INTRODUCTION TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN

This is the Affirmative Action Plan for the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office, effective from August 22, 2001 through December 31, 2010. This plan makes a commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action in accordance with N.J.S.A. 10:5-4. This statute declares that all persons shall have the opportunity to obtain employment without discrimination because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation or sex. The purpose of this Affirmative Action Plan is to establish a formal program that includes goals and policies to which this Office is committed and provide equal employment opportunity to all employees and job applicants. This plan also establishes this Office's Equal Employment Opportunity Policy in accordance with N.J.S.A. 10:5-12 stating that no discriminatory practices shall be tolerated within the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office and the procedures for filing related complaints.

The information supplied in this plan shall include an evaluation of the current employee profile, an establishment of measurable objectives for 2001 through 2010, a plan of action to begin correcting any inequities including specific action steps to be taken, a timetable for achieving the objectives and procedures for periodically evaluating progress toward these objectives and revising the plan as needed.

The employee profiles included in this plan represent all sworn members of the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office. This is to reaffirm that the Office of the Sheriff fully supports the laws on nondiscrimination in employment and directs that all personnel take immediate action to eliminate any existing discriminatory practices, procedures or attitudes. There is no acceptable reason for any discrimination in this area. Supervisors shall take an affirmative, leading role in seeking out, removing and preventing any traces of discrimination.

Chief Michael W. Donovan Jr. is the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Coordinator for the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office Law Enforcement Division in accordance with General Order 98-25, Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator & Complaint Procedures. Chief Donovan has been instructed to immediately report all cases of alleged discrimination and to keep me advised of their investigation. Unresolved cases will be reviewed by the Chief so that proper action may be taken and correct any injustices in accordance with General Order 98-25, Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator & Complaint Procedures.
Copies of this notice shall be posted permanently in conspicuous locations throughout the Sheriff's Office.

By Order Of:
Shaun Golden
Sheriff

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY STATEMENT

Federal Laws (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) and State Laws (N.J.A.C. 4A: 7 et seq., Chapter 124 of the Laws of 1981) make it illegal for employers to discriminate because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation or sex during the course of appointing new employees. Under Chapter 124 of the Laws of 1981, the New Jersey Department of Personnel shall ensure that the pool of applicants for all vacant positions in this office includes both minorities, the handicapped and females to the end that affirmative action goals are attainable through agency selection decisions. The Department of Personnel shall further review their regulations and testing procedures in order to amend or eliminate those which serve to discriminate against minorities, the physically handicapped, and females. They shall ensure that selection devices are validated as significant predictors of successful job performance, isolate and eliminate prerequisites that are not legitimate occupational qualifications, review all discrimination complaints under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, evaluate trends and recommend appropriate policy changes.

This plan shall be the policy and procedures that guide this Office's efforts in recruitment, employment, training, promotion and retention of minority, handicapped persons and females within the sworn ranks of the Law Enforcement Division. In accordance with the above cited Federal and State Laws, the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office shall ensure equal employment opportunity for all members of this Office and applicants aspiring to become members. Employment practices will be reviewed to determine whether the protected classes are receiving fair and equal consideration for job opportunities and proactive steps will be taken to encourage minorities and females to apply for positions within the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office. All personnel movements such as training, education, transfers and new assignments shall be administered without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation or sex.

This plan will be available to all members and employees of the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office. All members and employees are charged with ensuring compliance with this policy and the policy and laws of this State.

By Order Of:
Shaun Golden
Sheriff

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY POLICY STATEMENT

Federal and State Laws (N.J.A.C. 4A: 7 et. seq., Chapter 124 of the Laws of 1981) make it illegal for an employer to discriminate because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation or sex. The Monmouth County Sheriff's Office is also committed to a policy of nondiscrimination against qualified disabled persons and will accommodate physical and mental limitations to the extent that an undue business hardship is not imposed. Further, it is the policy of the office to prohibit harassment of one employee by another on the basis of gender, race, or religion in accordance with General Order 98-22, Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policy.

This is to reaffirm that the Office of the Sheriff fully supports the laws on nondiscrimination in employment and directs that all personnel take immediate action to eliminate any existing discriminatory practices, procedures or attitudes. There is no acceptable reason for any discrimination in this area. Commanding officers shall take an affirmative, leading role in seeking out, removing and preventing any traces of discrimination.

Chief Michael W. Donovan Jr., is the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Coordinator for the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office Law Enforcement Division. He has been instructed to immediately report all cases of alleged discrimination and to keep me advised of their investigation. The Chief will review unresolved cases so that proper action may be taken to correct any injustices.

Copies of this notice are to be posted permanently in conspicuous locations throughout the Office of the Sheriff.

By Order Of:
Shaun Golden
Sheriff

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office is to have it's sworn work force be representative of minorities and females in the labor force population of Monmouth County. This goal may prove to be difficult because the New Jersey State Department of Personnel governs our hiring process. This agency's current work force representation will be outlined later in this report. However, it is important to address how this agency has been affected in the past nineteen years with regards to personnel moves.

The following is a summary of this agency's sworn work force population since the 1990 census was taken. This will outline the representation for the past nineteen years in order to illustrate how the office's work force population evolved into what it is today. The following data is a breakdown of the labor force status in Monmouth County according to the 1990 census.

The following tables contain information that represents the full-time, sworn work force of this agency for the year depicted.

The information contained in the above tables clearly shows how the sworn work force of this Office has changed in the past thirteen years. As seen in the tables above, this Office's sworn work force has grown from forty-seven sworn members in 1990 to 123 sworn members in 2008. During these years, this office encountered an increase in female officers due to the developing demands our agency experienced in the various law enforcement services we provide.

There was a need for female officers in the prisoner transportation section of the Law Enforcement Division. This entails the searching, physical restraining, detention and transportation of female prisoners within the Monmouth County Court System. Male officers are allowed to perform these tasks however, in most cases it is beneficial to have a female officer present.

In 1995 this agency successfully solicited the New Jersey State Department of Personnel for a list of eligible female candidates in an attempt to hire more qualified female officers. Upon review of the request, the Department of Personnel granted this agency a list exclusively of female candidates and permission to hire from that list. For this reason, an increase in female officers can be seen between the years of 1994 and the present.

Our current staff of 18 females is above the number authorized through the Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ). This does not however limit the overall number of female officers we can employ. We will continue to recruit female applicants with the hope they will score high enough on the Civil Service examinations to be eligible for hire. We have also been extremely successful in our efforts to recruit Sheriff's Officers Bi-Lingual in Spanish and English to correspond with the increase in the Hispanic segment of the County population. This was achieved by utilizing the BFOQ in addition to our recruitment efforts. Since we are presently an agency that only recruits to fill actual or forecast vacancies, we will not be able to increase the minority percentages rapidly. However we believe that within the next two years we can work toward this goal and make a noticeable difference in comparison to today.

The Chief shall review and update this Affirmative Action Plan at the close of the year 2010. At that time the statistics indicating the make-up of the labor force in Monmouth County shall be updated, accomplishments made towards attaining our current goals and objectives shall be documented, and new goals and objectives shall be established for the future.

DISSEMINATION OF THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN

This Affirmative Action Plan will be brought to the attention and understanding of members, employees and the general public through the following means.

1. Discuss the Affirmative Action Plan at various staff meetings in order to make our intentions clear regarding recruitment and selection.
2. Provide a copy of the Affirmative Action Plan to every member and employee of this Office as an attachment to the standard operating procedure entitled Recruitment and Selection of Personnel.
3. Post the Affirmative Action Plan throughout the various working areas of this Office.
4. Post the Affirmative Action Plan on the official Sheriff's Office website.
5. Provide the Affirmative Action Plan as part of a recruitment package for sworn-members that periodically speak to various high school and college groups regarding career choices.

In addition to these procedures, it shall be the practice of this Office to maintain an open door policy to the Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Coordinator in order to give all members and employees ample opportunity to present questions, comments or concerns regarding the Office's Affirmative Action Plan.