group's efforts be continued and that information on the group's effectiveness be provided.

Special Emphasis Programs -

The special emphasis programs include National Women's History Month, Martin Luther King Jr.

Observance, Native American Heritage Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Black

- History Month, and Hispanic Heritage Month. These programs are designed to celebrate the J

cultural diversity of NRC employees and highlight the contributions of diverse groups. - The use of yellow announcements and the public address system to promote these activities has been effective. The Subcommittee recommends that NRC contint.e to offer these programs and strengthen its efforts to encourage staff participation.

Applicart Review System This review system is designed to maintain a pool of applicants for current and future vacancies; and produce a variety of user reports, in FY 1996, a total of 2,083 people applied for employment with the NRC: 1426 (68.4%) of the applicants did not identify themselves by ethnicity. The remainder identified themselves as follow: 4 (0.2%) Native Americans, 56 (2.7%)

Hispanic Americans,103 (5%) African Americans,119 (5.7%) Asian Americans, and 375 (18%)

white Americans, in FY 1997, a total of 2,175 people applied for employment with the NRC: 1615 (74.2%) of the applicants'did not identify themselves by ethnicity. The remainder identified themselves as follows: 6 (0.3%) Native Americans, 32 (1.5%) Hispanic Americans, 56 (2.6%) African -

' Americans,97.(4,a M) Asian Arnericans, and 369 (17%) white Americans.

J lt is not readily identifiable from the data how many applicants were hired. The Subcommittee recommends that reports be structured in order to provide demographic data on hires from this

. system.

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I Centralized Secretarial Recruitment Program e

This program is designed to recruit highly qualified secretarial applicants and provide them with training and development before placing them permanently within NRC Headquarters. In FY l

1997, a total of 7 permanent positions were filled: 1 Hispanic American male,2 African American females, and 4 White Amc.1can females. The Subcommittee recommends that the NRC continue to offer this program to attract highly qualified secretarial applicants.

Employment Program for Persons with Disabilities The program identifies highly qualified applicants with known disabilities for NRC vacancies through targeted recruiting activities. Targeted areas include the Veterans' Administration, colleges and universities, professional organizations, and State rehabilitation service offices.

The NRC has participated in job fairs, attended conferences, and advertised vacancy announcements that sought out persons with disabilities. The Subcommittees recommends that this program continue to be offered, and that quantitative records be kept on effort and effectiveness.

Targeted Recruiting and Advertising This initiative reaches out to and identifies highly qualified female and minority applicants for i

NRC vacancies. Targeted areas include professional organizations, minority / women colleges and universities, and career fairs. In FY 1996, NRC participated in 31 such recruitment events; in FY 1997, NRC participated in 42 such recruitment events. The Subcommittee recommends that this effort continue and that data be maintained on results.

Automated Merit Selection Tracking e

This effort tracks the demographics of employees on best-qualified lists, and selectees for vacancies under NRC's merit selections. Five-year data regarding selection trends are tracked by ethnicity and gender. The Subcommittee recommends that this process continue.

Reasonable Accommodations Program This program is designed to the extent possible to make reasonable accommodations for persons with known physical or mental limitations, but otherwise qualified. In FY 1996 and FY 1997, the agency undertook a variety of actions that benefited employees with disabilities.

These actions include installing automatic door opening devices, modifying bathrooms, providing ergonomic chairs to employees with back problems, providing large computer monitors to employees who are visually impaired, purchasing ergonomic keyboards and ergonomic wrist pads for employees who needed them, and installing TTD service for people who are hearing impaired. Sign language interpreters are used in meetings and during agency events.

I The Subcommittee recommends that the agency continue to provide reasonable accommodations and advertise its successes so that employees will not be reluctant to seek assistance that can improve their effectiveness, productivity and efficiency while decreasing job-related stress. A related item is to assess the need for further measures to prevent work-related injuries, such as the availability of ergonomic keyboards and wrist pads to all employees.

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Exit interview Process This process is used to obtain constructive information/ feedback from departing employees regarding employment practices at the NRC. The information is used to evaluate and improve NRC human resources policies, practices, and programs. Participation in the interview is voluntary and kept confidential. Current data maintained show the demographics of departing employees only. SBCR periodically reviews exit surveys to assess the perspective of departing employees regarding EEO and human resource (HR) management concems. The Subcommittee recommends that SBCR continue to review these surveys and as appropriate address EEO-related issues that affect HR practices and policies, and employee morale.

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Rating Criteria Review / Monitor Merit Selection Process e

This process is designed to assess job requirements and to determine job-related criteria for vacancies. In the last EEO briefing, October 14,1997, the Merit Selection Subcommittee recommended that a merit checklist be used to assist management officials in the early stages of the merit selection procecs. Tnis checklist will ensure that selection criteria are not unduly restrictive, and that candidates are able to compete in a fair and equitable manner. This checklist has been used to the extent practicable throughout the agency.

Resident inspector Development Program This program is designed to train qualified individuals in nuclear technology, inspection, and NRC regulatory affairs sufficiently to certify for non-competitive selection as resident inspectors.

Candidates for this program may include current NRC employees and employees from other government agencies and from the private sector. In FY 1996, a total 146 people applied: 70 (48%) did not identify their ethnicity. The remainder identified themselves as follow: 1 (0.7%)

f white woman,1 (0.7%) Native American man,2 (1.4%) African American men,3 2%) Hispanic 1

men,15 (10.3%) Asian American men, and 54 (37%) white men.

A total of 12 applicants were selected, of which 1 (8.3%) was a white woman and 1 (8.3%) was an Asian American man, and 10 (83%) were white men.

In FY 1997, a total 93 people applied: 23 (25%) did not identify their ethnicity. The remainder identified themselves as follow: 1 (1%) African American man,1 (1%) Hispanic woman,2 (2%)

white women,3 (3%) Hispanic men,15 (16%) Asian American men, and 48 (52%) white men.

A total of 12 applicants were selected in FY 1997. All selectees were white men. The Subcommittee recommends that if this program is continued, that the rating factors and rating critena be reviewed to determine if they are restrictive and that specific efforts be made to increase minority and women representation in the pool of candidates.

Senior Resident inspector Development Program This program is designed to train qualified individuals in nuclear technology and NRC regulatory affairs sufficiently to certify them as senior resident inspectors. Applicants will be considered from within and outside the agency. In FY 1996, there was a total of 44 applicants of which 1 (2.3%) was an Asian American man,1 (2.3%) was an African American man,1 (2.3%) was an African American woman,2 (4.5%) were white women, and 39 (89%) were white men.

A total of 15 applicants were selected, of which 1 (6.7%) was an African American woman,1 (6.7%) was an African American man,1 (6.7%) was an Asian American man,2 (13.3%) were white women, and 10 (66.7%) were white men.

The Subcommittee acknowledges that in FY 1996 participation of women and minorities in the program was encouraging. However, the Subcommittee was recently informed that this program has been abolished due to its limited impact on the development of senior resident inspectors.

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l Manaaina Diversity Subcommittee Reoort The Managing Diversity Subcommittee is pleased that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has embarked on a Managing Diversity Program. A!I of the agency's top managers have been briefed or scheduled for briefing by outside consultants. The principal theme of these briefings was the importance of recruiting and fully utilizing the talents of all NRC employees, regardless of employee characteristics that are irrelevant to the agency's mission. In the presentation by Dr. Roosevelt Thomas, this point became memorable through the example of Dennis Rodman, an outstanding rebounder that the Chicago Bulls have used effectively to build a world championship basketball team.

We are hopeful that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will sustain this effort to make sure that all employees and all prospective employees - regardless of race, hanoicap, irrelevant eccentricities, gender, nationality, religion or calture - will be:

invited to participate in achieving the agency's mission, and e

a will receive due credit for their work.

We recognize that this lofty goal deper,ds on a supportive agency culture. A second phase of j

this effort is to assess that culture, including anything that might interfere with effectively I

managing a diverse work force. We are therefore awaiting this assessment of agency culture, which may in part be addressed by the cultural survey being performed by the Inspector General. After weaknesses are identified, the agency will be better able to correct them.

We believe the Subcommittee on Diversity has fulfilled its charter. Our principal purpose has been to provide a forum where the different EEO groups might work together cooperatively to support NRC's Managing Diversity efforts. The purpose of continuous interaction and input to the diversity process may now be assumed by an existing group of EEO committee chairs, who meet regularly with the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights and are known as CPC j

(Communication, Partnership and Cooperation). The Diversity Subcommittee Chairperson will serve as the Managing Diversity Coordinator for the CPC group.

We are grateful to all representatives of the EEO committees who served on the Managing Diversity subcommittee. We are also grateful for the leadership of Barbara Williams and Irene Little, whose vision and support have been crucial to the launching of the Managing Diversity initiative.

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Selection Subcommittee Reoorts, l~

The Selection Subcommittee, which consists of EEO committee members and representatives from HR and SBCR, completed its recommendations about a year ago. Now, after extended study by agency management, we are pleased that serious consideration has been given to the implementation of many of our recommendations.

1 Our overall reaction to the Management Respcases is favorable. We anticipate following closely theimplementation of these responses. The written response we have received does not l

er.able us to judge the extent of management's commitment to these measures. The degree of

. management commitment will be evidenced by the way in which:

(1) management communicates its commitment throughout the agency, (2) the employee brochure is communicated and disseminated, and (3) management monitors the effectiveness of its response, consistent with the Strategic Plan, and shows its continuing commitment to its stated goals.

We would appreciate management's attention to ways to involve the EEO Committees and Subcommittees in high level deliberations and in providing feedback on important proposals while they are still under consideration. For example, we would have been pleased to review the brochure on " Merit Staffing at the NRC" and the curriculum for the training course, " Effective Participation in the Merit Selection Process."

We are disappointed that some of the recommendations hammered out by EEO representatives, HR and SBCR, were not accepted. For example, training of selecting officials in " nontechnical skills" seems to be voluntary rather than mandatory (recommendation 11), and failure to reserve Senior Level Services jobs for individuals of outstanding technical talent (recommendation 15).

We anticipate undertaking a more in-depth analysis of the detailed management responses, which we were first provided in early May of this year. Further recommendations may be brought to SBCR at its regular CPC meetings with the EEO chairpersons and they mey dso be presented to the Commission at its next EEO briefing.

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Paraprofessional Subcomt littee Recoj The Paraprofessional Subcommittee is working with SBCR and HR to review data on Agency awards to determine if there are trends in the number and kinds of awards given to professional

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versus administrative support staff. The Subcommittee is also reviewing administrative position descriptions to determine if administrative support staff are compensated uniformly throughout the Agency and to determine how NRC grade levels compare to other agencies Finally, we are looking at administrative advancement opportunities / career paths, and why the Agency has significantly reduced its use of upward mobility positions.

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o' EEO Advisory CommitteestStatements Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee (APAAC)

Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee Briefing Statement Tim Asian' Pacific American Advisory Committee (APAAC) appreciates the opportunity to

- address the Commission about EEO-related issues that continue to affect Asian Pacific -

American (APA) employees.- In past years, the APAAC has expressed concerns regarding (1) lack of Asian Pacific Americans in SES positions, (2) longer than average time-in-grade for APAs in certain grade levels, and (3) reduction of APA supervisory and managerial positions from reorganizations and downsizing. The limited career advancement opportunity for APA :

employees was discussed in SECY-97-021 and SECY-97-197.

The concerns raised by APAAC are not endemic to the Asian population at the NRC. They affect all minorities and women. The APAAC reported that it would seek resolution of these concems through a generic approach that supports affirmative action initiatives designed to enhance equal employment opportunities." Based on the review of data provided by Human

- Resources (HR), we see some improvements in representation of Asian Pacific Americans in Senior Level positions. _One Asian Pacific American was temporarily promoted to the rank of SES, and one Asian Pacific American is currently detailed to an SES position. We applaud the Agency's effort in this matter. This is a step in the right direction to resolving the APAAC's concems.' However, we remain concerned that these temporary assignments may not become permanent and the overall representation of the APAs in SES positions will remain extremely low (5 permanent APA in SES) for the last 4 years.

We will continue to work with other Advisory Committees, Office of Small Business and Civil Rights, and Human Resources to seek resolution to our concems. We recommend that the Agency encourage more participation of minorities and women in high level assignments, and careful consideration be given to minorities and women in the management positions in light of office reorganizations and downsizing.

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Hispanic Employment Program Advisory Committee (HEPAC)

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Advisory Committee Briefing Statement in the last few years, the NRC has made some strides in recruiting experienced and highly-qualified Hispanics. Despite these efforts Hispanics at the NRC continue to be under represented. HEPAC is concemed that NRC managers may not be doing enough to motivate

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l and retain these employees. Last year, the NRC lost four Hispanics including one senior engineer and two female engineers. All three engineers left because the NRC was not able to provide more advancement and career opportunities. Downsizing is reducing the number of j

promotional opportunities for all employees, including Hispanics. As the Agency continues its l

downsizing trend, we are concerned that lack of advancement opportunities will mean that the Hispanics the NRC worked very hard to employ will continue to leave.

HEPAC recommends the following actions:

f (1) in the short term, we recommend enhanced efforts to facilitate rotations throughout the j

Agency especially, including high visibility positions, (in the EDO and Commission Offices).

(2)

In the long term, we recommend posting opportunities to move into the Supervisory Development and SES Development Training Programs. Hispanic representation in NRC management is very low. Only 6 Hispanics are in managerial positions and there f

has been no increase in Hispanic; M management over the past two fiscal years, and (3)

Even during periods of downsizing, the Agency must continue its recruitment efforts to ensure that highly qualified Hispanics, as well as other employees are in the hiring pipeline. These efforts include attending the best recruiting conferences (Mexican American Engineering Society and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) and I

recruiting on the west coast, where a large percentage of Hispanics reside. HEPAC desires to be more involved in both recommending the best ways to recruit (we know our culture, we know our people) and identifying Hispanics to go on recruiting trips (Hispanics like to be recruited by Hispanics). HEPAC is confident that every recruiting trip that targets Hispanics can be successful if a Hispanic representative assists in the recruiting.

Additionally, HEPAC believes that participating in EEO conferences is essential to understanding the current issues that Hispanics are facing. It is of the utmost importance that EEO Committee representatives be given the opportunity to attend conferences to network and facilitate recruiting of Hispanics.

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Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee Briefing Statement The Advisory Committee for African Americans (ACAA) appreciates this opportunity to speak to the Commission about EEO-related issues that affect the African American Community at the NRC. ACAA members, with other members of EEO Advisory Committees, staff of the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR), the Office of Human Resources (HR), and the African American community at large in NRC continue to work to resolve many of the challenges facing African Americans at the Agency.

Since its inception in 1995, when ACAA was established to serve as an advocacy group in place of Blacks-in-Govemment (BIG), ACAA has focused its efforts on three areas, among others, that present significant challenges to the Agency and its African American community. These areas are as follows:

(1)

In the elements and standards for evaluating the performance of supervisors, managers, and executives, include measurable standards to assess the progress and accomplishments related to achieving the NRC's EEO/ Affirmative Action policies and programs; (2) increase the number of African American women in supervisory, management, and Senior Level positions including, the number of women in feeder groups; and (3)

Encourage where feasible, the establishment of paraprofessional positions to provide opportunities for advancement for African American women in lower grade positions such as clerical and other administrative support positions.

The ACAA has expressed its concerns regarding these areas in a number of SECY Papers on EEO briefings dating back to April 1995. Information can be found in, for example SECY 082, SECY-95-289, SECY-96-157, and SECY-97-021. Recognizing that there has been some progress in some of these areas, the ACAA will continue to advocate that the Agency continue to put forth efforts to achieve further improvements in these areas. With regard to the establishment of elements and standards for evaluating the performance of supervisors, managers, and executives, we are aware that significant effort has been devoted to this concem and that the results will be forthcoming soon. We applaud the Agency for its efforts in this matter in response to ACAA's concern.

Based on our review of data provided by HR, our concern regarding increasing the number of African American women in supervisory, management, and Senior Level positions has seen progress. One African American woman has been promoted to the rank of SES and two African American wnmen were placed in supervisory and management positions. We applaud the Agency's efforts in this matter. Although the selection of these individuals is a step in the right direction toward resolving the ACAA's concern, we are concerned about the impact of l

reorganizations and downsizing on the progress that has been made thus far. We applaud the Agency's efforts to get a reasonable number of participants in its feeder programs.

With regard to Agency efforts to establish paraprofessional positions, we are not aware of any

improvements in this area. We are particularly concerned that a number of highly qualified employees continue to remain in lower grade positions although their qualifications and work expetience make them prime candidates for advancement. Our future efforts will be focused on gathering and analyzing data as it relates to paraprofessional positions, in addition, we will continue to advocate that management seek ways to create opportunities for lower grade employees to advance beyond their current grade level.

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Committee on Age Discrimination (CAD)

Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee Briefing Statement The Committee on Age Discrimination (CAD) is pleased with the cooperation and successful l

communications between its members, its external communications with the other EEO l

committees, and with its interactions with the Offices of Small Business and Civil Rights and l

Human Resources.

The CAD is encouraged to note that NRC's current EEO statistical charts, to the credit of previous EEO efforts, besides reflecting ethnicity and gender data, now also reflect age data.

We will continue to explore methods of enhancing this data. Our Data Analysis Subcommittee continues to review EEO statistical information to identify indications of age discrimination within

- the NRC. However, a review of fiscal year 1996 data indicates a concern for promotion rates for

. staff aged 50 and older.

. The CAD is also concerned that government-sponsored downsizing has caused the loss of older technical staff, many with years of experience that have not been equivalently replaced. A similar situation of loss of NRC technical experience also exists in the resident inspector ranks with even greater potential significance. This is largely because downsizing has been accomplished by attrition. Attrition, in turn, has been accomplished primarily by retirement-eligible personnel electing that option.

There appears to be a national movement toward extending the minimum retirement age. This, snd other factors, such as an increased longevity, will intensify trends toward a longer working lifetime. An easily predictable result will be increased staff concern for professional advancement opportunities, as well as issues of equitableness, among older members of the NRC staff. Expected additional downsizing will only further exacerbate these concerns. The CAD recognizes that aging issues and concerns will be shared by an increasing percentage of the NRC workforce regardless of their ethnic origins, gender, or other differences. As time goes on, these trends can only enlarge the aging issue and present an ever-increasing challenge to NRC policy makers.

J The framers and authors of the Strategic Plan would be exercising appropriate foresight to consider and integrate these issues of aging. Accordingly, the CAD recommends that the Strategic Plan, during the next revision, incorporate concerns for NRC's " aging workplace,"

including the concomitant loss of experience and competencies, and devise methods of i

- resolution The CAD believes that a meaningful review and application of remedies to any discovered problem areas will be a necessary element in the adherence to The Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

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Federal Women's Program Advisory Committee (FWPAC)

Briefing Statemerit in past years, the Federal Women's Program Advisory Committee has taken this opportunity to provide an analysis of the demographic statistics provided by the Office of Human Resources.

The purpose of these analyses has been to highlight progress made toward a demographic goal of 50% women and minorities in the NRC workforce, and in NRC management. It does not take a rigorous analysis to show that in the last six-month period, little if any progress has been made. To be fair, however, we must recognize that the state of Government employment has changed, and promotions can no longer be used as the only measure of success.

With the move within the government to larger employee-to-manager ratios, and fewer govemment employees, we must face the reality that promotional opportunities for NRC employees is drastically reduced. Any demographic gains to be made in this environment will be as a result of attrition.

In addition to supporting efforts to effect change through shedding light on the agency's less-than-stellar performance in improving representation of women in management and senior level positions, FWPAC will focus attention on helping employees find satisfaction in theirjobs in an environment in which few promotion opportunities exist. We will focus our attention on helping NRC employees in general, and women in particular, to take advantage of family-friendly programs already in place, such as work-at-home, flex time, credit hours, part time, and others.

In addition, we will provide educational programs designed to help parents deal with the problems facing children today such as drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, gangs, alcohol, and apathy.. Finally, we will work to improve the family friendly programs by urging NRC senior managers to make such programs more widely available and even more flexible.

FWPAC is grateful for the opportunity to work for a better NRC. We wish to urge the Commission to support the implementation of more policies and programs that will make NRC a more rewarding and satisfying workplace. In addition, we urge NRC managers to recognize that retaining highly qualified employees, for whom promotion opportunity is drastically reduced, will require much creativity, flexibility, and diligence. It will be necessary to make NRC a place people want to come to work every day. The " carrot" is no longer the promise of promotion to the employee who works hard. It must now be the promise that efforts will be genuinely appreciated, that work assignments will be meaningful, and to the degree possible, that NRC will encourage employees to put family first.

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Affirmative Action Advisory Committee (AAAC)

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Advisory Committee Briefing Statement The Affirmative Action Advisory Committee (AAAC) can only function when there is on-going and successful communication between its members and the other equal employment opportunity (EEO) committees and subcommittees, and the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR). It is GBCR, which works with the Office of Human Resources (HR), that carries forth AAAC recommendations and provides the AAAC members with much of the information they need. We wish to state that all parties are communicating and striving to develop more effective and results-oriented relationships. We will strive to further improve these relationships.

AAAC has reviewed the recommendations made in the last three years in order to, where appropriate, re-recommend continued efforts. The Upward Mobility Program is the sole item still being addressed. Because of down-sizing, this program should be greatly strengthened. AAAC expects to provide support to a strong Upward Mobility program in technical, administrative and legal areas. We expect that the newly formed Paraprofessional Subcommittee address issues related to secretarial / clerical concems, which the AAAC has been reviewing during the last two years.

AAAC has no additional recommendations to make at this time. However, we would like to inform the Commission of our plans for the next six to eighteen months:

Working closely with SBCR in its update of the Agency's Affirmative Action Employment e

Program Plan, including a review of the data that is used to chart EEO accomplishments.

Reviewing the opportunity for women and minorities to obtain promotions and supervisory / managerial positions crossing the administrative, technical, and legal employment lines.

Supporting a revived intem Program so it can be further strengthened.

e Working with SBCR and HR on better us of current database systems on hiring, training and promoting those in need of affirmative action. Close follow-up on the activities to develop any new database system.

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9 JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE PRESENTATION TO THE UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION The Joint Labor-Management Equal Employment Opportunity Committee (JLMEEOC) was established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Treasury Employees Union l

(NRC/NTEU) Collective Bargaining Agreement to advise the NRC on matters about equal I

employment opportunity (EEO). The Committee is currently chaired by Clayton Pittiglio and co-chaired by Michael Weber. The current members are Cynthia Carpenter, Doris J. Curseen, Rateb Abu-Eid, Clayton L. Pittiglio, Lisa A. Shea, Cheryl A.Trottier, Ronald B. Uleck, and Michael F. Weber.

We thank you for this opportunity to discuss EEO-related matters and welcome any comments you or your staffs may have. The JLMEEOC's major initiatives are listed below.

RECOMMENDATION FOR THE DISPOSITION OF THE COMMISSIONER ASSISTANTS POOL AT THE NRC Several years ogo, the Commission requested applications from technical, administrative, and legal staff who were interested in being se;ected r:,s Commissioner Assistants. These positions include Administrative Secretaries - GG-8 through GG-10; Administrative Assistants - GG-11 through GG-13; and Technical Assistants (Legal, Materials, and Reactors - three groups) -GG-14, GG-15, and SL.

Successful applicants that qualified for the Best Qualified List were considered part of a pool of candidates for Commissioner Assistant positions. If placed in the Commission Offices through the Commissioner Assistant pool process, the Assistants would be allowed to keep the grade of the position at which they worked on the Commission staff when they retumed to the NRC staff because they had been selected competitively.

The prospect of being considered for a Commissioner Assistant Position and opportunity for promotion was very appealing to the NRC staff. Out of 156 applicants for the Assistant positions,69 were chosen for the Best Qualified List (BOL) and put into a pool of highly qualified candidates for the Commissioner Assistant positions. The applicants invested considerable effort to apply and compete for the Commissioner Assistant pool. In addition, the Office of Human Resources (then Office of Personnel), Office of the Secretary, and the Office of the Executive Director for Operations also invested significant resources to develop, advertise, and administer the Commissioner Assistant pool.

Based on information provided to the Joint Labor Management Equal Employment Opportunity (JLMEEO) Committee, none of the Commissioner Assistants have been chosen from the Commissioner Assistant pool. The Office of Human Resources reports that, since the establishment of the pool, all Commissioner Assistant vacancies were filled by various informal processes used by the Commissioners to select their staffs. Some of these processes included a personalintroduction to the Commissioner; Division Directors or Office Directors recommendations, and Commissioner knowledge of prospective staff from prior associations.

However, the Commissioner Assistant Pool continues to exist. Candidates in that pool have not been informed about their status since initial selection for the Best Qualified List. Their observation of selections of Commissioner Assistants has raised questions about the merits of retaining the Commissioner Assistant pool if it is unlikely that a Commissioner will consider or select candidates in the pool. Concerns have also been raised about the faimess and openness of the informal process that is currently used for selecting Commissioner Assistants.

Recommendation JLMEEOC fully recognizes each Commissioner's prerogative and responsibility in selecting Commissioner Assistants of the highest caliber. Therefore, JLMEEOC recommends that the Commission consider the appropriate fate of the Commissioner Assistant pool. If the pool will be

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useful to Commissioners in their consideration and selection of candidates, then the pool could be maintained and, perhaps, refreshed by inviting another round of apphcations for an update to the Best Quahfied List. In addition, candidates that previously qualified for the Best Qualified List should be updated in termt of their status on that list. If the Commission decides there is limited utihty to continued existence of the Commissioner Assistant pool, then the pool should be disbanded and the i

candidates informed about the reasons for such action. In addition, the Commission cvuld allay concerns about the openness and fairness of the Commissioner Assistant selection process by issuing guidance on equal employment opportunities on the Commission staff.

JLMEEOC RECOMMENDATION FOR FORMALIZING SELECTION PROCESS FOR EEO AWARDS To address JLMEEOC's concern regarding the EEO awards selection process, the JLMEEOC evaluated the current NRC process for nomination and selection of candidates for the annual EEO Meritorious Service Award. The JLMEEOC initiated the evaluation by contacting the Office of Human Resources (HR) to determine how the current Meritorious Service Awards process works. The current practice is to solicit nominees from NRC's Headquarters and Regional Management. HR, in coordination with the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR), selects a group of NRC's representatives from NRC's Headquarters and the Regions to meet annually to screen the candidates and to select an awardee.

Currently, National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the EEO committees, minority groups, and the staff at large do not participate in the nomination or review process. The JLMEEOC believes that the principal problems with the current practice for selecting a candidate are: 1) the nomination and review process does not include input from the NRC staff at large; 2) NRC staff does not know who to contact, if they elect, to nominate a candidate for an EEO award; 3) NRC staff does not understand the award process; and 4) the group conducting the review may not be representative of the diversity within the NRC workforce.

To resolve these concerns, the JLMEt-GC recommends the following: 1) NRC issue an announcement defining the EEO awards process; 2) the announcement should identify the process by which a staff member may nominate a candidate for an EEC award; 3) the announcement should identify the criteria used to select a candidate; and 4) management should commit to consult with the EEO Committees, NTEU, and the staff regarding the nominations and r, election of a candidate.

Many of the above concems related to the EEO award process, such as lack of information on how nominations occur and proceed, are also applicable to the nomination and selection of candidates for other NRC awards, and some of the recommendations to improve the EEO award process may improve the process for nomination and selection of other NRC awards.

OTHER INITIATIVES The JLMEEOC continues to work on developing recommendations on effective communications. The Committee also continues to work with the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights to conduct a Sexual Harassment Awareness day / week at NRC and looks forward to reporting favorably about this effort at the next Commission briefing on EEO.

SUMMARY

The JLMEEOC believes that substantial progress continues to be made by NRC in developing and implementing EEO-related programs and to help reso?ve several specific concems in the EEO area.

The JLMEEOC anticipates continued progress in the EEO area, with the support of management and staff.