[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 237 (Friday, December 8, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 76948-76949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31308]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 73 and 76

[MM Docket Nos. 98-204 and 96-16, FCC 00-338]


Revision of Broadcast and Cable EEO Rules and Policies

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; clarification; petition for partial 
reconsideration.

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SUMMARY: This document grants in part, and denies in part, both one 
petition for partial reconsideration and clarification and one petition 
for expedited clarification of the Commission's new broadcast and cable 
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) rules and policies. The document 
also considers certain issues pertaining to the EEO rules on the motion 
of the Commission, primarily as a result of informal inquiries from the 
public. In addition, the document amends the EEO rules to clarify that 
data concerning the gender, race and ethnicity of a broadcaster's or 
cable entity's workforce will not be used to assess its compliance with 
the rules. The intended effect is to clarify the Commission's EEO rules 
for the broadcasting and cable industries.

DATE: Effective January 8, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: EEO Staff, (202) 418-1450.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. This is a synopsis of the Commission's 
Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) in MM Docket Nos. 98-204 and 96-16, 
adopted September 11, 2000, and released November 22, 2000. The 
complete text of this MO&O is available for inspection and copying 
during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Information, 
Courtyard Level, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC, and also may be 
purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, International 
Transcription Services, Inc., at 202-857-3800, CY-B400, 445 12th St., 
SW., Washington, D.C.

Synopsis of Memorandum Opinion and Order

    2. In this MO&O, the Commission addresses petitions for 
reconsideration and clarification of the Report and Order in this 
proceeding, 65 FR 7448, February 15, 2000, in which it adopted new 
broadcast and cable EEO rules and policies consistent with the D.C. 
Circuit's decision in Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod v. FCC, 141 F.3d 
344 (D.C. Cir. 1998), pet. for reh'g denied, 154 F.3d 487, pet. for 
reh'g en banc denied, 154 F.3d 494 (D.C. Cir. 1998). The EEO rules 
include broad and inclusive outreach requirements designed to ensure 
that all qualified applicants have the opportunity to compete for jobs 
in the broadcast and cable industries on an equal basis.
    3. Under Option A of the Commission's EEO rules, broadcasters are 
required to implement two supplemental recruitment measures: (1) 
Notification of job vacancies to any recruitment organization that 
requests such notification; and (2) outreach activities such as job 
fairs, internship programs, training programs, scholarship programs, 
mentoring programs, and participation in educational and community 
activities relating to broadcast employment. Broadcasters with five to 
ten full-time employees must perform two activities every two years, 
while larger broadcasters must perform four activities every two years. 
The MO&O clarifies that broadcasters may implement half of two 
activities and combine the two halves to count as one of the four 
required activities (or two in the case of stations with five to ten 
employees), e.g., by combining attendance at two (rather than four) job 
fairs and sponsorship of one (rather than two) community events.
    4. The MO&O reiterates that a broadcaster may use the internet as 
one of several recruitment tools, but not as its only recruitment 
source. It also retains the requirement that broadcasters with web 
sites post their public file report on those sites, and clarifies that 
there is no requirement that the public file report include the names 
of interviewees or applicants.
    5. The MO&O clarifies the filing schedule for the initial statement 
of compliance (FCC Form 397) so that beginning in 2001, all radio and 
television stations will file a statement of compliance on the second, 
fourth or sixth anniversary of the filing of their last renewal 
application. Beginning February 1, 2001, low power television stations 
and Class A television stations with five or more full-time employees 
will file statements of compliance in accordance with the schedule for 
television stations.
    6. The MO&O also clarifies that broadcasters and cable entities 
have the discretion of electing either Option A or B of the 
Commission's EEO rules, and any state law interpreted as removing that 
discretion would be inconsistent with the rules. The MO&O further 
clarifies the extent to which broadcasters may engage in joint 
recruitment measures under Option A. In addition, the MO&O clarifies 
that broadcasters have good faith discretion in defining what 
constitutes an applicant and their market/community under the EEO 
rules. The MO&O also addresses how the Commission will monitor 
religious broadcasters' compliance with the EEO rules.
    7. Finally, the MO&O retains the requirement that broadcasting and 
cable entities file annual employment reports which include data on the 
gender, race and ethnic status of the entity's workforce. The MO&O 
reiterates that the data will be used only for purposes of analyzing 
industry trends and reporting to Congress, and not for assessing an 
entity's compliance with the Commission's EEO rules. Accordingly, the 
MO&O amends the rules to reflect this fact.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis

    The actions contained in this Memorandum Opinion and Order have 
been duly analyzed with respect to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
and found to impose no new or modified information collection 
requirements.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., 
as amended by the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 
(CWAAA), Public Law 104-121, 110 Stat. 847 (1996), requires that a 
final regulatory flexibility analysis be prepared for rulemaking 
proceedings, unless the agency certifies that ``the rule will not, if 
promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a substantial number 
of small entities.'' (Title II of the CWAAA is the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996). The RFA generally defines 
the term ``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms 
``small business'' ``small organization,'' and ``small governmental 
jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business'' has the same 
meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the Small Business 
Act, 15 U.S.C. 632. A small business concern is one which: (1) Is 
independently owned and operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of 
operation; and (3) satisfies any additional criteria established by the 
Small Business Administration. In addition to stating various 
clarifications to the

[[Page 76949]]

Commission's EEO rules, this MO&O incorporates into the rules a policy 
announced in the Report and Order that data concerning the gender, race 
and ethnicity of a broadcaster's or cable entity's workforce will not 
be used to assess compliance with our EEO rules. This rule change 
merely retains the status quo, and for clarity restates the existing 
policy in a Note to the rules. Therefore, we certify that the rule 
change adopted in this MO&O will not have a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small business entities.
    Report to Congress: The Commission will send a copy of the MO&O, 
including this final certification, in a report to Congress pursuant to 
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 5 
U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). In addition, the Commission's Consumer Information 
Bureau, Reference Information Center, will send a copy of the MO&O, 
including this certification, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 
Small Business Administration. A summary of the MO&O and certification 
will also be published in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects

47 CFR Part 73

    Radio, Equal employment opportunity, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Television.

47 CFR Part 76

    Cable television, Equal employment opportunity, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.

Rule Changes

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR parts 73 and 76 as follows:

PART 73--RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES

    1. The authority citation for part 73 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 334 and 336.

    2. Add Note to Sec. 73.3612 to read as follows:


Sec. 73.3612  Annual employment report.

* * * * *

    Note to Sec. 73.3612: Data concerning the gender, race and 
ethnicity of a broadcast station's workforce collected in the annual 
employment report will be used only for purposes of analyzing 
industry trends and making reports to Congress. Such data will not 
be used for the purpose of assessing any aspect of an individual 
broadcast licensee's compliance with the equal employment 
opportunity requirements of Sec. 73.2080.

PART 76--MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE

    3. The authority citation for part 76 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 153, 154, 301, 302, 303, 303a, 
307, 308, 309, 312, 315, 317, 325, 503, 521, 522, 531, 532, 533, 
534, 535, 536, 537, 543, 544, 544a, 545, 548, 549, 552, 554, 556, 
558, 560, 561, 571, 572, 573.


    4. Section 76.77 is amended by:
    (a) Adding a note to paragraph (a).
    (b) Designating the note following paragraph (d)(1) as ``Note to 
paragraph (d)(1).''
    (c) Designating the note following paragraph (d)(6) as ``Note to 
paragraph (d)(6).''
    (d) Designating the note following paragraph (d)(13) as ``Note to 
paragraph (d)(13).''
    (e) Designating the note following paragraph (d)(15) as ``Note to 
paragraph (d)(15).''
    The addition reads as follows:


Sec. 76.77  Reporting requirements.

* * * * *

    Note to paragraph (a): Data concerning the gender, race and 
ethnicity of a cable entity's workforce collected in the annual 
employment report will be used only for purposes of analyzing 
industry trends and making reports to Congress. Such data will not 
be used for the purpose of assessing any aspect of an individual 
cable entity's compliance with the equal employment opportunity 
requirements of Secs. 76.73 and 76.75.

[FR Doc. 00-31308 Filed 12-7-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-U