Lisa Jackson Praises EPA's Civil Rights & Diversity Programs

Issues Memo To EPA Staff Day After Critics Target Rafael DeLeon

Excerpt:

I am proud of the progress we have made during the past 24 months. In December 2009, we appointed a special counsel for Title VI to help the EPA address a number of longstanding complaints and the Title VI process. Working with the Office of General Counsel, we revitalized our efforts and processed the highest number of complaints in any year.

In December 2010, I appointed Rafael DeLeon as our new director for the Office of Civil Rights; he is someone I knew would bring energy and experience to the post. Under his leadership, the EPA set a record for training its employees under the No Fear Act. Earlier this year, the EPA was timely in submitting its Management Directive 715 Report to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which lays the foundation for collaboration among our civil-rights, diversity and human-resources programs and provides a comprehensive framework for strengthening and addressing a number of employment and civil-rights issues. Further, we are preparing to release the agency’s first anti-harassment policy and procedures, and we also will require that all EPA supervisors and managers include Equal Employment Opportunity language in their performance standards during the upcoming mid-year performance cycle.

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