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Training
seminar adheres to law
By Cynthia Tom
On-line Forty-Niner
Training sessions
to educate Cal State Long Beach employees on the treatment
of veterans and the terms of the Vietnam-Era Veterans' Readjustment
Assistance Act are being held today and tomorrow.
All employees are encouraged to attend one of the six sessions
offered, and Jan Reyes, the director of equity and diversity
for CSULB, is optimistic about the turnout.
"The ultimate goal is to remind people that the legislation
is current and relevant on the part of the university,"
Reyes said. "We want to adhere to the guiding principles
of civility, tolerance and respect, and also to resolve confusion
over what the law says and requires."
Reyes also noted that the seminars are being held in compliance
with a conciliation agreement between CSULB and the Office
of Federal Contract Compliance Program, a branch of the Labor
Department, that was made official in March, 2001.
The agreement requires employees to provide training to supervisors
informing them of VEVRAA standards.
It also required the university to prepare, update and implement
an acceptable affirmative action program. Finally, the agreement
required CSULB to keep accurate records and disseminate the
policy to prevent harassment.
The conciliation agreement stemmed from a suit filed against
CSULB by Walter Moore, Jr., a communicative disorders professor
and veteran. In it, Moore cited 27 violations of specific
regulation that were not complied with, and won.
Moore, who is planning on attending the first seminar offered,
said, "I have every intention of attending and seeing
what's going on. The Office of Equity and Diversity has definitely
done a good job in terms of advertising and getting people
to attend, and Jan Reyes has done an outstanding job of getting
everything organized, getting the information out and setting
up appointments."
One suggestion Moore would make, though, would be to make
the workshops mandatory for all employees.
"If they're voluntary, that doesn't meet the regulations
that are very specific in their terms," Moore said. "However,
they're absolutely a step in the right direction."
Fellow veteran Dave Nelson, who has worked for CSULB for 22
years as a photographer, also plans on attending the seminars
but is not as optimistic on the seminar's ability to address
the issues.
"As far as I'm concerned, the university hasn't dealt
with vets in good faith yet," Nelson said. "All
they're doing is playing games and trying to grind this issue
into the ground until no one cares anymore. Well, I still
care."
Nelson filed his own complaints against CSULB and the California
State University system as a whole last August, but is still
waiting for notification of the results.
"If this problem had dealt with minorities or females,
it would've been dealt with immediately," Nelson said.
"All the university had to do was obey the law in the
first place, which is something they still haven't done."
Hosted in USU-306, the seminars are being conducted by Leonard
Biermann, national director for human resources and affirmative
action activities for the National Employment Law Institute.
"He is uniquely qualified to speak on this legislation,"
Reyes said of Biermann, who is a former director of the OFCCP
and was awarded a Distinguished Career Service Award by former
President George Bush.
"We're optimistic that since the conciliation agreement
we're moving in the right direction and reaching out to qualified
individuals," Reyes said. "Veterans as a group are
entitled to access to employment opportunities and due consideration
for advancement and promotion."
For further information call the Office of Equity and Diversity
at (562) 985-8256 or visit its Web site at www.csulb.edu/depts/oed.
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