USDA has issued a revised Departmentwide civil rights policy which spells out new requirements concerning the accountability of USDA’s managers and employees in instances of discrimination and the use of performance appraisals to measure the civil rights performance of employees.

The revised policy was a direct result of several initiatives which Secretary Dan Glickman announced in a speech to USDA employees, held in the Patio of the Department’s Whitten Building in Washington, DC, on June 29.

The revised policy, Departmental Regulation No. 4300-6, dated June 30, 2000, and titled “Civil Rights Policy for the Department of Agriculture,” updates a policy by the same name and number dated March 16, 1998.

The revised policy adds two new sections to the document which preceded it.

The first new section, titled “Performance Management Plans,” advises that civil rights performance is to be evaluated “as a part of the performance appraisal process of all USDA employees.” In addition, it notes that “A separate critical civil rights performance element will be included in the management performance plans of all supervisors.”

The second new section, titled “Accountability,” advises that “Departmental officials, managers, supervisors, and other employees will be held accountable for discrimination, civil rights violations, and related misconduct” and that agencies are to take “appropriate corrective or disciplinary action.” Final decisions containing findings of discrimination and/or settlement agreements are to be referred, “for appropriate action,” to the appropriate agency-level human resources management office--or, in certain defined cases, to the Department’s Office of Human Resources Management.

As it did in the previous version, the revised policy ends by stating that “The Subcabinet, agency heads, managers, supervisors, and other employees across the Department will be held accountable for civil rights at USDA,” and then concludes with the statement that “All employees must demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunity for all.”

In addition to his remarks, during his June 29 speech, concerning greater accountability and use of performance evaluations, Glickman identified several other civil rights-oriented actions he was initiating.

First, he advised that he had instructed USDA’s Office of Civil Rights to hire outside contractors to help manage the backlog of civil rights complaints. “...there are over 600 claims that haven’t even gotten past the first step,” he noted. Those contractors would review the allegations of discrimination “and determine whether they should be moved to phase two-- investigation.”

“We need to get this process moving, and if bringing in outside help is what we’ve got to do, then that’s what we’ll do,” he said.

Second, Glickman said he was launching an experiment in which an outside investigation team would be sent into selected geographic areas to evaluate civil rights compliance in local USDA offices. Explaining that he wanted to find out “why there’s a high concentration of complaints in some areas,” he said that the outside investigatory team would have “a mandate to get answers and report back directly to me.”

“These will be outside, objective investigators brought in to find answers and hopefully offer up some solutions,” he said.

Third, Glickman said he was expanding the number of employee advisory committees by forming five additional such committees, “one each for African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, women, and gays and lesbians.”

Currently the Department has two such minority advisory committees: the Secretary’s Hispanic Advisory Council--which advises Glickman on issues concerning Hispanic employees and the Hispanic community at large--and the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Employees with Disabilities--which advises Glickman on issues concerning employees with disabilities as well as “reasonable accommodation.”

“They have worked out quite well--giving these communities a voice and another place to go with their concerns,” he said.

Fourth, Glickman inaugurated a series of breakout sessions, led by USDA senior officials, with employees at both headquarters and field locations. Called “listening sessions” at some locations, a number were held immediately following his remarks, while more were conducted several days later. “Every agency, every county, every office needs to find a way to deal with issues of human relations before they get out of hand,” he observed. Accordingly, “part of the agenda of these sessions,” he explained, “is for you to give us feedback, to talk to us about the problems and the successes.”

“I especially want you to share with us and among yourselves what is working and what you’ve tried,” he added.

Glickman also told his audience of employees that ultimately he plans to sit down with his successor “to lay it out--exactly what we’ve done, exactly where USDA is headed, and the institutional structure that we’ve put in place to deal with civil rights.”

“There is no turning back,” he underscored. “The employees of USDA won’t have it any other way.”