LCO No. 2721 1 of 7
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 414
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 2721
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT CONCERNING EQUITY IN STATE EMPLOYMENT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) For the purposes of this 1
section and sections 2 to 6, inclusive, of this act: 2
(1) "Department" means the (A) Departments of Administrative 3
Services, Aging and Disability Services, Agriculture, Banking, Children 4
and Families, Consumer Protection, Correction, Developmental 5
Services, Economic and Community Development, Education, 6
Emergency Services and Public Protection, Energy and Environmental 7
Protection, Housing, Insurance, Labor, Mental Health and Addiction 8
Services, Motor Vehicles, Public Health, Revenue Services, Social 9
Services, Transportation and Veterans Affairs, and (B) Offices of Early 10
Childhood and Policy and Management; 11
(2) "Department head" means the (A) Commissioners of 12
Administrative Services, Aging and Disability Services, Agriculture, 13
Banking, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Correction, 14
Developmental Services, Economic and Community Development, 15 Raised Bill No. 414
LCO No. 2721 2 of 7
Education, Emergency Services and Public Protection, Early Childhood, 16
Energy and Environmental Protection, Housing, Insurance, Labor, 17
Mental Health and Addiction Services, Motor Vehicles, Public Health, 18
Revenue Services, Social Services, Transportation and Veterans Affairs, 19
and (B) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management; 20
(3) "Director" means the director of the Diversity, Equity and 21
Inclusion division established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section; 22
(4) "Division" means the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion division of 23
each department established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section; 24
(5) "Equity" means the consistent and systematic fair, just and 25
impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong 26
to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, 27
such as Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian 28
Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color, members of 29
religious minorities, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and 30
queer persons, persons with disabilities, persons who live in rural areas 31
and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or 32
inequality; 33
(6) "Implicit bias" means an attitude or internalized stereotype that 34
affects a person's perceptions, actions and decisions in an unconscious 35
manner and often contributes to unequal treatment of a person based on 36
such person's race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, 37
disability or other characteristics; and 38
(7) "Underserved community" means populations sharing a 39
particular characteristic and geographical communities that have been 40
systemically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of 41
economic, social and civic life, such as Black, Latino, Indigenous and 42
Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and 43
other persons of color, members of religious minorities, women, lesbian, 44
gay, bisexual, transgender and queer persons, persons with disabilities, 45
persons who live in rural areas and persons otherwise adversely 46
affected by persistent poverty or inequality. 47 Raised Bill No. 414
LCO No. 2721 3 of 7
(b) There shall be established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 48
Division within each department, which shall be administered by a full-49
time, salaried director, who shall be subject to the supervision and the 50
direction of the department head. Such director shall be in the classified 51
service and shall devote full-time to the duties of such director's office. 52
The department head may appoint and fix the compensation of such 53
director, provided such appointment shall be subject to the approval of 54
the Governor and the rate of such compensation shall be subject to the 55
approval of the Governor and the Secretary of the Office of Policy and 56
Management. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Division shall be 57
responsible for equity-related matters within the department and in 58
relation to the services provided by the department. 59
(c) The director shall be responsible for (1) coordinating the 60
department's equity initiatives, (2) serving as the primary contact and 61
subject matter expert for officials and employees within the department 62
regarding the development, implementation and assessment of the 63
division's programs, (3) developing and publishing the department's 64
equity plan pursuant to section 2 of this act, (4) evaluating the policies, 65
operations, training and hiring practices of the department, (5) 66
evaluating outcomes of services provided by the department, (6) 67
collecting and using data from the department relevant to the division, 68
including, but not limited to, disparate outcomes of services provided 69
by the department or disparate outcomes in the operations and policies 70
of the department, (7) assisting department staff in creating division-71
related training programs required pursuant to sections 5 and 6 of this 72
act and participating in the presentation of such training programs, (8) 73
supporting the department in creating and sustaining inclusive cultures 74
and behaviors, (9) maintaining knowledge of equity-related issues, 75
operations and strategies that ensure the department's activities reflect 76
best equity practices for the department, (10) overseeing the community 77
engagement work of the division, (11) providing department staff with 78
advice and guidance on how to navigate situations that impact the 79
diversity, equity, and inclusion of the department, and (12) any other 80
duties assigned by the department head. 81 Raised Bill No. 414
LCO No. 2721 4 of 7
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) Not later than October 1, 2026, 82
and annually thereafter, the director for each department shall create an 83
equity action plan for such department that identifies specific diversity, 84
equity and inclusion goals for the department and establishes 85
accountability mechanisms for achieving such goals. All department 86
heads shall ensure effective implementation of such equity action plans 87
by prioritizing and incorporating the strategies of the equity action plan 88
when setting equity goals for the department. Such equity action plan 89
shall be posted on the department's Internet web site. Such equity action 90
plan shall: 91
(1) Identify the progress made by the department on the actions, 92
performance, measures and milestones highlighted in the preceding 93
year's equity action plan; 94
(2) Identify potential barriers that underserved communities may 95
face in accessing and benefitting from the benefits, services and 96
programs provided by the department; 97
(3) Evaluate certain key programs and policies of the department as 98
identified by the department head, to assess whether underserved 99
communities and their members face systemic barriers in accessing 100
benefits and opportunities available pursuant to those policies and 101
programs; 102
(4) Identify how the department intends to engage with underserved 103
communities in order to advance equity in the department's policies, 104
services and programs, including, but not limited to, accessible and 105
appropriate outreach to such underserved communities and individuals 106
in underserved communities and the incorporation of perspectives of 107
underserved communities in the department's policies, services and 108
programs; 109
(5) Identify training programs developed by the division pursuant to 110
section 5 of this act; 111
(6) Evaluate the applicant data required pursuant to section 3 of this 112 Raised Bill No. 414
LCO No. 2721 5 of 7
act and identify demographic hiring trends within the department; and 113
(7) Evaluate whether new policies, regulations or guidance 114
documents may be necessary to address potential barriers to benefits, 115
services and programs provided by the department. 116
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) Each department shall 117
collect and maintain data regarding demographic information for each 118
individual that applies for positions with such department. 119
(b) Each division shall annually examine data regarding 120
demographic information for individuals who apply for positions with 121
the department collected pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and 122
disaggregate such data by the categories of age, race, ethnicity, religious 123
creed, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, individuals 124
with disabilities and how far an individual of each category progressed 125
in the hiring or interview process, provided such disaggregation keeps 126
such individuals' information personally nonidentifiable. The division 127
shall annually submit to the department head, and post on its Internet 128
web site, a report summarizing the examination and disaggregation of 129
such data. 130
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) Each department shall 131
utilize diverse hiring panels to conduct interviews for open positions 132
within such department. Such hiring panels shall be comprised of 133
current employees in appropriate positions from varying backgrounds, 134
including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, age and sexual 135
orientation. Such hiring panels shall be utilized for at least one interview 136
of a candidate. Departments may, where appropriate, utilize employees 137
from other departments to serve on hiring panels. When filling a 138
position within the department, where relevant, the department shall 139
consider whether a candidate is multilingual. 140
(b) The director may waive the requirements of this section in writing 141
if the director determines that a diverse hiring panel cannot be 142
organized after considering (1) the circumstances around not being able 143
to fulfil such requirement, (2) whether reasonable efforts were made to 144 Raised Bill No. 414
LCO No. 2721 6 of 7
fulfil such requirement, and (3) the demographic information of current 145
employees at the department. 146
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) The director shall develop 147
a standardized diversity, equity and inclusion training program that 148
shall be used by the department in completing the diversity, equity and 149
inclusion training required under this section. Such program shall 150
include, but need not be limited to, training on how to recognize and 151
mitigate unconscious implicit biases, how to reduce miscommunication 152
and misinformation regarding different identities and backgrounds, 153
and how to cultivate inclusive community and cross-community 154
interactions both within the department and with the wider community, 155
including when interacting with a member of an underserved 156
community. 157
(b) Each department shall require diversity, equity and inclusion 158
training and education for all supervisory and nonsupervisory 159
employees hired on or after July 1, 2025, not later than six months after 160
such employees' assumption of a position within the department, while 161
prioritizing providing such training for supervisory employees. 162
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) The director shall develop 163
annual training and materials on diversity, equity and inclusion topics 164
for all supervisory and nonsupervisory employees, including 165
supervisory-specific trainings and materials. Such training and 166
materials shall include, but need not be limited to, topics related to 167
cultural sensitivity, sexual orientation and gender identities, anti-168
racism, anti-sexism and disability awareness. 169
(b) Each department shall require a minimum of four hours of annual 170
diversity, equity and inclusion training (1) for all existing supervisory 171
and nonsupervisory employees, not later than July 1, 2025, and annually 172
thereafter, while prioritizing providing such training for supervisory 173
employees, and (2) for all supervisory and nonsupervisory employees 174
hired on or after July 1, 2025, not later than six months after such 175
employees' assumption of a position within the department, and 176 Raised Bill No. 414
LCO No. 2721 7 of 7
annually thereafter, while prioritizing providing such training for 177
supervisory employees. 178
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 5 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 6 October 1, 2024 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the recommendations of the Commission on Racial
Equity in Public Health regarding equity in state employment.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]