Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 14 - Department of Finance (Administrative Services) › Rule 016.14.14-002 - DHS Policy 1009 - Equal Oppurtunity Policy

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
1009
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY POLICY
I. Purpose:
This establishes the Arkansas Department of Human Services
				Equal Opportunity policy. This policy is applicable to all employees,
				applicants seeking employment within the Arkansas Department of Human Services,
				and to all persons or organizations seeking or receiving services, benefits,
				contracts, agreements, grants, sub-grants, programs, and projects funded
				through or from the Arkansas Department of Human Services, including employees,
				clients, customers, and applicants of grantees and sub-grantees.
II. Assurances:
(a) The Arkansas Department of Human Services
			 shall provide fair and equal opportunity in employment, service delivery, and
			 grant administration regardless of a person's race, color, religion, sex, age,
			 national origin, political beliefs, or disability as defined in the Americans
			 with Disabilities Act.
(b) The
			 Arkansas Department of Human Services shall actively promote equal opportunity
			 through the establishment and application of personnel policies and procedures
			 to include: recruitment, selection, promotion, demotion, transfer,
			 reclassification, layoff and recall, training, termination and other benefits,
			 and terms and conditions of employment.
(c) The Arkansas Department of Human Services
			 shall ensure non-discrimination and equal opportunity in compliance with all
			 applicable federal laws, regulations, executive orders, and civil rights rules
			 or regulations.
III.
			 Definitions:
(a) "Complaint" or "complaint of
			 discrimination" means a complaint alleging unlawful discrimination, harassment,
			 or retaliation by the Arkansas Department of Human Services; any contractor or
			 grant recipient or sub-recipient of the Arkansas Department of Human Services;
			 or one or more employees of the Arkansas Department of Human Services or its
			 contractors, grant recipients, or sub-recipients acting in their official
			 capacity or under their official authority.
(b) "Contract" as used in this policy means a
			 contract subject to the Arkansas Procurement Law, Ark. Code Ann. §§
										19-11-201, et seq.
(c) "Harassment" means any unwelcome,
			 repetitive behavior intended to threaten, disturb, or upset another person.
			 Harassment based on any of the protected classes listed above may be reported
			 under this policy. Harassment which is not based on a person's membership in a
			 protected class is nonetheless prohibited at the Arkansas Department of Human
			 Services and may be addressed through disciplinary, security, legal, or other
			 action.
(d) "Protected conduct"
			 means opposing unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, such as by
			 making a complaint or filing a charge that alleges discrimination, harassment,
			 or retaliation, or participating in an investigation, a proceeding, or a
			 hearing regarding alleged unlawful discrimination, harassment, or
			 retaliation.
(e) "Retaliation"
			 means materially adverse action, including but not limited to employment
			 discipline, non-selection, harassment, or termination of a contract, a grant,
			 or employment as punishment for an individual engaging in protected
			 conduct.
(f) "Unlawful
			 discrimination or harassment" means discrimination or harassment, based on a
			 person's race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, political beliefs,
			 or disability as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
IV. Responsibilities:
(a) The overall responsibility for
			 coordination of equal opportunity policies, programs, and employment practices
			 within the Arkansas Department of Human Services has been assigned to the
			 Administrator of the Arkansas Department of Human Services Office of Employee
			 Relations and Office of Equal Opportunity.
(b) Any Arkansas Department of Human Services
			 staff member who receives a written complaint of discrimination from any person
			 shall forward the complaint immediately to his or her division director for
			 referral to the Office of Employee Relations and Office of Equal
			 Opportunity.
(c) Any Arkansas
			 Department of Human Services supervisor or manager who receives a verbal
			 complaint of discrimination from any person shall encourage that person to
			 submit a written complaint. Regardless of whether the complaint is made in
			 writing, the supervisor or manager receiving the complaint shall provide the
			 person making the complaint a copy of form DHS-2808, and immediately notify his
			 or her division director in writing for follow-up or referral to the Office of
			 Employee Relations and Office of Equal Opportunity as appropriate.
V. Complaints of Discrimination
(a) Any person to whom or entity to which
			 this policy applies may use form DHS-2808, Complaint of Discrimination, to file
			 a complaint, regardless of whether the complaint directly concerns Arkansas
			 Department of Human Services or its employees. Complaints filed using other
			 means, such as by letter or email, should contain substantially the same
			 information as that requested on DHS-2808.
(b) The Office of Employee Relations and
			 Office of Equal Opportunity shall receive complaints relating to any Arkansas
			 Department of Human Services division or office, program, project, service,
			 contract, or grant, regardless of whether the person making the complaint or
			 the person against whom the complaint is made is an employee of Arkansas
			 Department of Human Services.
(c)
			 The Office of Employee Relations and Office of Equal Opportunity shall
			 establish written criteria for determining when a complaint shall be referred
			 to an outside agency or office, such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
			 Commission, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil
			 Rights, the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Civil Rights, the U.S.
			 Department of Labor, or other state or federal investigative or enforcement
			 agencies.
(d) Complaints which
			 allege discriminatory, harassing, or retaliatory conduct by any Arkansas
			 Department of Human Services employee shall be investigated by the Office of
			 Employee Relations and Office of Equal Opportunity or the Arkansas Department
			 of Human Services Office of Quality Assurance, as determined by the Office of
			 Employee Relations and Office of Equal Opportunity Administrator. The Office of
			 Employee Relations and Office of Equal Opportunity and the Arkansas Department
			 of Human Services Office of Quality Assurance will conduct prompt
			 investigations of complaints and issue written determinations of any
			 findings.
(e) When the Arkansas
			 Department of Human Services investigates a complaint that involves a federal
			 civil rights law over which the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Civil
			 Rights has jurisdiction, the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Civil Rights
			 retains the authority to:
(1) Conduct a
			 supplementary or de novo investigation;
(2) Approve, modify, or reject recommended
			 findings;
(3) Approve, modify, or
			 reject any proposed voluntary resolution; and
(4) Initiate formal enforcement
			 action.
(f) Complaints
			 which are not referred for investigation by the Arkansas Department of Human
			 Services, including complaints which allege discriminatory, harassing, or
			 retaliatory conduct by persons who are not Arkansas Department of Human
			 Services employees, shall be referred to other appropriate state or federal
			 investigative or enforcement agencies, consistent with the written criteria
			 established under part V, section (c), above.
VI. Investigations:
(a) Nothing in this policy shall prevent,
			 prohibit, or delay an Arkansas Department of Human Services division, office,
			 or institution from investigating violations of policy or monitoring compliance
			 with contractual or grant obligations.
(b) When an Arkansas Department of Human
			 Services employee is accused of unlawful discrimination, harassment, or
			 retaliation under this policy, the employing division may defer disciplinary
			 action until resolution of the investigation by the Office of Employee
			 Relations and Office of Equal Opportunity or the Arkansas Department of Human
			 Services Office of Quality Assurance.
(c) Deferring disciplinary action for alleged
			 discrimination, harassment, or retaliation does not prevent a division from
			 administering discipline up to and including termination for violation of other
			 Arkansas Department of Human Services policy, behavior, or performance
			 expectations.
VII.
			 Posting Requirement:
English and Spanish versions of PUB-284, "Discrimination is
				Prohibited," will be posted in a conspicuous place in each Arkansas Department
				of Human Services office and facility, easily visible to Arkansas Department of
				Human Services employees, clients, customers, and applicants.