A. It is the policy of the county to provide equal employment opportunity for all qualified persons, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, or other category protected by law. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring equal employment opportunity regarding conditions and privileges of employment including recruitment, hiring, training, promotions, benefits, transfers, discipline, and discharge.
B. The purpose of this equal employment policy is to prevent artificial barriers in employment and to ensure that employment practices are based on job-related criteria.
C. As used in this chapter:
1. Equal employment opportunity means ensuring nondiscrimination and providing equal access to county jobs, work assignments, training, and other employment-related opportunities for qualified job applicants and employees.
2. Underutilization means having a statistically significant, smaller percentage of persons of a group in an occupation or at a level within the county than would reasonably be expected by their percentage representation in the relevant labor force. An identified underutilization is not necessarily indicative of a denial of equal employment opportunity, but may warrant an analysis of the cause of the underutilization.
3. Race/ethnic groups -- The director of personnel shall maintain current definitions and/or descriptions to assist the county and its departments in complying with applicable law as well as the requirements of this chapter. (Ord. No. 2011-0066 § 9, 2011.)

A. The director of personnel shall have overall responsibility for implementing all sections of this chapter and shall take necessary steps to provide for equal employment opportunity in county service, consistent with applicable law. The director of personnel shall appoint and direct an equal employment compliance officer whose function will be to fulfill the requirements of this chapter.
B. Specific responsibilities of the equal employment compliance officer include, but are not limited to, implementing the equal employment program set forth in this chapter. This includes:
1. Providing countywide leadership designed to ensure equal employment opportunity in county employment.
2. Consulting with the director of personnel in the formulation of the county’s equal employment program.
3. Developing, implementing, and maintaining equal employment opportunity guidelines.
4. Providing technical assistance and training to county departments, as needed, in the development and implementation of their equal employment opportunity policies and plans.
5. Reviewing and evaluating county departmental equal opportunity policies and plans to ensure compliance with applicable law.
6. Establishing policies to ensure equal employment opportunity for county government job applicants and county employees through broad, inclusive outreach, recruitment efforts, and other measures as allowed by law.
7. Reviewing, examining the validity of, and updating qualifications standards, selection devices, and career advancement programs.
8. Conducting statistical reviews to determine and evaluate issues related to underutilization.
9. Reporting biennially to the board of supervisors on the status of each department and the county overall, related to equal employment opportunity.
10. Serving as a liaison between the county and government regulatory agencies, minority and women’s organizations, and other community groups.
11. Receiving, investigating, and resolving complaints related to equal employment opportunity concerns by employees in accordance with the requirements for such, as set forth in Chapter 5.09. (Ord. 2011-0066 § 10, 2011.)

Each department head shall work with the director of personnel and the equal employment compliance officer and shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with this chapter and applicable law, identifying problem areas, and developing department-specific equal employment opportunity policies and plans which are consistent with the county’s comprehensive equal employment opportunity program. As the appointing power, he/she shall have the authority and the responsibility for the appointment of candidates to all positions within his/her department as well as for his/her department’s employment and promotional practices generally. (Ord. 2011-0066 § 11, 2011.)