daily find
Wednesday, april 26, 1972
lincoln, nebraska vol. 95, no. 102
Action plan
would end
employment,
salary
discrimination
by Sara Schweider
A tough new plan designed to help the University
hang on to its $18.7 million in federal funds is being
worked out by the administration this week.
The plan, called the Affirmative Action Plan
(AAP), would equalize all University women's salaries
with men's salaries of the same category. The plan
would also set specific guidelines for hiring,
recruitment and promotion of minority group
members and women in the University system,
according to Barbara Coffey, equal opportunity
coordinator for the University system.
The plan also includes:
1) a computerized survey of all University
employes: pay, experience, category of work. The
survey is not yet complete, but wil permit an analysis
to be made which will help the University set goals
for rtseff to improve employment opportunities for
rninorftks and women;
2) an upgrading of minority and female
recruitment; ,
3) guidelines on hiring of minority and female
employees; and
4) a review of University promotion practices in
regard to women and minority students.
The rough draft must be approved by the three
NU campus chancellors and the Board of Regents.
Coffey said she "hoped it would be approved and in
effect by mid-June."
It will then be submitted to the Federal Office of
Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) to meet
requirements of the Office of Civil Rights. HEW
withheld federal money from New York's Columbia
University last year for failing to have such a plan.
Out of a total budget of $128.8 million, the
University gets $18.8 million from the federal
government that "eventually" could be jeopardized if
an AAP is not put into effect at NU.
". . . The employer (the University)
hereby agrees with the Commission
to establish a specific program of
affirmative action set forth ... to
assure that the recruitment and
hiring practices of the employes
afford equal employment opportunity
for minority groups and women."
"If the plan is approved, it wSI provide, among
other things, equalization of aP women's salaries at
KU trffi ntsn's nmm of the mm cataeory and
experience," Coffey said Monday in an interview.
"This does not mean that men who were to get
raises will not get them," she emphasized. "The
women will get salary increases to the same level as
their male counterparts. Regular salary increases for
good work and years of experience will be given both
men and women in addition to the increases to
women," she said.
There is some question within the administration
about the length of time that should be taken to
equalize women's salaries with men. Some sources
thought pay raises to cure inequities between men
and women would be spread out over a three-year
period; others said chancellors of the three campuses
would attempt it all at once beginning this July,
pending approval of the plan by the regents.
Pay increases for women that are being paid less
than men for the same job and amount of experience
will be financed within the regular University budget,
Coffey said.
"Ifs just a matter of re-distribution," she said.
"We also have to wait for the survey to determine the
extent of salary differences, (between men and
women) which are not as large as you might expect."
she said.
The plan is already written, but awaits completion
of a computerized statistical survey of all NU
". . . No employee should receive
an increase of more than $600 per
annum above his June 1972, salary
. . . except that an additional
adjustment may be made for
outstanding performance . . ."
employes. The survey will profile each job category
and will "show the soft spots in regard to
discrimination," according to James Maynard, NU
research analyst.
He said questionnaire forms will be mailed out
later this week to about 14,000 University employes.
"What we're doing is supplying basic data to
determine if a problem exists," (regarding
discrimination of females and minorities) Maynard
said. He said he hopes to have most of the
questionnaire forms back within two weeks and the
survey "completed by June 1."
One section begins, "... The University, as the
leading educational institution of the State of
Nebraska, is determined to take the leadership in
applying and carrying out all of the principals of
non-discrimination.''
The plan also provides that each campus have a
person to insure equal opportunities to minorities and
women. None of the three campuses presently
employs such a person, although Coffey's office is
responsible for the entire system, Coffey said.
"The plan provides goals, objectives,
timetables not quotas on what one can reasonably
expect to employ in good faith in employment of
females and minorities. We are aware of the
difficulties in finding qualified people that fit these
objectives. But we must set goals to find minorities
and women with the credentials," she said.
She indicated that minority group members with
proper credentials can be found in the same place as
white people with qualifications for jobs. In addition,
the University can look at black colleges, or recruit
more blacks into graduate studies programs.
"There are provisions in the AAP that the
University wSI seek out colleges and universities that
have a sizeable representation of minority group
persons and females both graduate and undergraduate
schools who will be qualified to fill University
positions. In contact with these school's, professional
organizations, special mention will be made that the
University is seeking qualified minorities and female
personnel,'" Coffey said.
"Some preferential treatment for women and
minorities in regard to vacancies will be
recommended." she said. "It is an active program to
insure that minorities are hired," she said.
Another part provides for an "employe
"The signing of this agreement is not
not an admission by the employer of
any violation of said title and statute.
It does reflect his desire to take the
affirmative action .... to assure that
employment opportunities are made
available to minority group individuals
and women."
scholarship program." The employe scholarship
program provides that an employe may take 12
hours per year at the University. The AAP encourages
the use of it. It helps individuals upgrade themselves
and put themselves into a better position to move to
greater responsibilities and better pay," Coffey said.
The plan also includes a review of nepotism
policies in the University system, Coffey said.
Nepotism it enptoyment of individuals within the
same family by tm University.
"The nepotism policy was originally established to
avoid favoritism between members of the same family
who were both working for the University," Coffey
said.
The policy change deals with complaints and
confusion concerning promotion and pay scales of
women whose husbands are also employed by the
University and vice versa. "The policy is being
revised to assure that it does not work to the
disadvantage of women," she said.
The AAP it the result of a long process of
legislation, both federal and state, beginning with the
Civil Rights Act of 1364, Coffey said.
"Executive orders under Johnson and Nixon have
put teeth in the Civil Rights Act," she said. Because
the University receives federal money, it must adhere
to contracts of compliance under the Health,
Education and Welfare Department (HEW)."
The senior contract compliance officer of the
Office of Civil Rights, which is a part of HEW, visited
NU in March, 1971, and "advised you (the
University) to strongly precede," Coffey said.
Shortly thereafter, the job of Equal Opportunity
Coordinator for the NU system was created, and
Coffey actively began in that capacity in Nov., 1971.
In Feb., 1972, the University voluntarily
negotiated an agreement with the Nebraska Equal
Opportunity Commission pledging "certain
assurances that there will be no discrimination in
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