Overview
The Human Resources Division (HRD) was established under Section 4A of Chapter 7 of the Massachusetts General Laws, as amended by Section 23 of Chapter 46 of the Acts of 2015. HRD is a division of the Executive Office for Administration and Finance that provides human-resources (HR) services to the Commonwealth’s executive branch and is its central personnel department. In addition, HRD administers the Commonwealth’s civil service system for state agencies and many local governments. According to HRD’s website,
[HRD] is responsible for attracting, hiring and developing people to do purposeful work. We partner with agencies to build and support a high-performing diverse workforce. . . .
Our programs and services include:
- Recruiting new employees
- Delivering learning and development opportunities for existing employees
- Administering HR policy, employee benefits, and compensation
- Offering employee self-service HR related support
- Administration of collective bargaining agreements and contracts
- Ensuring an inclusive, safe and productive workplace
- Administering examinations for public safety and promotional opportunities
HRD received state appropriations of $2,802,000 in both fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2018. It expended $2,423,269 in fiscal year 2017 and $1,066,144 from July 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017. As of December 31, 2017, HRD had a total of 125 employees.
Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity
On June 17, 2003, the Governor signed Executive Order (EO) 452, which, among other things, established the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity (ODEO) within HRD and provided for a director of ODEO to be selected and supervised by HRD’s chief HR officer.
According to EO 452, ODEO’s overall goals are as follows:
- Creating a State workplace that welcomes, respects and values people of all abilities, cultures, nationalities, religions, races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds and veteran’s status;
- Ensuring that diversity is reflected in all state government activities, including planning, decision-making and design and delivery of services to customers;
- Identifying and removing barriers to making programs and services accessible to all the citizens of Massachusetts;
- Developing partnerships with public and private organizations to share best practices for enhancing diversity;
- Planning and implementing community outreach and diversity recruitment programs to increase the diversity of job applicants;
- Establishing guidelines for Secretariat diversity plans and ensuring the compliance of each Secretariat with its diversity plan.
- Complying with all federal and state reporting requirements. Ensuring that all activities are in compliance with applicable state and federal laws.
ODEO is also responsible for ensuring that executive branch agencies comply with EO 452. Each agency is required to complete an affirmative action plan and diversity plan every two years and to report each year on its progress toward self-determined goals established in the plans.
During our audit period, ODEO was administered by a director, a compliance manager, a recruitment and outreach manager, and a Veterans Program coordinator. According to HRD officials, ODEO expenditures for the period July 1, 2016 through December 31, 2017 totaled $518,313.
EO 526
On February 17, 2011, the Governor signed EO 526 (see Appendix A), which reaffirmed the Commonwealth’s commitment to civil rights and provided for transgender people to have equal access to executive branch employment and programs.
According to Section 4 of EO 526, the order’s purpose is to ensure the following:
All programs, activities, and services provided, performed, licensed, chartered, funded, regulated, or contracted for by the state shall be conducted without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, disability, veteran’s status (including Vietnam-era veterans), or background. Equal opportunity and diversity shall be protected and affirmatively promoted in all state, state-assisted, and state-regulated programs, activities, and services. Non-compliance shall subject violators to such disciplinary or remedial actions as permitted by law. This provision applies, but is not limited to, the use and operation of facilities owned, leased, funded or subject to control by the Commonwealth; the sale, lease, rental, financing, construction, or development of housing; state-licensed or chartered health care facilities, educational institutions, and businesses; education, counseling, and training programs; and public schools.
Section 7 of EO 526 gives the ODEO director the authority to do the following:
- Establish guidelines for agency affirmative action and diversity plans ("plans");
- Review all such plans and either approve, return for amendment, or reject them;
- Establish periodic reporting requirements for agencies concerning the implementation of their plans and all actions taken to ensure compliance with this Executive Order and applicable state and federal laws;
- Provide assistance to agencies in achieving compliance with their plans and with applicable federal and state laws;
- Monitor and assess the status of agency compliance and investigate instances of non-compliance; and
- Where appropriate, determine and impose remedial courses of action, including the potential imposition of a freeze on all personnel requisitions [used to establish open positions] and appointment forms [used to appoint people to positions] submitted by any non-compliant agency to the Chief Human Resources Officer.
Affirmative Action Plans
HRD’s “Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 526” define affirmative action as follows:
A policy or program that seeks to redress past discrimination by increasing opportunities for under-represented groups. For example, in the area of employment, affirmative action is accomplished by taking specific steps to identify, recruit, hire and/or develop for advancement, persons who are identified as part of a specific protected class.
EO 526 requires each executive branch agency to create an affirmative action plan every two years to develop strategies and incorporate goals and analytics to monitor progress toward the goals.
The “Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 526” state that affirmative action plans must include the following:
(1) Statement of policy, (2) Statement of dissemination, (3) Designation of Diversity Officer (affirmative action and equal opportunity) responsibilities, (3a) Assessment of Employment Practices, (4) Identification of Problem areas, (5) Organizational Profile, (6) Development and execution of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action oriented programs, (7) Resolution process, and (8) Outline recruitment efforts and strategies for Persons with disabilities and Vietnam Era Veterans.
Diversity Plans
The “Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 526” define diversity as follows:
A policy or program that values differences among the Commonwealth’s employees and all those with whom it does business. These differences include but are not limited to race, gender, gender identity or expression, color, national origin and ancestry, religion, age, mental/physical disabilities, sexual orientation, veteran’s status, organizational level, economic status, geographical origin, marital status, communication and learning styles, and . . . other characteristics and traits. The goal of this policy is to develop an inclusive environment that capitalizes on each individual’s talents, skills and perspectives in order to increase organizational productivity and effectiveness.
The guidelines further state that diversity plans must contain (1) an agency vision, (2) an agency mission statement, and (3) diversity goals with a written strategy and measures. EO 526 requires each executive branch agency to create a diversity plan every two years to develop strategies and incorporate goals and analytics to monitor progress toward the goals.
Progress Reports
Progress reports allow HRD to evaluate an agency’s progress toward established goals outlined in its affirmative action and diversity plans, including the agency’s assessment of whether its goals were ultimately met and what steps it took toward meeting its goals. Periodic reporting is also done in an effort to identify and remove artificial barriers to equal opportunity in hiring, training, promotion, transfer, and reasonable accommodation. Reports help agencies create inclusive and diverse workforces. These reports must be submitted to HRD 60 days after the end of each fiscal year, on August 30.
Workforce
The chart below shows the demographics of the Commonwealth’s executive branch workforce as of December 31, 2017 compared to benchmarks based on the United States Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2010 census information for Massachusetts, which was used in ODEO’s 2017 annual report.
For specific workforce demographics for individual executive branch departments, see Appendix B.
| Date published: | February 14, 2019 |
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