Chapter 400 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/EQUAL ACCESS

TITLE XI - EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Chapter 402 - EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Chapter 400 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/EQUAL ACCESS

PART 1. - STATEMENT OF POLICY AND GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 400.101. - Statement of policy.

(a)

Employment. The Council hereby declares it to be the policy of the City that personnel shall be employed, compensated, promoted, transferred, or disciplined without regard to race, color, religion, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, marital status, or any circumstances other than merit and qualification.

(b)

Equal Opportunity/Equal Access. The Council declares it to be the policy of the City that the character and quality of its workforce shall be enhanced by an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program that promotes and enforces equal opportunity and access to, and advancement within, the City's workforce. The Council declares that a diverse public workforce that is representative of our community is desirable and can be achieved through equal opportunity, equal access, and aggressive recruiting.

(c)

Disability. The City is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in its employment practices, provision of public services, and access to governmental facilities. Qualified individuals with disabilities will be actively recruited to fill City positions. The City recognizes its legal obligation to employ, promote, train, retain and reasonably accommodate disabled persons in City government.

(d)

Harassment. It is the policy of the City to provide a professional and businesslike work environment free from all forms of employee discrimination, including incidents of harassment.

(1)

Sexual harassment. No applicant for employment or employee shall be subjected to unsolicited and unwelcome, or conditional sexual overtures or conduct of either a verbal or physical nature, including patting and touching, nor shall there be allowed to exist a sexually, or gender related hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment as a result of any such conduct or speech, which would detract from an employee's capacity to successfully perform in the workplace.

(2)

Other forms of harassment. No employee or applicant for employment shall be subjected to any other form of workplace harassment, whether based upon a state or federally protected status, a physical characteristic or a personal orientation or belief, which might detract from an employee's or candidate's capacity to successfully perform in the workplace. This policy of non-harassment is not intended to limit management's authority to supervise the workforce and to engage in instruction, direction, counseling, training, personal supervision, or discipline.

(e)

Prohibition against Retaliation. Complainants and their representatives, witnesses, and all other individuals involved in the processing of internal Equal Opportunity/Equal Access complaints shall be free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or retaliation with respect to their participation.

(f)

Resolution of Complaints. It is the policy of the City to resolve complaints of discrimination internally, in a prompt and non-adversarial manner, to fairly investigate such complaints, respect the rights of complainants and the accused, and provide for fair and adequate relief where appropriate.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4; Ord. 2017-15-E, § 2; Ord. 2020-244-E, § 2)

Sec. 400.102. - Construction.

This Chapter shall be liberally construed to effect the policy stated in Section 400.101. In addition, this Chapter shall be construed so as to be consistent with and supplement the regulatory, statutory, and case law of the United States and the State of Florida concerning equal employment opportunity and equal access in the public employment sector.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.103. - Applicability.

This Chapter shall be applicable to all agencies of the Consolidated Government, including the affected independent agencies.

(a)

Consolidated Government means the departments, offices and boards of the City and the affected independent agencies.

(b)

Affected independent agency includes all of the independent agencies of the Consolidated Government that are subject to or covered by the provisions of Article 19 of the Charter or that are eligible to receive appropriations of funds from the City.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

PART 2. - EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/EQUAL ACCESS PROGRAM

SUBPART A. - ORGANIZATION

Sec. 400.201. - Creation of program.

There is hereby created an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program for the City of Jacksonville to implement the policy stated in Section 400.101. The Mayor is directed to create, through Executive Order, an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program for the City, to implement the policies set forth in this Chapter, and to provide positive steps to correct or eliminate the vestiges of any past discriminatory practices and any current potentially discriminatory conditions, whether purposeful or inadvertent, that may have effectively denied full and equal participation by under represented groups in the City's workforce.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.202. - Intent of program.

A diverse City workforce which is reasonably representative of the community is a desirable goal. When classes of persons are not represented in City employment to at least the same degree they are represented in the workforce, it may be attributable to discriminatory practices in job structuring, upward mobility, recruitment, selection, appointment, placement and training. It is the intent of the City in creating the Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program established by this Part to determine the location and extent of under representation, to ascertain any contributing discriminatory practices and to direct corrective action to eliminate the discriminatory practices and to remedy the under representation which resulted. This intent shall govern the administration and implementation of the Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program created by this Part.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.203. - Manager of Equal Opportunity.

There is created the position of Manager of the Equal Opportunity Office, which shall be filled by a person designated by the Mayor and shall serve under the Executive Director of Jacksonville Human Rights Commission or its successor. The Manager shall have the duties and responsibilities imposed by this Part or Part 3 or assigned by the Mayor. The Manager shall not be assigned duties or responsibilities that would prevent him or her from effectively carrying out duties and responsibilities under this Chapter. The Manager shall be a person knowledgeable in equal employment opportunity laws and programs and experienced in public personnel management.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4; Ord. 2017-16-E, § 1)

Sec. 400.204. - Equal opportunity/equal access advisory committee.

There shall be an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Advisory Committee established from time to time which shall be composed of the Manager and such other persons as the Mayor shall designate, to research, study and/or consider progress or problems related to conformity with this Chapter. The Committee shall include employees of the City and of affected Independent Agencies who are in both management and non-management positions, employees representing the interests of minorities, women, the disabled, and older persons, and such other persons in the Consolidated Government, who will bring a diversity of viewpoints, as well as knowledge and experience to the Committee. The Committee shall be provided staff support by the Executive Office of the Mayor, and its members shall not receive additional compensation by virtue of their membership on the Committee.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4; Ord. 2017-16-E, § 1)

Sec. 400.205. - Administration.

Administration of the overall Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program is the responsibility of the Mayor.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

SUBPART B. - EMPLOYMENT POLICIES

Sec. 400.210. - Job classification review.

When a new classification is created, or an existing class specification is reviewed, the Human Resources Division shall insure that all applicable guidelines are followed to the development or revision of the class specification. Class specifications will describe the work to be performed by positions assigned to the class and establish training and experience requirements essential for satisfactory performance of assigned duties. Where appropriate, the class(es) in line of promotion will be designated in the class specification along with requirements for promotion into the class, if applicable.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.211. - Recruitment.

Recruitment shall be conducted aggressively to inform prospective applicants of the personnel needs of the City, to encourage them to become applicants, and to provide for a qualified but diverse applicant pool, to the extent reasonably practicable.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.212. - Hiring.

It shall be the policy of the City to make hiring decisions that result in a highly qualified workforce to conduct City activities and functions. Recruitment efforts for entrance into City employment should be directed toward reaching all segments of the population and shall be designed to attract a wide and diverse pool of qualified applicants. Selection devices, when used, should be in compliance with applicable federal, State and local laws, rules and regulations governing equal employment opportunity and equal employment opportunity plans, including the federal Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. A selection device which results in adverse impact, as defined by law, should not be used unless content, construct or criterion-related validity can be clearly demonstrated and/or the demographics of the available workforce are such that adverse impact is unavoidable.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.213. - Promotions.

It shall be the policy of the City to make promotional decisions that result in a highly qualified workforce to conduct City activities and functions. Selection devices, when used, should be in compliance with applicable federal, State and local laws, rules and regulations governing equal employment opportunity and equal employment opportunity plans, including the federal Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. A selection device which results in adverse impact, as defined by law, should not be used unless content, construct or criterion-related validity can be clearly demonstrated and/or the demographics of the available workforce are such that adverse impact is unavoidable.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.214. - Work place discrimination to be eliminated.

City management shall use all means available, including but not limited to, civil service and collectively bargained procedures available to them to identify and eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.215. - Prohibitions.

In providing for equal opportunity/equal access, the following prohibitions shall apply:

(a)

In the appointment of eligible candidates to classified and unclassified positions, the use of quotas based on race, color, national origin, disability, religion, sex and similar non-merit factors is prohibited. A quota is a restriction of employment opportunities to members of any class by requiring numerical or proportionate representation which the appointing agency is obligated to attain without regard to merit and qualifications. A quota is distinguished from a goal in that a goal is a numerical objective, fixed realistically in terms of the number of vacancies expected and the number of qualified applicants available in the relevant job market, which the City endeavors to achieve on a timely basis within the context of the merit system of employment.

(b)

The City shall not create, maintain or use a list of eligible candidates by which a selected group of individuals is given a preference in hiring or promotion that -is not available to all individuals who are qualified. This prohibition shall not apply when a preference is required by federal law.

(c)

The reservation of a particular job category or job position for members of any class is prohibited. A job category or job position is reserved when, by administrative policy or directive, an appointing authority designs or is directed to hire or promote, exclusively or primarily, members of any class into that job category or job position.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.216. - Executive orders, rules and regulations.

The Mayor is authorized to prescribe regulations by executive order or department or division directives for the implementation of this Part. Executive Orders and directives shall be reviewed by the Office of General Counsel for consistency with this Chapter and for conformity with State and federal law.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.217. - Records and reports.

The Manager shall prescribe the records and reports he/she deems necessary to allow adequate development and monitoring of the Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program throughout the City government. The Manager shall establish and maintain the safeguards he/she deems adequate to insure that records disclosing race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, marital or veterans status are used only for appropriate monitoring and reporting purposes and that the records are not used for making decisions relative to hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, dismissal or retirement unless any of these factors is a bona fide occupational qualification. The Manager shall annually report to the Mayor, and City Council on the progress and State of the Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program, using official job categories and providing the explanatory and informational material he/she considers useful and necessary. The report shall be provided in the form prescribed by Council Rule 2.214 and referred to committees of reference which handle matter regarding Finance, Employment, and Equal Opportunity. Annually in March, reports and/or reports on the status of goals and objectives shall be delivered to City Council and a presentation by the reporting agency shall be scheduled.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4; Ord. 2017-16-E, § 2)

SUBPART C. - GOALS AND OBJECTIVE

Sec. 400.220. - Goals and objectives generally.

To implement the Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program, goals and objectives are required. A goal is the end result toward which the Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program is directed. An objective is an aim or end of a particular action designed to achieve a goal; it is considered a part of the goal but is a measurable, quantifiable and specific action attainable or capable of being accomplished in a reasonably short time through good faith efforts. The statement of the goals of the Equal Opportunity/ Equal Access Program is contained in Section 400.221; the method by which the objectives of the Equal Employment/Equal Access Program will be determined is contained in Section 2.22.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.221. - Statement of goals.

The City declares the goals of the Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program to be as follows:

(a)

To discover and eliminate those areas of City employment where under representation exists.

(b)

To secure diversity representative of the community in all areas of City employment.

(c)

To indoctrinate the Equal Opportunity/Equal Access policy of the City in the administrative and supervisory personnel having the authority to make it effective.

(d)

To establish and maintain an effective and positive Equal Opportunity/Equal Access image and posture.

(e)

To establish and maintain a productive Equal Opportunity/Equal Access plan that results in ongoing positive, measurable changes throughout the City.

(f)

To minimize individual complaints of discrimination in City employment and to respond efficiently and impartially to those complaints that are made.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.222. - Determination of objectives.

The determination of the objectives by which the goals stated in Section 400.221 will be accomplished is a continuing task and the enumeration of individual objectives in this Chapter is considered inappropriate by the Council. Nevertheless, the City is desirous that it be informed of the objectives and of the changes in them and directs that the Mayor determine objectives in the manner prescribed in this Part.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

PART 3. - RESOLVING COMPLAINTS OF DISCRIMINATION

Sec. 400.301. - Nature of complaints.

A complaint may be filed by an employee/candidate/applicant alleging discrimination based on race, color, religion, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or marital status. Discrimination is defined as the loss of job, status, benefits or opportunities, or the creation or existence of a hostile work environment for reasons that are made unlawful by local, State, or federal law. Complainants and their representatives, witnesses, and all other individuals involved in the processing of internal Equal Opportunity/Equal Access complaints shall be free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or retaliation with respect to their participation.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4; Ord. 2017-15-E, § 2; Ord. 2020-244-E, § 2)

Sec. 400.302. - Availability of complaint procedures.

The complaint procedure herein established and provided for is available to an employee/candidate/applicant.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

Sec. 400.303. - Procedures.

(a)

Complaints. An employee/candidate/applicant who is aggrieved may file a complaint with the Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Office on a form satisfactory to the Manager. In order to fulfill the purposes of this Subpart, complaints shall be filed within 30 days of the alleged discrimination.

(b)

Investigation by Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Office. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Manager, or his or her designee shall proceed to investigate the matter and to determine whether the alleged discriminatory practice or situation existed or exists, its severity, and all appropriate remedies. The product of the investigation is intended as efforts toward resolution and shall not be used as evidence or admissions against the complainant or the City in any further proceedings that may be necessary.

(c)

Resolution. The Manager, or his/her designee shall make every attempt to resolve the complaint internally, informally, and in a non-adversarial manner, and to reduce the terms of the agreement to writing, which shall be signed by all parties, when appropriate. The Manager shall endeavor to provide for fair and make whole relief for complainants so deserving, and to assure that no complainant will be subjected to retaliation for asserting a complaint nor any applicant or employee participating in the investigation thereof.

(d)

Resolution agreements. An agreement shall not be considered as evidence or admission of a violation. Upon failure or refusal of a party to observe the terms of an agreement, another party to the agreement may have recourse to the enforcement procedures allowed by civil service rules, regulations and employment law.

(e)

No resolution reached. If, as a result of the investigation, the Manager determines that no discriminatory practice or situation existed or exists, he or she shall notify the person who filed the complaint and the respondent verbally or in writing of this conclusion and place a report of the investigation in the record of the complaint. If informal settlement is not possible or if the complainant does not concur with the conclusion that no discrimination existed or exists, the Manager shall inform the complainant that the investigation has concluded and that the complainant may pursue other federal or State remedies.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4; Ord. 2017-16-E, § 3)

Sec. 400.304. - Supplemental relief.

The relief afforded by this Part is supplemental to any other relief available to the Complainant.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

PART 4. - GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 400.401. - Length of program.

The Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Program created by this Part shall be in force unless and until amended or repealed.

(Ord. 2004-699-E, § 4)

TITLE XI - EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Chapter 402 - EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY