2.001 Affirmative Action
2.001. Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
Cooperative Educational Services (C.E.S.) is committed to the promotion of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity. In furtherance of these objectives, C.E.S. is committed to the promotion of nondiscrimination and an environment free of harassment. Therefore, it is the policy of C.E.S. that no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise discriminated against under any service or program, including employment, because of race, color, religious creed, age, marital or civil union status, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, residence, present or past history of mental disorder, mental retardation, learning disability or physical disability, including, but not limited to blindness, or pregnancy. Such actions shall include, but not be limited to, the following: hiring, employment upgrading or promotion, demotion or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other
forms of compensation; selection for training, including apprenticeship and other terms, conditions or privileges of employment.
Cooperative Educational Services emphasizes this policy to assure compliance to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended, Presidential Executive Orders #11246 and #11375, the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, The Equal Pay Act of 1963; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act 1973, Veteran’s Readjustment Act of 1974, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and all other laws which pertain to Equal Employment Opportunity.
The Executive Director will develop administrative regulations to insure that C.E.S. recruit, employ, promote, and implement the hiring of qualified staff of diversity at all levels. The Executive Director, or designee, will communicate the contents of this policy and its regulations to employees and applicants for employment.
Cooperative Educational Services will additionally assert its leadership within the community to achieve full employment and effective utilization of the capabilities and productivity of all persons without regard for race, color, religious creed, sex, age, marital or civil union status, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, residence, present or past history of mental disorder, mental retardation, learning disability or physical disability, including, but not limited to blindness, or pregnancy.
All of C.E.S. programs shall demonstrate a commitment to non-discriminatory practices and affirmative action.
ADOPTED: November 18, 1987
REVISED: June 17, 1993
REVISED: June 1, 2000
REVISED: November 7, 2013
2.001A. Affirmative Action Procedure
1. A copy of the Affirmative Action Procedure is available through the C.E.S. Personnel Office and should be on file at every program location.
2. C.E.S.’ Affirmative Action Procedure is designed to recruit as fully and as completely as possible for each employee opening with the intent to meet hiring procedures. C.E.S. programs are offered without discrimination against any person because of race, color, religious creed, age, marital or civil union status, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, residence, present or past history of mental disorder, mental retardation, learning disability or physical disability, including, but not limited to blindness, or pregnancy. C.E.S.’ Executive Director is responsible for establishing, maintaining and carrying out affirmative action efforts to promote equal opportunity for compliance with the Affirmative Action Procedure within their programs.
3. In the case of promotion or transfer, C.E.S. need not advertise or solicit applicants from outside of C.E.S. Position vacancies resulting from such actions shall be filled following C.E.S. Affirmative Action Procedures.
4. A pool of applicants will be established when filling any position other than through an internal program transfer or promotion. The pool is established at minimum through a vacancy announcement. This vacancy announcement shall minimally be posted electronically on the C.E.S. Website and ctreap.net. Additional suggestions are available from the C.E.S. Associate Executive Director.
5. The vacancy announcement is the primary resource for affirmative action recruitment, supplemented by: advertising within C.E.S., college
interviewing/placement services, and soliciting assistance from interested citizens and groups.
6. A position should be posted through the vacancy announcement for thirty (30) days before it can be filled. Vacancy advertising should take place in a timely fashion during the thirty (30) days. Applicant pools created by such vacancy announcements may be used directly to fill other comparable positions for a period of ninety (90) days after the position for which the pool was originally posted.
7. The Executive Director, or his designee, may waive requirements concerning the vacancy announcement and applicant pool in emergency
situations.
Once a candidate has been selected, the following must accompany the electronic file sent to the Associate Executive Director:
- Original application
- Letter of Interest
- Resume
- Interview date, participants, and comments
- Personal Inquiry Waiver
- Completed reference checks
- 3 letters of recommendation (1 must be current or last employer, or an academic supervisor if applicant is coming from school); OR
- 3 Telephone Reference Checks
- Certification or license, if applicable
- Official undergraduate & graduate transcripts (Certified Teachers; Educational Instructors, Instructional Aides)
- Transcripts may be copies “issued to student” at time of hire
- Original transcripts must be forwarded to Associate Executive Director’s office immediately following hire
Responsibility for Implementing the Procedure
The C.E.S. Executive Director is responsible for establishing, maintaining and carrying out the affirmative action efforts to promote equal employment opportunity in every program and unit of the Representative Council. The Executive Director may delegate this responsibility to the Associate Executive Director’s Office.
The responsibilities of the Associate Executive Director’s Office will be:
- To inform employees of Federal and State regulations and anti-discrimination laws.
- To assist in the implementation and monitoring of the Affirmative Action Procedure.
- To insure the continued identification and elimination of other possible sources of discrimination.
- To assure the dissemination of information regarding EEO and Affirmative Action to the staff and community.
- To complete a comprehensive background check including fingerprinting, DCF Background Search, and verifying the candidate has no substantiated charges for child abuse, neglect or sexual misconduct at all previous employers where the candidate had direct student contact and at the State Department of Education.
In addition, all administrators of certified and non-certified personnel bear responsibility for compliance with the Affirmative Action Procedure within their own programs.
Practices and Procedures
Recognizing the need to insure equitable administration of personnel policies, C.E.S. will maintain and monitor actions in the following areas:
A. Recruitment and Selection of Personnel
- Procedures for recruiting personnel for C.E.S. (See Attachment A) should include all categories (e.g., administrative, instructional para-professional, clerical, custodial, health) for the purposes of meeting current job openings and of developing a pool of potential employees.
- C.E.S. Administrative staff members involved in recruitment and hiring will create a pool of potential employees specific to each of the positions he/she must fill. As appropriate, such staff will exchange information regarding the specific pools.
- The pool is a primary resource for recruitment to be supplemented by:
- Advertising within C.E.S.
- College interviewing
- Advertising in newspapers and periodicals (to include minority publications)
- Soliciting assistance from interested citizen groups
- Encouraging staff members to assist in recruiting
- Mailing recruitment literature to employment agencies, college placement offices and appropriate minority agencies
- Other appropriate activities
4. Efforts will be made to increase recruitment of racial-ethnic minorities (men and women) through the use of non-traditional sources.
Recruitment will include, but not be limited to organizations listed in Attachment B (Associate Executive Director’s Office will maintain a
current/appropriate list).
5. Records of applicants will be maintained according to the State Municipal Records Retention Schedule
Hiring Process
All C.E.S. personnel involved in the recruitment and hiring process shall by June 30, 1988 and at appropriate periods thereafter, be provided training to insure their understanding of the procedure.
- Selection of candidates will be from the available C.E.S. applicant pool plus any individuals who apply as a result of an internal job posting.
- No applicant pool may be declared closed before thirty calendar days have elapsed from the first formal posting of the vacancy announcement. In emergency circumstances, C.E.S. reserves the right to fill any vacancy prior to the posting closure.
- Appropriate C.E.S. personnel and selected others should be involved in screening and interviewing candidates, and should submit written evaluations of the candidates interviewed.
- The responsibility of recommending to the C.E.S. Executive Director the candidate to be hired will rest solely with the C.E.S. Administrator appropriately designated by the Executive Director.
- In accord with current Policy 2.002 the C.E.S. Representative Council authorizes the Executive Director to employ certified and non-certified personnel. The Representative Council hires the Executive Director. The Executive Director hires all other salaried administrators, teachers, professional and non-professional staff and notifies the Representative Council of such actions.
- The Associate Executive Director’s Office will review the applications, referrals, handling of applications and hiring procedures. Additionally, the Associate Executive Director will review all provided documents and meet with candidates recommended for hire. A comprehensive background check, per Public Act 16-67, will be implemented on each candidate to include:
- DCF Background Search form
- Criminal Record Check
- Fingerprinting
- Employer Background Check
- State Department of Education Background Check
Other forms completed at the Associate Executive Director’s office include:
- I - 9 Form (w/proper I.D. documentation).
- W - 4’s.
- Direct Deposit Form with voided check
7. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified of the decision in writing by the appropriate C.E.S. program office.
1. C.E.S. employees should be encouraged to upgrade and expand their skills thereby enabling them to qualify for a greater variety of positions with the organization.
2. Encouragement may take, but not be limited to, the following forms:
- In-service programs
- Internships
Cross-fertilization between C.E.S. programs:
- staff meetings
- visits
- staff exchanges
- Announcement of training opportunities
- Fiscal incentives
3. C.E.S. employees should be made fully aware of intra-organizational job openings through vacancy announcements and inclusion in the candidate pool by submitting a letter of interest to the Associate Executive Director’s office.
Review and Monitoring
- The Cooperative Educational Service’s Affirmative Action Procedure will be monitored in an on-going manner. It will be the responsibility of those persons who are directly and indirectly responsible for hiring to be aware of specific Affirmative Action procedures as job openings occur or as programs expand.
- The Associate Executive Director’s Office will assure that complaints and grievances regarding discriminatory employment practices are investigated and processed according to policy.
- The Associate Executive Director’s Office will:
- Assure that adequate records are maintained which can be used to evaluate the C.E.S. Affirmative Action procedure.
- Review the Affirmative Action procedure yearly to up-date as needed.
ATTACHMENT A
COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICESSummary of Recruiting Procedures
Documents to be Distributed
A. Job Description
1. C.E.S. Format
a. Job Title
b. Formal Organizational Relationships
c. Statement of Job Purpose
d. Statement of Job Responsibilities
e. Additional Responsibilities Required
f. Extent and limits of Decision-Making Authority
g. Qualifications for the Job
2. Approved by Executive Director
B. Vacancy Announcement (See Attachment C)
1. Include
a. Job Title
b. Dates
(1) closing date for applications
c. Salary and Benefits
d. Require
(1) Resume
(2) References (3)
(3) Letter of Interest
(4) Official Transcripts – if applicable to position requirements
(5) Certification or License - if applicable to position requirements
e. Contact Person with Address
f. Equal Opportunity EmployerC. Advertisement
1. Include Sufficient Specifics from Vacancy Announcement
2. “Equal Opportunity Employer”
3. Follow procedures in the C.E.S. Affirmative Action Policy.
D. Distribution selected from the list below, supplemented as appropriate
1. Ct.reap.net and other online advertisement sites
2. Majority and Minority Press
a. Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stamford or other, those in other cities
b. Local papers (may be online)
3. Placement Agencies
a. Colleges and Universities of the Northeast
b. Recruit Women and minorities (see Attachment B)
c. Throughout C.E.S. programsAFFIRMATIVE ACTION POSTING
AGENCIES SERVING WOMEN, MINORITIES AND THE HANDICAPPED
Spanish American Development
Agency, Inc.
1057 East Main Street
Bridgeport, CT 06608Easter Seals Coastal
Fairfield County
733 Summer Street, Suite 104
Stamford, CT 06901
(203) 388-2192Bridgeport Community Health
Center
982 East Main Street
Bridgeport, CT 06608
(203) 696-3260South Norwalk Community
Center
98 South Main Street
South Norwalk, CT 06854
(203) 295-338Helping Hand Center
1124 Iranistan Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06605
(203) 336-4745George Washington Carver
Foundation
7 Academy Street
Norwalk, CT 06850
(203) 838-4305The Kennedy Center Inc.
2440 Reservoir Avenue
Trumbull, CT 06611
(203) 365-8522Norwalk Economic Opportunity
Now, Inc.
98 South Main Street
Norwalk, CT 06854
(203) 899-2420State Department of Education
Dept. of Rehabilitation Services
1057 Broad Street
Bridgeport, CT 06604
(203) 551-5500Goodwill Industries
165 Ocean Terrace
Bridgeport, CT 06605
(203) 581-5040ATTACHMENT C
Internal
Announcement of VacancyPosition:
Division:
Position Length:
Salary Range:
Start Date:
Closing date of applications:
Applications received after close of business on closing date are not required to be considered. Pool deadline remains open until 90 days after original posting date.
Qualifications: See attached job description
Responsibilities: See attached job descriptionSend letter of intent/interest to:
Office of Associate Executive Director
Cooperative Educational Services
40 Lindeman Drive
Trumbull, CT 06611“It is the policy of C.E.S. that no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise discriminated against under any service or program on account of race, color, religious creed, age, marital or civil union status, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, residence, present or past history of mental disorder, mental retardation, learning disability or physical disability including, but not limited to, blindness, or pregnancy and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Inquiries regarding C.E.S. nondiscrimination policies should be directed to the Associate Executive Director’s office, C.E.S., 40
Lindeman Dr., Trumbull, CT 06611, (203) 365-8831.”An Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer
Posting date:
01/2016
External
Announcement of Vacancy
Position:
Program/Department:
Position Length:
Salary Range:
Anticipated Start Date:
Closing date of applications:
Budget/account code
to be charged:Applications received after close of business on closing date are not required to be considered.
Qualifications: See attached job descriptionResponsibilities: See attached job description
Where to Post:
Apply online at www.ces.k12.ct.us. Applicants must include a letter of intent, resume, official transcripts, and at least 3 references.
“It is the policy of C.E.S. that no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise discriminated against under any service or program on account of race, color, religious creed, age, marital or civil union status, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, residence, present or past history of mental disorder, mental retardation, learning disability or physical disability including, but not limited to, blindness, or pregnancy and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Inquiries regarding C.E.S. nondiscrimination policies should be directed to the Associate Executive Director’s office, C.E.S., 40
Lindeman Dr., Trumbull, CT 06611, (203) 365-8831.”An Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer