EPA managers must attend anti-discrimination training

Managers at the Environmental Protection Agency must attend civil rights training as part of the agency's effort to eliminate discrimination in the workplace, Administrator Christine Todd Whitman announced last week.

All 1,600 EPA managers and supervisors will be required to attend a two-day national civil rights training program this summer, according to a May 3 e-mail message from Whitman to all employees. EPA and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will work together to develop the program.

In addition to the mandatory training, Whitman outlined a series of other efforts to address the allegations of discrimination that have plagued EPA in recent years. Whitman said a special case closure team will review all backlogged Title VII discrimination complaints and issue final decisions on them by the end of the year. Title VII complaints concern alleged acts of discrimination against agency employees.

Whitman also said she plans to announce next month a comprehensive strategy for eliminating the backlog of Title VI discrimination complaints within two years. Title VI complaints include possible acts of discrimination by recipients of federal funding.

EPA will begin distributing copies of its anti-discrimination policies and procedures to employees this week. Employees will have to sign a form indicating they have received the policies.

A senior-level group within the agency has been reviewing agencywide employment and personnel practices to ensure they reflect the agency's commitment to equal opportunity, said Whitman.

"As I pledged to you 11 weeks ago, I will continue to personally monitor our progress in these areas," Whitman said.

Shortly after Whitman arrived at EPA, she sent a letter to U.S. District Attorney Wilma A. Lewis asking her to drop any challenges to a case involving Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, a black senior manager at the agency. Coleman-Adebayo won a $600,000 verdict in a race and sex discrimination suit against EPA last August.