USDANEWS VOLUME 56 NO. 5 - May 1997

Here Is Our Progress On The Civil Rights Recommendations

by Ron Hall, Office of Communications

On February 28 Secretary Dan Glickman spoke, live by satellite, to employees across the country concerning the findings and recommendations contained in his Civil Rights Action Team report. He said his goal for implementing those recommendations was six months hence.

Here are highlights of what has happened so far.

First, as background, the recommendations in question--92 in all--are detailed in "Civil Rights at the United States Department of Agriculture--A Report by the Civil Rights Action Team." That 212-page report was the product of the 15-person team of employees which Glickman had established in Dec. 1996 to examine a number of issues related to civil rights at USDA, including employment at USDA and the delivery of its programs and services to its customers.

The March 1997 issue of the USDA News contained a story about the Team, its report, and other civil rights-related initiatives.

Following release of the report, the next stage shifted to implementation of its 92 recommendations--which, in the report, contained their own implementation plans designed to remedy the identified problems.

To expedite that implementation, Pearlie Reed, acting assistant secretary for administration and leader of the Civil Rights Action Team, established a Civil Rights Implementation Team (CRIT) of 30 employees, detailed from headquarters and field locations.

For those 79 recommendations that do not require legislation by Congress, Glickman and Reed said to that team, "Develop project plans to implement them, as stated in the report." For those remaining 13 recommendations that appear to require funding or legislative changes, they charged the employees with drafting legislative proposals--to be included in the Department's overall legislative package--for consideration by Congress.

The 92 recommendations were grouped and assigned to 33 Action Teams, comprising nearly 300 employees. Each Action Team has an executive sponsor, a team leader, a CRIT liaison, and a CRAT advisor.

Based on the categories of the recommendations, each of the 33 Action Teams was assigned to one of four CRIT units:

1. a Program Delivery Team, headed by Mon Yee, assistant state conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Oregon;
2. a Management Commitment to Workforce Diversity Team, headed by Mark Mulugeta, assistant administrator for the Risk Management Agency;
3. an Organizational Structure Team, headed by Mike Alexander, confidential assistant to the director of the Office of Civil Rights;
4. an Outreach Team, headed by John Bottum, associate deputy administrator for the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.

In addition, there is a Management Support Team, headed by Denise Decker, formerly a quality management specialist for NRCS's East Region, based in Beltsville, Md.

"The value of this approach is that we're spending time up-front to lay the groundwork for long-lasting effects," said Reed.

"It not only emphasizes that this is a team effort at the Department, but also gets these changes integrated into the organization, both at headquarters and field locations."

Here are some additional actions:

Glickman issued a Secretary's Memorandum, dated April 22 and titled "Civil Rights Update For All USDA Employees," which provided a three-page synopsis of progress to date on civil rights matters at the Department.

First, concerning the backlog of at least 2,000 allegations of discrimination in either program delivery or employment at USDA, the memo advised that all cases will be handled in one of three ways:

1. Cases that are deemed suitable for dismissal will be dismissed;
2. Cases with incomplete investigations will be mediated, settled, or assigned for completion of investigation; and
3. Cases that are deemed to have possible cause will be settled or decided.

The memo also noted that the Department is streamlining its future complaints process, with a "comprehensive strategy" to be in place by June 30, 1997. "Already, we are merging all civil rights information into a centralized database," Glickman said in the memo. "This will help us clear many of the bureaucratic hurdles to speedy resolutions of civil rights complaints."

The memo also advised that USDA had recently clarified its procedures regarding the handling of foreclosures and loan applications, especially when discrimination complaints are pending.

First, the new policy on foreclosures "freezes the foreclosure process, at whatever stage it is in, until charges of discrimination can be heard by an independent review team."

"Employees should be aware that this is a more stringent civil rights protection measure than we have had in the past," the memo said. "Prior to this notice, only the final step--the foreclosure sale--was halted for a civil rights review."

Second, the new policy clarified that loan processing should proceed on accounts when a discrimination complaint is pending. "If the employee responsible for processing the loan is the person facing charges of discrimination against the applicant," the memo advised, "then another [Farm Service Agency] loan officer must process the application. When loans cannot be approved, the applicant must be advised, both in a meeting and in writing, to explain why the loan application was denied."

The memo also stated that the Office of the General Counsel has taken steps to establish a separate division in OGC that would specialize in civil rights law and provide legal counsel to USDA officials on civil rights issues.

"I'm here to tell you," Reed said, "that when it comes to implementing these recommendations, we're moving quickly and decisively."

"We intend to make a difference--and, in the process, change the culture here at USDA."

"We'll keep our employees posted as our work progresses," he added. ¤

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