[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Pine Beach 6-14-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-05-455. Amendments noted where applicable.]
There shall be and is hereby established a borough goal of eliminating
discrimination in the borough employment, including but not limited
to the following areas: recruitment, selection, hiring, placement,
upgrading, demotion, transfer, termination, training, rates of pay,
fringe benefits and use of all facilities, through the implementation
of an Affirmative Action Plan (the plan).
Said plan shall apply to all employees within the municipal
government of the Borough of Pine Beach.
The following is hereby adopted as the Affirmative Action Plan
of the Borough of Pine Beach.
The plan shall provide the means by which Pine Beach shall achieve
proportional representation of all segments of the borough in the
municipal work force.
Implementation of this policy shall be by the Borough Council.
To this end, the Mayor shall nominate, with the consent of the Borough
Council, an Affirmative Action Officer, who shall supervise the operation
of the plan, on a part-time basis. Said officer shall report directly
to the Council and submit an annual report to the Council for its
review. This annual report shall include borough employment statistics
and an analysis of these statistics in relation to both short-term
and long-range goals.
The Affirmative Action Officer shall monitor all hiring and
training practices through the use of an affirmative action file and
preparation of annual reports as to its status. The Affirmative Action
Officer shall complete all equal employment opportunity reports in
accordance with federal government requirements and shall perform
the following duties:
A.
Advise
and counsel all employees upon request. All discussions shall remain
strictly confidential.
B.
Maintain
a skills bank to identify those employees who may qualify for training
and/or promotion.
C.
Review
the employee grievance procedure and, when necessary, recommend improvements
therein.
D.
Review
all promotional procedures and requirements to eliminate all discriminatory
practices over which the borough has control.
E.
Ensure
that all fringe benefits continue to be made available on a nondiscriminatory
basis.
F.
Review
all transfer applications to ascertain whether discriminatory factors
were involved in such transfers.
G.
Interview
all employees who shall leave borough employment to ascertain whether
discrimination was a factor in the termination of such employment.
H.
Make
an annual review to determine if any pattern of discrimination exists.
I.
Conduct
seminars to ensure that all department heads and supervisors have
knowledge of the plan.
J.
Review
selection procedures to eliminate non-job related factors over which
the borough has control.
The statement of policy and of the plan shall be distributed
to all employees. It shall appear in any employee handbook and all
other appropriate publications. It shall be distributed at new employee
orientation programs, be made available to all borough employees'
representatives and be posted in all areas where applications are
received. The statement of the plan shall also be distributed to all
borough departments.
A recruitment program shall be designated to effectuate the
plan. The program shall include recruitment and outreach policies
designated to attract those segments of the population underrepresented
heretofore. The recruitment procedures shall include but not be limited
to the following:
A.
Open
posting of all employment opportunities on bulletin boards within
the municipal government agencies.
B.
Mailing
all employment opportunities to minority and women's organizations
and all other interested parties, such as churches and educational
institutions.
C.
The
Affirmative Action Officer or designated representatives shall speak
before any interested group, providing information on existing employment
opportunities.
D.
Establishing
a continuous line of communication with minority and women's
organizations to inform them of the progress of the Affirmative Action
Plan.
E.
Utilizing,
where possible, minority and women's organizations as employment
recruiters.
F.
Advertising
employment opportunities in local newspapers.
G.
Inclusion
of the statement ("Equal Opportunity Employer") in all newspaper advertisements
and notices of employment opportunities.
A.
All
persons desirous of employment with the Borough of Pine Beach shall
be given the opportunity to submit applications. After completion
of such application, all applicants shall discuss, with the Affirmative
Action Officer or designee, the availability of present and future
employment opportunities with the borough.
B.
All
applications shall remain active for a period of one year, and for
six months thereafter upon the request of the applicant. All applicants
shall be notified by the Affirmative Action Officer when their applications
are under present consideration and the disposition of same.
The borough shall make every reasonable effort to make training
and educational experience, which are necessary for promotion to higher
level positions, available to all interested and qualified employees.
The review and implementation of all training procedures shall be
conducted by the Affirmative Action Officer. The scope of authority
shall include but not be limited to review of the effectiveness of
the training and education experience; evaluation of all promotion
requirements to eliminate, wherever possible, all restrictions on
age, sex, physical characteristics and experience unless job-related
and conducting of workshops in human relations.
A.
Any employee who believes that he/she has been the subject of discrimination
for any reasons whatsoever may present a grievance in the manner prescribed
in the borough ordinances or any collective bargaining agreement.
B.
If this procedure is complied with and the employee's grievance
is still unresolved, the employee may notify the State of New Jersey,
Division of Civil Rights.
C.
The procedures outlined are available to employees on a voluntary
basis. A claim of discrimination may be filed with the State of New
Jersey, Division of Civil Rights, at any time.
If any agreement entered into between the borough shall contain
any language contrary to the provisions of applicable federal or state
law, the violating provisions shall be deemed void and of no effect.
The objectives of the Affirmative Action Plan shall be as follows:
A.
Continuous administration of the plan. This objective shall be carried
out through the appointment of an Affirmative Action Officer, who
shall report directly to the Council. The Affirmative Action Officer
shall be appointed within 30 days after adoption of the Affirmative
Action Plan by the Borough Council. The Borough Clerk shall disseminate
to all employees and departments the name and functions of said Affirmative
Action Officer.
B.
Communication of the plan. Upon adoption of said plan by the Borough
Council, the Affirmative Action Officer shall tender copies of said
plan to all employees of the Borough of Pine Beach, employees'
representatives, department heads and other interested parties.
C.
Review of employment procedures. The Affirmative Action Officer and
each department head shall review the employment structure of their
departments to eliminate any vestiges of discrimination. The first
of said reviews shall be made within 90 days of the adoption of the
plan and then annually thereafter.
D.
Ensuring equal consideration of all qualified applicants. The Affirmative
Action Officer shall review all interviewing and recruiting procedures
to ensure that all provisions outlined herein shall be strictly complied
with and that all employment advertisements contain the statement
"Equal Opportunity Employer." To this end, a form shall be developed
by the Affirmative Action Officer, which shall be completed when any
application is received but employment not offered at that time. Copies
of said form shall be kept on file.
E.
Maintaining discrimination-free selection, appointment and procedures.
All procedures outlined herein shall be strictly complied with.
F.
Offering of training and educational programs on a nondiscriminatory
basis. In addition to compliance with all procedures outlined herein,
the Affirmative Action Officer or designee shall conduct workshops
and seminars for supervisory personnel to familiarize them with all
phases of the plan. Said seminars and workshops shall also be made
available whenever possible for all interested employees.
G.
Utilization of the Affirmative Action Officer. The Affirmative Action
Officer shall have an expanded role in the employment process and
shall counsel and interview all employees on the commencement, transfer
and termination of their employment, review all aspects of fringe
benefits and create a job skills bank. Said skills bank shall commence
to function no later than 90 days after adoption of the plan.
H.
Establishment of a grievance procedure. To ensure that no discrimination
occurs, the procedure for review of employee grievances outlined herein
shall be implemented at the earliest time. Upon review of said procedure,
the Affirmative Action Officer may, with the approval of the various
authorities, at their discretion, modify or establish new grievance
procedures.
All contractors and subcontractors shall be required to verify
that they are in compliance with all applicable federal and state
laws relating to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action
programs. General contractors shall be responsible for obtaining such
proofs from all subcontractors and providing the same to the borough.
Failure to comply by a contractor or subcontractor shall be a basis
for denying a bid or for issuance of a stop-work order.
