Fair Practices Department
Since 1985, the Women's Director - who is now the National Vice President for Women's and Fair Practices - has supervised both the Women's Department and the Fair Practices Department, an arrangement formalized into Article XI of the Constitution by the 1997 Convention. The Women's Department supports a broad spectrum of issues of priority to today's working families. The Fair Practices Department provides civil rights expertise to the Federation and concentrates on significant Equal Employment Opportunity representational matters of our locals and members.
At the current time, the Fair Practices Department has a Supervisory Attorney, a Program Manager, three EEO Specialists/Attorneys, and two EEO Specialists. Since the Supervisory Attorney and the Program Manager serve both the Women's and Fair Practices Departments, funding for the positions are divided equally between the two Departments.
The Fair Practices Department, under the general supervision of the National Vice President, seeks to address civil rights violations through representation, advocacy, consultation and training of our constituency. Department staff responds to requests from AFGE representatives in civil rights cases. The selection of cases for direct representation by staff attorneys is determined by AFGE policy. As a result, Department attorneys review cases for precedent, impact, or importance to the Federation as a whole. Consultation with appropriate local and district offices is standard procedure for direct case representation. However, three staff attorneys can only process a small number of the 10,000 Federal EEOC hearings each year (a number that does not include arbitrations or cases before the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) or District of Columbia). Therefore, staff serves as co-counsel with local representatives on numerous additional cases. During 2002, department staff closed over 15 cases, and accepted over 50 new cases, which are now pending at various levels of EEOC, arbitration, Merit Systems Protection Board, or in federal court. The Department sponsors a legal intern program to supervise and employ law students interested in union-side career opportunities. The legal interns provide vital assistance in reviewing requests for assistance, which can sometimes number over 20 per week. Please check back for deadlines and information for the upcoming semester. In April, the Department will be accepting applications for the summer.
In an effort to address as many cases as possible, staff attorneys and members of the Human Rights Committee provide EEO training at the Human Rights Training Conference, Council sponsored training, District Coordinator/EEO Institutes, District Training, and Multi-District Conferences upon request. The Department staff will continue to provide training to the stewards and officers within a local.
An increase in the number of EEO cases has resulted from the reforms to the EEO process under 1614 that became effective November 9, 1999. The reformed regulations included changes advocated by AFGE such as: increased power for EEOC judges; decreased authority of agencies charged in the process; mandated availability of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR); and most importantly, the finality of decisions issued by the EEOC Judge. The Department produced and provided all locals and councils an updated EEO workbook as well as the FLRA guidance on the negotiability of the EEO process when these reforms were finally enacted.
The Women's and Fair Practices Departments publish and revise a large library of educational workbooks, including separate workbooks for EEO representation, disability rights, sexual harassment, Alternative Dispute Resolution, domestic violence, Family Medical/ Family Friendly Leave, a guidebook for local coordinators, and numerous issue-orientated brochures and pamphlets. The local coordinator handbook includes model contract language, a sample survey, and instructions on mobilization on civil rights issues.
The Fair Practices Department supports judicatory, legislative, regulatory, and collective bargaining progress in matters of women's and civil rights and regularly contributes advocacy in these areas. Recent examples include a successful and on-going project to continue reforming Part 1614, expanding sexual orientation protection for federal workers and the extension of child care tuition assistance for low-income workers.
In cooperation with the General Counsel's Office, Department attorneys submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court arguing that the right of government employees to recover compensatory damages at EEOC be protected, and the Supreme Court affirmed that right. Department staff later won at EEOC the highest pain and suffering judgment ever awarded.
Department attorneys have targeted broad-based cases against the VA and the SSA, tackled the difficult problems of sexual harassment within the Bureau of Prisons and national origin discrimination at the Immigration and Naturalization Service, to name a few. The Supervisory Attorney also assists the General Counsel in AFGE defense matters involving allegations of civil rights violations, both in administrative and judicial proceedings.
To further our members' interests, the Departments are active in various external organizations such as the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, National Committee on Pay Equity, National Partnership for Women and Families, AFL-CIO Civil Rights Department and the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. In addition, the Departments work closely with the AFL-CIO constituency groups on the national level. AFGE has representatives in leadership positions in Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), Coalition of Black Trade Unionist (CBTU), Pride at Work (PAW), Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), A. Phillip Randolph Institute (APRI), and Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). Additionally, the Department was instrumental in the establishment of AFGE's Hispanic Caucus, HISCO.
The Women's and Fair Practices Departments advance the basic union principles of unity and equality.
National Fair Practices Affirmative Action Coordinators
Mission Statement :
The Fair Practices Department is charged with the responsibility of eliminating employment discrimination in the Federal Government, D.C. Government, or the Federation on any basis to include, but not limited to, race, color, age, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, political affiliation, or sexual preference.
The Department is further charged with the responsibility of implementing the policy, enforcement, training, research, and administration necessary to fulfill the Federation's commitment toward equal opportunity and affirmative action.