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Affirmative
Action Plan of the Massachusetts Trial Court
II. Implementation
A. Introduction
In
1980, the Trial Court established an Affirmative Action Office to
develop policy and establish affirmative action and equal employment
opportunity activities. The Affirmative Action Officer is responsible
for these activities, which are outlined below. The Affirmative
Action Officer will be assisted by the staff of the Administrative
Office of the Trial Court.
B. Office of Affirmative Action
The
Affirmative Action Officer for the Trial Court reports directly
to the Chief Justice for Administration and Management, and, at
the discretion of the Chief Justice, the Executive Director of the
Administrative Office of the Trial Court. This Officer prepares
quarterly audits and submits semi-annual reports on affirmative
action activities in the Trial Court to the Chief Justice for Administration
and Management for review and publication.
The
administration gives its full support to the Affirmative Action
Officer in the following activities, though the Officer's efforts
are not limited to these activities:
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developing
policy statements, affirmative action programs, and internal
and external communication techniques;
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| 2. |
identifying
problem areas;
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| 3. |
providing
technical assistance to appointing authorities of the Trial
Court and/or other personnel in meeting the requirements of
the Plan;
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| 4.
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monitoring
all transfers and promotions and conducting inquiries into these
transactions to ensure that minorities and women are given full
opportunities for transfers and promotions;
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| 5. |
investigating
complaints of a discriminatory nature;
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| 6.
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collecting,
analyzing and publishing all statistical data as required in
this Plan in order to measure the Plan's effectiveness in moving
the Trial Court towards its goals and objectives, and identifying
any need for remedial action;
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| 7.
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acting
as liaison between the Chief Justice for Administration and
Management and governmental agencies concerned with the regulation
of equal employment opportunities;
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| 8.
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Serving
as liaison between the Chief Justice for Administration and
Management and minority organizations, women's organizations
and community action groups concerned with the equal employment
opportunities of minorities and women, and maintaining a list
of organizations effective in producing qualified minority and
women applicants for employment in the Trial Court;
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| 9.
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Conducting equal
employment opportunity and affirmative action information
sessions to:
a. keep
management informed of the latest developments in the entire
equal employment opportunity area; and
b. clarify the responsibilities of appointing
authorities and department heads in equal employment opportunity
and affirmative action policy, practices, and procedures;
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| 10.
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Initiating
and participating in projects aimed at equal employment in the
Trial Court. Such activities may include participating in "Job
Fairs"; recruiting at secondary schools, junior colleges, and
colleges with predominant minority or women enrollments; and
encouraging employees to refer minority and women applicants.
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C. Hiring Authorities and Local Managers
Recipients
of the Plan must carefully read and familiarize themselves with
the Plan. They should circulate it to all personnel in their department
who are involved in employment matters or in the purchasing of goods
or services so that they, too, are familiar with the Plan.
These
persons will be responsible for, though their activities are not
limited to, the following:
| 1.
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assisting
in identifying problem areas;
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| 2.
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maintaining relationships
with local minority organizations, women's organizations,
community action groups and community service programs;
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| 3.
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periodically
auditing hiring and promotion patterns and training programs
to remove impediments to reaching goals and objectives; and
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| 4.
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working
with the Affirmative Action Officer to ensure that Trial Court
policies are being followed.
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All
employees are hired with the skills required for their positions.
Employees should not feel burdened because their hiring, promotion,
or other conditions of employment are consistent with Trial Court
Affirmative Action efforts. Supervisors should work with their employees
to ensure that they understand this, and act accordingly. The Trial
Court will offer training to assist supervisors in this effort.
D. Dissemination
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1.
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Internal
For
the Plan to be effective, it is crucial that all employees
know it exists and understand its content. The Affirmative
Action Officer will disseminate the Plan internally as follows:
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a.
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Employees
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1.
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Distribute
the Plan to all department heads within the Trial Court, and
conduct special meetings with executive, management and supervisory
personnel to explain the intent of the policy and individual
responsibility for implementation.
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2. |
Distribute
the Statement of Policy to all employees and schedule special
meetings with them to discuss the policy.
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3. |
Distribute
to each individual court its utilization analysis chart.
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4. |
Discuss
the Plan thoroughly in both employee orientation and management
training programs.
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b.
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Publications
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1. |
Include
the Plan in the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual.
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2.
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Publicize
key features of the Plan in Trial Court publications such as
the Annual Report and internal newsletters.
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3. |
Feature
both minority and nonminority employees (male, female, and disabled)
in Trial Court publications.
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4.
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Post the Statement
of Policy on courthouse bulletin boards, along with Federal
Equal Employment Opportunity posters.
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c.
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Unions
Work with the Director
of Human Resources to meet with union officials to inform
them of the Plan, to enlist their commitment to the goals
of the Plan, and to negotiate language for collective bargaining
agreements which reflects this commitment.
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| 2. |
External
To publicly affirm
the Trial Court's commitment to the Plan, the Affirmative
Action Officer or a designee will:
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a. |
Inform
all recruiting sources verbally and in writing of the Plan,
stipulating that they actively recruit and refer minorities
and women for all positions listed. |
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b.
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Notify
minority and women's organizations, community agencies, community
leaders, secondary schools and colleges of the Trial Court policy. |
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c.
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Incorporate
a nondiscrimination clause in all purchase orders, leases, and
contracts for the procurement of goods and services. |
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d. |
Inform
prospective employees of the affirmative action program so that
they can avail themselves of its benefits. |
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e.
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Send
written notification of Trial Court policy to all subcontractors,
vendors, and suppliers requesting appropriate action on their
part. |
E.
Internal Audit and Reporting Requirements
The
Affirmative Action Officer is responsible for conducting quarterly
audits of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action efforts.
In the audit, the Officer monitors referrals, placements, transfers,
promotions and terminations. The Officer also reviews local program
results, and reports on these to the Chief Justice for Administration
and Management.
Each
February 1 and August 1, the Affirmative Action Officer prepares
and submits Affirmative Action Status Reports to the Chief Justice
for Administration and Management.
All
appointing authorities are responsible for periodic internal audits
to measure the effectiveness of their affirmative action efforts.
Each division is required to submit a semi-annual report on this
audit to the Affirmative Action Officer using a format disseminated
by the Officer. The Officer advises appointing authorities of program
effectiveness and recommends improvements at least once annually.
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