§ 90.168 - Equal employment opportunities.

§ 90.168 Equal employment opportunities.

Commercial Mobile Radio Services licensees shall afford equal opportunity in employment to all qualified persons, and personnel must not be discriminated against in employment because of sex, race, color, religion, or national origin.

(a) Equal employment opportunity program. Each licensee shall establish, maintain, and carry out a positive continuing program of specific practices designed to assure equal opportunity in every aspect of employment policy and practice.

(1) Under the terms of its program, each licensee shall:

(i) Define the responsibility of each level of management to insure a positive application and vigorous enforcement of the policy of equal opportunity, and establish a procedure to review and control managerial and supervisory performance.

(ii) Inform its employees and recognized employee organizations of the positive equal employment opportunity policy and program and enlist their cooperation.

(iii) Communicate its equal employment opportunity policy and program and its employment needs to sources of qualified applicants without regard to sex, race, color, religion or national origin, and solicit their recruitment assistance on a continuing basis.

(iv) Conduct a continuing campaign to exclude every form of prejudice or discrimination based upon sex, race, color, religion, or national origin, from the licensee's personnel policies and practices and working conditions.

(v) Conduct a continuing review of job structure and employment practices and adopt positive recruitment, training, job design and other measures needed in order to insure genuine equality of opportunity to participate fully in all organizational units, occupations and levels of responsibility.

(2) The program must reasonably address specific concerns through policies and actions as set forth in this paragraph, to the extent that they are appropriate in consideration of licensee size, location and other factors.

(i) To assure nondiscrimination in recruiting.

(A) Posting notices in the licensee's offices informing applicants for employment of their equal employment rights and their right to notify the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Federal Communications Commission (Commission), or other appropriate agency. Where a substantial number of applicants are Spanish-surnamed Americans, such notice should be posted in both Spanish and English.

(B) Placing a notice in bold type on the employment application informing prospective employees that discrimination because of sex, race, color, religion, or national origin is prohibited, and that they may notify the EEOC, the Commission, or other appropriate agency if they believe they have been discriminated against.

(C) Placing employment advertisements in media which have significant circulation among minority groups in the recruiting area.

(D) Recruiting through schools and colleges with significant minority group enrollments.

(E) Maintaining systematic contacts with minority and human relations organizations, leaders and spokespersons to encourage referral of qualified minority or female applicants.

(F) Encouraging present employees to refer minority or female applicants.

(G) Making known to the appropriate recruitment sources in the employer's immediate area that qualified minority members are being sought for consideration whenever the licensee hires.

(ii) To assure nondiscrimination in selection and hiring.

(A) Instructing employees of the licensee who make hiring decisions that all applicants for all jobs are to be considered without discrimination.

(B) Where union agreements exist, cooperating with the union or unions in the development of programs to assure qualified minority persons or females of equal opportunity for employment, and including an effective nondiscrimination clause in new or renegotiated union agreements.

(C) Avoiding use of selection techniques or tests that have the effect of discriminating against minority groups or females.

(iii) To assure nondiscriminatory placement and promotion.

(A) Instructing employees of the licensee who make decisions on placement and promotion that minority employees and females are to be considered without discrimination, and that job areas in which there is little or no minority or female representation should be reviewed to determine whether this results from discrimination.

(B) Giving minority groups and female employees equal opportunity for positions which lead to higher positions. Inquiring as to the interest and skills of all lower-paid employees with respect to any of the higher-paid positions, followed by assistance, counseling, and effective measures to enable employees with interest and potential to qualify themselves for such positions.

(C) Reviewing seniority practices to insure that such practices are nondiscriminatory and do not have a discriminatory effect.

(D) Avoiding use of selection techniques or tests that have the effect of discriminating against minority groups or females.

(iv) to assure nondiscrimination in other areas of employment practices.

(A) Examining rates of pay and fringe benefits for present employees with equivalent duties and adjusting any inequities found.

(B) Providing opportunity to perform overtime work on a basis that does not discriminate against qualified minority groups or female employees.

(b) EEO statement. Each licensee having sixteen (16) or more full-time employees shall file with the Commission, no later than May 31st following the grant of that licensee's first Commercial Mobile Radio Services authorization, a statement describing fully its current equal employment opportunity program, indicating specific practices to be followed in order to assure equal employment opportunity on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, or national origin in such aspects of employment practices as regards recruitment, selection, training, placement, promotion, pay, working conditions, demotion, layoff, and termination. Any licensee having sixteen (16) or more full-time employees that changes its existing equal employment opportunity program shall file with the Commission, no later than May 31st thereafter, a revised statement reflecting the change(s).

Note:

Commercial mobile radio service licensees having sixteen (16) or more full-time employees that do not have a current EEO statement on file with the Commission as of January 2, 1995, must file the statement required by this paragraph no later than May 31, 1995.

(c) Report of complaints filed against licensees. Each licensee, regardless of how many employees it has, shall submit an annual report to the Commission no later than May 31st of each year indicating whether any complaints regarding violations by the licensee or equal employment provisions of Federal, State, Territorial, or local law have been filed before anybody having competent jurisdiction.

(1) The report should state the parties involved, the date filing, the courts or agencies before which the matters have been heard, the appropriate file number (if any), and the respective disposition or current status of any such complaints.

(2) Any licensee who has filed such information with the EEOC may file a notification of such filing with the Commission in lieu of a report.

(d) Complaints of violations of Equal Employment Programs. Complaints alleging employment discrimination against a common carrier licensee are considered by the Commission in the following manner:

(1) If a complaint raising an issue of discrimination is received against a licensee who is within the jurisdiction of the EEOC, it is submitted to that agency. The Commission maintains a liaison with that agency that keeps the Commission informed of the disposition of complaints filed against common carrier licensees.

(2) Complaints alleging employment discrimination against a common carrier licensee who does not fall under the jurisdiction of the EEOC but is covered by appropriate enforceable State law, to which penalties apply, may be submitted by the Commission to the respective State agency.

(3) Complaints alleging employment discrimination against a common carrier licensee who does not fall under the jurisdiction of the EEOC or an appropriate State law, are accorded appropriate treatment by the Commission.

(4) The Commission will consult with the EEOC on all matters relating to the evaluation and determination of compliance by the common carrier licensees with the principles of equal employment as set forth herein.

(5) Complaints indicating a general pattern of disregard of equal employment practices which are received against a licensee that is required to file an employment report to the Commission under § 1.815(a) of this chapter are investigated by the Commission.

(e) Commission records. A copy of every annual employment report, equal employment opportunity program statement, reports on complaints regarding violation of equal employment provisions of Federal, State, Territorial, or local law, and copies of all exhibits, letters, and other documents filed as part thereof, all amendments thereto, all correspondence between the licensee and the Commission pertaining to the reports after they have been filed and all documents incorporated therein by reference, are open for public inspection at the offices of the Commission.

(f) Licensee records. Each licensee required to file annual employment reports (pursuant to § 1.815(a) of this chapter), equal employment opportunity program statements, and annual reports on complaints regarding violations of equal employment provisions of Federal, State, Territorial, or local law shall maintain for public inspection a file containing a copy of each such report and copies of all exhibits, letters, and other documents filed as part thereto, all correspondence between the licensee and the Commission pertaining to the reports after they have been filed and all documents incorporated therein by reference. The documents must be retained for a period of two (2) years.