Frequently Asked Questions for City EEO Professionals
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An audit is a methodical review and analysis for evaluating the condition of a City entity’s practices, procedures, and programs, and its efforts to ensure fair and effective equal employment opportunity. It concludes upon the implementation of prescribed corrective action, if any.
What types of audits does the EEPC perform?
The EEPC conducts general EEO and issue-specific audits.
What is a general EEO audit?
An issue-specific audit focuses on a specific component of a City entity’s EEO program. Some examples of the EEPC’s issue-specific audits include, but are not limited to, the Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response Practices Audit (SHPRA), which evaluates an entity’s prevention of, and response to, sexual harassment; the Employment Practices Audit (EPA), which assesses an entity’s workforce data and employment practices to identify and eliminate potential barriers to EEO; and the Discrimination Complaint and Investigation Procedure Audit (DCIPA), which evaluates the entity’s procedures for investigating discrimination complaints
What happens during an EEPC audit of a City entity?
An EEPC audit of a City entity is comprised of two (2) phases: Review and Evaluation and Compliance-Monitoring.
What happens during the Review and Evaluation phase of an audit?
During the Review and Evaluation phase of an audit, the EEPC collects, reviews, and analyzes the documents, records, and data that an entity provides in response to preliminary interview questionnaires that are sent to EEO professionals and others involved in EEO program administration. The EEPC evaluates these items and issues a Preliminary Determination, which delineates findings of compliance/non-compliance and corrective actions, if any, the entity is required to implement. Thereafter, upon considering the entity’s response to the Preliminary Determination and its remedial efforts, the EEPC issues a Final Determination that identifies whether or not the entity requires further monitoring to ensure unimplemented corrective action is executed.
What happens during the Compliance-Monitoring phase of an audit?
An audited entity may be designated as requiring compliance-monitoring to ensure that it implements the corrective action the EEPC prescribed during the Review and Evaluation phase of the audit. In such cases, the EEPC assigns a Compliance-Monitoring phase, or period, consisting of up to six (6) months. During Compliance-Monitoring the entity is required to report monthly on the steps it has taken to remedy all areas deemed as non-compliant. Although a six-month Compliance-Monitoring period is assigned, the EEPC encourages entities to implement all corrective actions as soon as possible.
When does an EEPC audit end?
Upon the conclusion of the assigned compliance-monitoring phase, the EEPC will determine whether the entity has taken sufficient efforts to remedy all non-compliant areas identified in the audit. The EEPC will then issue a Determination of Compliance, Determination of Partial Compliance, or a Determination of Non-Compliance based on the entity’s success in implementing all of the corrective actions prescribed.
How often will the EEPC conduct an audit, evaluation, and monitoring of a City entity?
The EEPC must audit, evaluate, and monitor each City entity under its jurisdiction at least once every four (4) years, but may conduct audits more frequently at the EEPC’s discretion.
