Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
Note: This policy was recommended by the Personnel Committee and
adopted on February 13, 2004 by the Legal Aid of North Carolina Board of Directors.
A. STATEMENT OF POLICY
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Non-Discrimination.
It is the policy
of LANC and its Board of Directors not to discriminate against any
person in matters of employment on any basis prohibited by law.
No employee or applicant for employment shall be discriminated
against in matters of employment opportunity, hiring, compensation,
fringe benefits, promotional opportunities, access to training and
educational programs or other terms and conditions of employment
on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, religion, age,
disability, marital or familial status, union activity, sexual orientation
or other basis prohibited by law. No employee
shall be subject to sexual harassment. Reasonable
accommodations shall be made for employees with disabilities as
set out below.
Diversity.
LANC desires to have a work
force that is diverse and inclusive with respect to sex, race, national
origin, religion, age, disability and other appropriate characteristics,
especially those characteristics that are prevalent in LANC's client
community. Recruiting, hiring and other employment
practices of LANC shall be designed to promote and maintain such
diversity. It shall be the goal of the organization
to promote and maintain a high level of diversity in all of its
offices. Each LANC office shall strive to reflect
the diversity of the community in which it is
located.
Sexual Harassment.
Sexual harassment
is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors,
and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission
to such conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or condition
of employment or is used as a basis of employment decisions or such
conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with
an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile
or offensive working environment. Employees who
believe they have been subjected to sexual harassment should report
the act to their Managing Attorney, Senior Managing
Attorney, Regional Managing Attorney or the Executive
Director. Any complaint relating to the Executive
Director should be reported to the Chairperson of the LANC Board
Personnel Committee.
Accommodations for Disabled Employees.
Reasonable accommodations shall be made to the known physical
or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified employee with a
disability unless to do so would impose an undue hardship on LANC's
operations. An employee who believes that he
or she has a physical or mental limitation for which an accommodation
should be made should notify his or her Managing Attorney, Senior
Managing Attorney, Regional Managing Attorney or the Executive Director
of the limitation and the accommodation that is desired.
B. RESPONSIBILITY FOR EEO POLICY
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Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors
has overall responsibility for adoption, revision and oversight
of the LANC Equal Employment Opportunity Policy.
Personnel Committee.
The Personnel
Committee of the Board of Directors has responsibility for periodic
review of LANC employment practices to ensure that the Equal Employment
Opportunity Policy is observed.
Executive Director.
The Executive Director
has responsibility for the designation of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Officer, and implementation of the LANC Equal
Employment Opportunity Policy including any procedures and Affirmative
Action Plan that may be adopted pursuant to this policy.
Equal Employment Opportunity Officer.
Designated by the Executive Director, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Officer has responsibility for presenting the report
to the Executive Director and the Personnel Committee of the Board
of Directors for its annual EEO Review and to act as a resource
on LANC’s EEO Policy and any Affirmative Action Plan that may be
adopted.
C. RESOLUTION OF EEO COMPLAINTS
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Employees.
Any grievance alleging a
violation of this policy may be presented for resolution under the
LANC Employee Grievance Procedure.
Applicants for Employment.
An applicant
for employment by LANC who is not hired and who asserts to the Executive
Director of LANC that the decision not to hire him or her was based
upon discrimination prohibited by the LANC Equal Employment Opportunity
Policy shall be informed that he or she may present the claim of
discrimination to the Board of Directors Personnel Committee pursuant
to the LANC Employee Grievance Procedure. The
appeal shall be limited to the claim of discrimination, and may
not generally address the propriety of the hiring decision made
by the hiring committee or the Executive Director, except to the
extent relevant to the claim of discrimination.
No Retaliation.
Any incident of discrimination
or harassment should be reported in confidence to the employee’s
Managing Attorney, Senior Managing Attorney or Regional Managing Attorney so that an immediate investigation
can be conducted. An employee may also
directly contact the Executive Director or the Chairperson of the
Board Personnel Committee. Allegations of discrimination
shall be handled in accordance with the grievance procedures established
pursuant to this Policy. There shall be no retaliation
against any employee for reporting incidents of discrimination or
harassment or for providing information regarding an incident reported
by another employee.
D. ANNUAL EEO REVIEW AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN
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Annual Report.
At least once each year,
the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, at the request of the
Executive Director shall present a report to the Personnel Committee
of the Board of Directors including at least the following information:
(1) a statistical analysis of LANC's work force at the time
of the report, showing proportions of the work force by race, sex
and age for the entire staff at each LANC office location, and for
each of the following job categories: (a) attorneys,
(b) paralegals, volunteer coordinators, and non‑attorney supervisory,
managerial or administrative staff, and (c) non‑supervisory support
staff; (2) most recent data regarding race, sex, and age demographics
for each LANC office location;(3) a statistical analysis of new
permanent hires to the work force, and voluntary and involuntary
departures from the work force, for the period since the date of
the last report, by race, sex and age for each of the job categories
described above at each LANC office location; (4) an analysis of
accessibility of each office and outreach site to the disabled;
(5) a case summary of each grievance by any applicant for employment
or employee which raises a claim of discrimination, including a
statement of the claim and status or resolution of the grievance;
and (6) any recommendations that the Committee or Board take action
pursuant to or amend the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy.
Personnel Committee Review.
The Personnel
Committee of the Board of Directors shall review the Annual Report,
and shall request and review such other information as it deems
appropriate. If the Committee determines that
the proportion of minorities and women in the LANC work force at
the time of the report or the number of minorities and women entering
or departing from LANC employment since the last report is not consistent
with LANC's EEO policy, it shall review the recruiting, hiring,
training and promotional practices to determine if discrimination
has occurred and make a plan for Affirmative Action based upon the
evaluation described above, to eliminate the discriminatory practices
which have been identified.
Board of Directors Review.
At the conclusion
of its review, the Personnel Committee shall report on the status
of EEO to the Board of Directors, including any recommendations
that the Board take action pursuant to or amend the Equal Employment
Opportunity Policy, or that any Affirmative Action Plan developed
as set out above be adopted. If an Affirmative
Action Plan is adopted by the Board, the Executive Director shall
implement the plan and shall report on the status of the plan to
the Personnel Committee of the Board on a periodic basis, not less
than annually, and to the full Board on request.
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LAST UPDATED: February 13, 2004
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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that
provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in
order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers
to economic opportunity.