Workforce Analysis

The first step in identifying underutilization is to prepare a workforce analysis; that is, a look at the composition of the workplace.

The first part of the workforce analysis examines the entire system, listing all of the job titles in the system and indicating the number of employees in those titles. In particular, the analysis indicates for each title its level, the total number of incumbents, the total men and the total women, and the numbers of men and women who are Native American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, Cape Verdean, Hispanic, and White. Finally, it lists the percentages of incumbents for each title who are minorities and who are women.

The second part of the workforce analysis examines each court, listing the federally-defined Equal Employment Opportunity job categories represented in the court system and indicating, by court, the composition of employees in those categories. The information presented for each of the categories is essentially the same as that presented for each title. The reason for categorizing is that the federal government has found that minorities and women are under represented in specific categories, and that it is most informative to investigate the categories in a workplace. The categories used in this Plan are: Official and Manager; Professional; Technician; Supervisor; Administrative Support (Supervisory Workers levels 13 - 18); Administrative Support; Service Workers; Supervisory Protective Service Workers; and Protective Service Workers.

The Affirmative Action Officer conducts ongoing labor market analyses to determine the availability of minorities and women having requisite skills in areas in which hiring authorities can reasonably recruit.

Every two years, in preparation for updating the Affirmative Action Plan, the Officer will examine statistics from the Division of Employment and Training, the Department of Labor, the Census Bureau, and local agencies to ensure that the goals of the Trial Court are accurate and current (see Appendix A).

Utilization Analysis and Goals and Timetables

By comparing the composition of minorities and women in each court (the workforce analysis) to the availability of workers with requisite skills in applicable labor market areas (the labor market analysis) , the Trial Court has completed a utilization analysis of its workforce (see Appendix B).

Where the utilization analysis shows underutilization of minorities and women, the Trial Court has set goals for hiring and promotion so that in the future its workforce will resemble the labor market. The Trial Court is very careful to distinguish between goals and quotas. Quotas imply that numbers must be met. Goals imply that all good faith efforts will be made to reach utilization (see Appendix C).

The Trial Court intends to improve its method for setting goals by gathering statistics regarding turnover, promotions, terminations, etc. The "Future Actions" section of the Plan elaborates on this intent.

The Trial Court is setting goals in a good faith effort to ensure equal employment opportunity. It recognizes that the Plan will face challenges and readjustments due to the fluctuations in the fiscal situation and the slow and unpredictable turnover in the court system.