The County’s equity work has reached another milestone. The Civil Rights Policy Unit is now fully staffed and up and running.
Situated in the Office of Diversity & Equity, the Civil Rights Policy Unit will help hold our organization accountable to the promise that access, equity, and inclusion are woven into the services we provide, the policies we craft and the procedures we follow.
More specifically, the Civil Rights Policy Unit will better equip the Office of Diversity & Equity in performing the workforce analytics and disability equity functions it was recently assigned under the County’s Research on Equity and Accommodations for Employees with Disabilities Report and the Workforce Equity Strategic Plan.
The unit will also ensure the County remains compliant with state and federal civil rights laws. This particular function is not new, as the County has long had a process in place for ensuring compliance. However, rolling the function under the purview of a Civil Rights Policy Unit is new.
Civil Rights Administrator Neisha Saxena says rolling workforce analytics, disability equity and civil rights law compliance under one unit will have a big impact on the County.
“We’re an upstream policy unit. We’re preventative,” Saxena said. “And in that role, we have the opportunity to be a clearinghouse for best practices across the organization.”
“We’re here to make sure that folks have the support and resources they need to do their job,” she continued, “to make sure we have good data analysis on the County’s workforce equity priorities and that this organization is accessible to the public.”
Keep reading to learn more about the unit, including a description of its core functions.
Core functions of the Civil Rights Policy Unit
Civil Rights Compliance Reporting
Ensuring legal compliance and demographic reporting, and state and federal obligations under Affirmative Action, EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity), ADA (the Americans with Disabilities Act), and Title VI (of the Civil Rights Act of 1964).
Employee Accommodations and Disability Equity
Providing technical assistance for reasonable accommodations under the ADA, stakeholder engagement, disability equity, best practices and education.
Workforce Equity Policy, Research and Analytics
In collaboration with the Evaluation and Research Unit and Central and Departmental Human Resources, providing quantitative and qualitative analysis relating to hiring, promotions, terminations, exit interviews, workplace culture, employee satisfaction and other potential topics impacting workforce equity; data visualization.
External Civil Rights Grievances
Facilitating informal resolution of disability, language and other access issues for County clients and members of the public, at the lowest possible level, under ADA Title II and Title VI.
Special Projects in Civil Rights
Examining systemic policy issues arising out of external civil rights grievances or community need.
Questions? Contact diversity.equity@multco.us.