Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 161 - Civil Rights Commission › Chapter 8 - Discrimination in Employment › Rule 161-8.65 - Declaration of Policy

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1) Equal
			 opportunity and affirmative action toward its achievement is the policy of all
			 units of Iowa state government. This policy shall apply in all areas where the
			 state funds are expended, in employment, public service, grants and financial
			 assistance, and in state licensing and regulation. All policies, programs and
			 activities of state government shall be periodically reviewed and revised to
			 ensure their fidelity to this policy.
(2) Affirmative action required. All
			 appointing authorities, and state agencies in the executive branch of
			 government, shall abide by the requirements of Governor Robert D. Ray's
			 Executive Order Number 15 and Iowa Code chapter 216.
Each agency shall designate an equal opportunity officer to be
				responsible for affirmative action policies intra-agency. Each agency shall
				prepare an affirmative action plan for that department in accordance with the
				criteria set forth in 161-8.7(216). All plans shall be subject to the review
				and comment of the affirmative action director of the commission. The
				affirmative action director shall make every effort to achieve compliance with
				affirmative action requirements by informal conference, conciliation and
				persuasion. Where failure to comply with Executive Order Number 15 results, the
				commission may initiate complaints against the noncomplying agencies.
(3) Employment policies of state
			 agencies. Each appointing authority shall review the recruitment, appointment,
			 assignment, upgrading and promotion policies and activities for state employees
			 to correct policies that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion,
			 sex, age, national origin or physical or mental handicap. All appointing
			 authorities shall hire and promote employees without discrimination. Special
			 attention shall be given to the allocation of funds for on-the-job training,
			 the parity of civil service classes doing similar work, and the training of
			 supervisory personnel in equal opportunity principles and procedures. Annually
			 each appointing authority shall review their EEO-4 reports and include in their
			 budget presentation necessary programs, goals and objectives, to improve the
			 equal opportunity aspects of their department's employment policies. Each
			 appointing authority shall make an annual report to the affirmative action
			 director of the commission on persons hired, disciplined, terminated and
			 vacancies occurring within their department.
(4) State services and facilities. Every
			 state agency shall render service to the citizens of this state without
			 discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or
			 physical or mental handicap. No state facility shall be used in furtherance of
			 any discriminatory practice nor shall any state agency become a party to any
			 agreement, arrangement, or plan which has the effect of sanctioning such
			 patterns or practices.
(5) State
			 employment services. All state agencies which provide employment referral or
			 placement services to public or private employers shall accept job orders,
			 refer for employment, test, classify, counsel, and train only on a
			 nondiscriminatory basis. They shall refuse to fill any job orders designed to
			 exclude anyone because of race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin,
			 age or disability. All agencies shall report to the commission any violations
			 by state agencies and any private employers or unions which are known to
			 persist in restrictive hiring practices.
(6) State contracts and subcontracts. Every
			 state contract for goods or services and for public works, including
			 construction and repair of buildings, roads, bridges, and highways, shall
			 contain a clause prohibiting discriminatory employment practices by contractors
			 and subcontractors based on race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex,
			 age or disability. The nondiscrimination clause shall include a provision
			 requiring state contractors and subcontractors to give written notice of their
			 commitments under this clause to any labor union with which they have
			 bargaining or other agreements. Contractual provisions shall be fully and
			 effectively enforced and any breach of them shall be regarded as a material
			 breach of contract.
(7) State
			 licensing and regulatory agencies. No state department, board, commission, or
			 agency shall grant, deny, or revoke a license on the grounds of race, color,
			 religion, creed, national origin, sex, age or disability. License, as defined
			 in Iowa Code section
			 17A.2(5),
			 includes the whole or a part of any agency permit, certificate, approval,
			 registration, charter or similar form of permission required by statute. Any
			 licensee, or any applicant for a license issued by a state agency, who operates
			 in an unlawful discriminatory manner, shall, when consistent with the legal
			 authority and rules and regulations of the appropriate licensing or regulatory
			 agency, be subject to disciplinary action by the appropriate agencies as
			 provided by law, including the denial, revocation, or suspension of the
			 license. In determining whether to apply sanctions or not, a final decision of
			 discrimination certified to the licensing agency by the commission shall be
			 binding upon the licensing agency.
(8) State financial assistance. Race, color,
			 religion, creed, national origin, sex, age, physical or mental disability shall
			 not be considered as limiting factors in state-administered programs involving
			 the distribution of funds to qualified applicants for benefits authorized by
			 law; nor shall state agencies provide grants, loans, or other financial
			 assistance to public agencies, private institutions or organizations which
			 engage in discriminatory practices.
(9) Reports. All state agencies in the
			 executive branch shall report annually to the commission. Reports shall cover
			 both internal activities and relations with the public and with other state
			 agencies and shall contain other information as may be specifically requested
			 by the commission in order to enable it to compile the Governor's Annual
			 Affirmative Action Report.
(10)
			 Cooperation in investigations. All state agencies shall cooperate fully with
			 the commission and authorized federal agencies in their investigations of
			 allegations of discrimination.