encourage participation by all staff members in this effort. A more positive approach to minority recruitment would involve establishing rapport with those schools and community organizations which would be helpful in locating interested and qualified minorities. 5. Progress in the area of minority recruitment should be reported and discussed at periodic meetings of the entire professional staff. The idea should be conveyed during these meetings that everyone is responsible for implementing an effective minority recruitment program. The professional staff should be encouraged to work closely with minorities in the Department who are willing to offer their assistance in this effort. should also be made aware of those people in the Department who are involved full-time with EEO and encouraged to work with them. They 6. All qualified clerical employees should be allowed more time to take advantage of training opportunities. Top-level staff should make certain that sufficient training opportunities exist for these employees, and a ratio of one secretary to every two professionals might help to achieve this objective. 7. The clerical staff should also be encouraged to assume certain "professional" duties, such as those involving basic research or statistics. Additional re sponsibilities would contribute to their knowledge of the office's operations, and would also enable some of them to move into the para-professional or professional ranks. V. ORGANIZATION OF EEO Although the single most important aspect of an effective EEO program is commitment from top to bottom, certainly the second most important consideration is an efficient organizational structure. The development of such a structure must consider the mission of EEO and the larger organization within which it must iunction. As stated in the introduction to this report, Equal Employment Opportunity is the state that exists when all people in any given employment can go as far as their ability and willingness to accept challenge will take them. But we recognize that because of discrimination and social attitudes past and present, all people do not have an equal start. Positive action is required to assure the equitable representation of all races, sexes and ethnic backgrounds throughout all levels of employment in the society. In the Department of Labor this translates into equitable distribution of all employees across all GS grade levels. The methods to achieve this objective are discussed elsewhere in this report. The concern here is how best to organize our efforts to reach this goal. This section of the Task Force Report will examine the present structure of EEO now and how the organization can be improved to accomplish EEO goals. Equal Employment Opportunity in the Department of Labor is organized following the Secretary's Order 39-69. This delegates the responsibility for EEO from the Secretary of Labor directly to the heads of each Administration and Office. The heads of the A&O's de signate EEO Co-ordinators to assist them in carrying out their responsibilities. The Assistant Secretary for Administration is designated the EEO Director and is given authority to provide leadership and assistance to the A&O's. There is, further, an EEO Officer who is to assist the EEO Director, and who is responsible for receiving formal complaints of discrimination. The Order also provides for EEO Counselors who are responsible for receiving informal complaints. The Order states that the A&O's must submit a yearly EEO affirmative action plan to the EEO Director and include EEO progress in their Quarterly Review and Analysis. 2. Other EEO Positions |