[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.