Equal Employment Opportunity

Manhattan Municipal Building Civic Fame, Photo Credit: John Castellaneta

DCAS Holds EEO Awareness Breakfast

Attendees at the EEO Awareness Breakfast at the Banking Hall of the former Emigrant Savings Bank in Lower Manhattan.

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) marked National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Disability Mentoring Day, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Mediation Settlement Day on October 4, 2007 with a breakfast ceremony attended by over 130 EEO Officers, General Counsels, and Agency Personnel Officers from 72 agencies.

DCAS Commissioner Martha K. Hirst introduced Diane Crothers, the new Deputy Commissioner for Citywide EEO, and joined her in welcoming three guest speakers:

Commissioner Matthew Sapolin, Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities;
Commissioner Yolanda B. Jimenez, Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence; and
Chief Administrative Law Judge Roberto Velez, Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH).

Each speaker thanked the assembled agency officials for their efforts to provide equal employment opportunity to the City’s diverse workforce, and explained how agencies can address EEO matters.

DCAS recognized three agencies for their achievements in areas important to EEO:

The Department of Finance, for enrolling individuals with disabilities in the 55-a Program, which facilitates the employment of qualified workers with disabilities;
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, for developing resources so that employees are able to get help for themselves and others in the event that the workplace is affected by domestic violence;
The Health and Hospitals Corporation, for increasing participation in mediation services offered by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH).

Photo credit: Jason Bocchinfuso, DCAS

Department of Finance:
Facilitating Employment of Individuals with Disabilities

The Department of Finance made admirable progress in enrolling individuals through the City’s 55-a Program.

In photo: Deputy Commissioner Crothers and DCAS Commissioner Hirst present the award to Richard Reichard, Agency Personnel Officer; Annie Long, EEO Officer; and Mary Rose O’Connell, an attorney in the agency’s Employment Law Unit.

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene:
Helping Employees to Address Domestic Violence in the Workplace

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) created agency guidelines to ensure that employees have information and resources to address domestic violence issues in the workplace.

In photo: Deputy Commissioner Crothers and DCAS Commissioner Hirst present the award to DOHMH employees Jewel Jones, EEO Investigator/Trainer, and Dr. Catherine Stayton, Acting Director of the Injury Epidemiology Unit. Joining them is Commissioner Yolanda Jimenez of the Office to Combat Domestic Violence.

Photo credit: Jason Bocchinfuso, DCAS

Health and Hospitals Corporation:
Resolving Problems Through Mediation

The Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) has been the single most active source of mediation referrals to OATH’s Center for Mediation Services in the past year.

In photo: Deputy Commissioner Crothers and DCAS Commissioner Hirst present the award to Ann Rozakis, HHC’s Assistant Vice President, Labor Relations. Ms. Rozakis is joined by Justo Sanchez, Director of the OATH Center for Mediation Services, and OATH Chief Administrative Law Judge Roberto Velez.