[Ord. No. 1137,9-29-2015[1]]
The City of Pittsfield is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. The City values the culture and background of all people and believes that a diverse City needs a diverse government. We are committed to complying with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and equal opportunity.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance added Art. XLVIV, EEO/Affirmative Action, to Chapter 2 of the Code. Ordinance No. 1164, adopted 2-9-2016, amended the Code to change the article designation from "Art. XLVIV" to "Art. XLIX."
[Ord. No. 1137, 9-29-2015]
A. 
The City will make its employment and contracting decisions on the basis of merit and without regard to race or color, sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military/veteran status, national origin or ancestry, genetic information, age, or other non-job-related characteristics and ensure equal opportunity in the areas of contracting, hiring, promotion, demotion or transfer, recruitment, layoff or termination, compensation and benefits, training programs, and other terms and conditions of employment.
B. 
Unlawful discrimination against employees occurring in the workplace or in other settings in which employees may find themselves in connection with their employment will not be tolerated by the City of Pittsfield.
C. 
Any retaliation against an individual who has formally or informally complained about discrimination or has cooperated with an investigation of a discrimination complaint is prohibited.
D. 
The City will also make its public services available on the basis of merit and without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, genetic information, pregnancy or a condition related to said pregnancy, including, but not limited to, lactation or the need to express breast milk for a nursing child, ancestry or status as a veteran, and ensure equal opportunity in the area of access to public services.
[Ord. No. 1332, 11-13-2025]
[Ord. No. 1137, 9-29-2015]
A. 
If an applicant or employee believes that they have been subjected to unlawful discrimination, they have the right to file a complaint with the EEO/AA Officer.
B. 
The EEO/AA Officer or Mayor's designee will promptly investigate the allegation in a fair and thorough manner. The investigation will be conducted in such a way as to maintain confidentiality to the extent practicable under the circumstances. The investigation will include private interviews with the person filing the complaint, the person alleged to have committed the discrimination, and relevant witnesses. When the investigation is completed, the City will, to the extent appropriate, inform the person filing the complaint and the person alleged to have committed the conduct of the results of that investigation.
C. 
If it is determined that inappropriate conduct has occurred, the City will act promptly to eliminate the offending conduct, and where it is appropriate, the City will also impose disciplinary action.
[Ord. No. 1137, 9-29-2015]
A. 
Affirmative action statement. The City of Pittsfield resolves to take affirmative action measures to ensure equal opportunity in the areas of contracting, hiring, promotion, transfer, recruitment, rate of compensation, training programs, and all terms and conditions of employment. Such employment actions and contracting decisions will be on the basis of merit and without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, genetic information, pregnancy or a condition related to said pregnancy, including, but not limited to, lactation or the need to express breast milk for a nursing child, ancestry or status as a veteran, or any other non-job-related characteristics.
[Ord. No. 1332, 11-13-2025]
B. 
Roles/responsibilities. To ensure that equal employment opportunity and affirmative action are achieved through good-faith efforts, the City has established various levels of responsibility to both direct, oversee and implement affirmative action efforts.
(1) 
The City Council shall be responsible for the adoption of the affirmative action policy. To ensure that the City's personnel policies and practices incorporate our objectives, the EEO/AA Officer shall be responsible for the administration of this policy.
(2) 
The EEO/AA Officer is responsible for establishing, implementing and monitoring affirmative action efforts and for providing training. The EEO/AA Officer has the responsibility to ensure that equal employment and affirmative action receive a sufficient level of attention and management support. The EEO/AA Officer will provide summaries and updates on relevant issues as well as statistics regarding promotion and hiring.
(3) 
The Affirmative Action Committee is an advisory committee that is also appointed by the Mayor and subject to City Council approval. The Affirmative Action Committee is responsible for annually reviewing the Affirmative Action Policy and relevant programs. Policy is set by the Affirmative Action Committee on a yearly basis in the month of October and, if there are any changes, the Affirmative Action Policy will be submitted to the City Council for its approval. The policy will contain areas in which the City can improve and goals for the Committee to accomplish over the next year. The Affirmative Action Committee is also responsible for advising affected groups of their rights under the Affirmative Action Plan Policy, disseminating information and educating the people of the City to achieve a greater understanding and practice of affirmative action for all affected groups, and to recommend and review such rules and regulations as may be necessary to promulgate the City's Affirmative Action Plan Policy.
(4) 
The EEO/AA Officer may not be a member of the Affirmative Action Committee.
(5) 
Managers are responsible for making sure that their employment practices comply with principles in this policy and relevant state and federal equal employment opportunity regulations.
(6) 
Employees are responsible for bringing to the attention of the EEO/AA Officer any decision that conflicts with the spirit of the law.
C. 
Implementation of Affirmative Action Policy. The City will implement its affirmative action efforts by ensuring that all decisions concerning access to public services, employment and contracting are on the basis of merit without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, which shall not include persons whose sexual orientation involves minor children as the sex object, genetic information, pregnancy or a condition related to said pregnancy, including, but not limited to, lactation or the need to express breast milk for a nursing child, ancestry or status as a veteran, as outlined below:
[Ord. No. 1332, 11-13-2025]
(1) 
Recruitment will be on the basis of qualifications. Every effort shall be made to recruit applicants from underutilized categories to provide employment and contractor lists of qualified candidates that will facilitate the implementation of departmental and City-wide affirmative action goals. All employment and contracting advertisements and job postings shall identify the City as an "Equal Opportunity Employer." The EEO/AA Officer and the Affirmative Action Committee will act as a liaison with employment sources and organizations serving protected groups.
(2) 
Promotion will be based on ability or, where applicable, subject to and in conjunction with collective bargaining procedures.
(3) 
Compensation and benefits: The City will pay all personnel fairly according to their job classification.
D. 
Dissemination of policy.
(1) 
All prospective employees applying for positions will be advised that the City is an equal opportunity employer.
(2) 
Copies of the policy will be available in the Personnel Office for any employee to read, in addition to annual dissemination of policy.
(3) 
The EEO/AA Officer will be responsible for the posting of information regarding equal employment opportunity and of nondiscrimination laws in places where policy and related materials are available to all employees and prospective employees.
(4) 
The EEO/AA Officer will act as a liaison with employment sources and organizations serving protected groups.
(5) 
The policy will be provided to the Affirmative Action Committee by the EEO/AA Officer.
E. 
Accountability and reports.
(1) 
The EEO/AA Officer shall be responsible for the implementation and coordination of the Affirmative Action Plan Policy. In turn, each department head shall be accountable to the EEO/AA Officer for the implementation of the departmental affirmative action plans.
(2) 
The EEO/AA Officer shall at least annually in the month of September file a written progress report with the Affirmative Action Committee, the Mayor, and the City Council, indicating the progress toward achieving the affirmative action goals. The report shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) 
A summary of departmental and City affirmative action goals as well as any special projects tied to this program.
(b) 
Totals of all persons hired, promoted, transferred, demoted, suspended, terminated, interviewed and/or rejected, indicating affected groups. Waivers of hiring priority and reasons therefor shall also be provided.
(c) 
A description of the recruitment and training programs instituted to achieve the objectives of the Affirmative Action Plan Policy.
(d) 
A summary of complaints filed and investigations conducted.