Hispanic Employment Program
History of the Hispanic Employment Program
Purpose: The Hispanic Employment Program (HEP) was established as an integral part of the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program to assure participation by Hispanic Americans.
Background: On November 5, 1970, President Nixon committed the Federal Government to a Sixteen-Point Plan to address the under representation of Hispanics in Federal employment. The sixteen points were to extend the focus of EEO initiatives to the Hispanic community. These efforts included recruitment, selective appointment of bilingual Hispanic employees to service their community when possible, educational outreach, veterans outreach, management training, staffing evaluation and barrier analysis, statistical analysis, and upward mobility initiatives.
The Civil Service Commission issued a Federal Personnel Manual (FPM) System Letter 713-18 dated January 23, 1973 that reported the findings of a study undertaken to assess overall progress in implementing the Sixteen-Point Program. It included specific actions to remedy deficiencies in the program. The first was demonstrated commitment and strong l eadership by headquarters. A sense of urgency and personal commitment exemplified by managers was, and is, essential for the program to be effective. Second was the appointment of full or part time program coordinators as required to meet agency needs in implementing recruitment, training, promotion, upward mobility, etc. initiatives. Third, action plans should be developed and followed to ensure local HEP implementation, to identify problems, and direct necessary responses. Fourth, artificial barriers are identified and eliminated for all persons, including Hispanic applicants, through the critical review of employment practices. Specific to these reviews was to match realistic, relevant, and attainable qualifications to jobs and positions, recruiting Spanish-speaking people for jobs requiring such skills, and tapping local sources of Hispanics.
The current HEP was formally established by Department of Transportation Order 1000.15 on September 7, 1983. It referenced, in addition to the Sixteen-Point Program and FPM Letter 713-18, EEO Act of 1972 placing Federal employees under the provisions of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act; Title 5, US Code 7201, 5 CFR Part 720-2, September 1979, which established the Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program; and other documents pertaining to HEP Manager duties. The order describes roles and responsibilities at the Departmental and Operating Administration levels. The agency Office of Civil Rights is to assure HEP Managers are appointed at the headquarters and field office levels, are properly trained in EEO and related areas, and have access to management on all HEP matters. The HEP Managers are resource points of contact providing technical advice to managers and supervisors as needed to ensure Hispanics are given full consideration when personnel decisions are made, participate in preparation and implementation of outreach and affirmative action efforts, evaluate HEP effectiveness, identify problems to be addressed by affirmative action efforts, and communicate with employees and employee groups to establish partnerships and assess HEP needs and accomplishments.
Questions/Comments?
Please contact the National Hispanic Employment Program Manager, Dr. J. Carlos Manduley via email at: Carlos.Manduley@faa.gov.
Related Links
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