American Association for Affirmative Action Announces 35th Annual Conference “Winning the Fight for Equity, Opportunity and Inclusion!”

AAAA NEWS RELEASE
American Association for Affirmative Action Announces
35th Annual Conference -“Winning the Fight for Equity, Opportunity and Inclusion!”

Outstanding equal opportunity, diversity and civil rights professionals meet in Chicago area to discuss affirmative action challenges

For Immediate Release: March 4, 2009
Contact: Shirley J. Wilcher 202-349-9855

Washington, March 4, 2009– The American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), an organization of equal opportunity, diversity and affirmative action professionals, announced its 35th Annual Conference, “Winning the Fight for Equity, Opportunity and Inclusion,” being held at the Lincolnshire Marriott, Lincolnshire, IL, April 1 – 4, 2009. Conferees will address the progress being made to win the fight for equity, opportunity and inclusion since the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other civil rights laws.

Featured speakers include Naomi Tutu of the Tutu Foundation and daughter of Bishop Desmond Tutu; Shanta Driver, Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration & Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN); John Trasvina, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.; Jim Ward, ADA Watch; Randolph Lowe, California Governors’ Committee on the Employment of Individuals with Disabilities; Juan Andrade, United States Hispanic Leadership Institute; Michael Yaki, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; Native American Activist William A. Means; Chicago civil rights lawyer Thomas “TNT” Todd, Esq., Julieanna Richardson, “Founder of the HistoryMakers”; Megan O’Malley, National Employment Lawyers Association; Gregory Cendana, U.S. Student Association; Lauren Sugerman, Chicago Women in Trades; Anjali Thakur, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; and corporate leaders Joyce Tucker of the Boeing Company, Yvette C. Burton of IBM and Chris Marin of Cisco. Representatives from Federal agencies including the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will also attend.

“We are excited about the myriad training and educational sessions available this year,” said AAAA President ReNee Dunman. “Presenters have been selected carefully to ensure diverse, cutting edge workshops for attendees who include equal opportunity, affirmative action and diversity professionals representing every imaginable entity in employment, government, education and the private sector.” The conferees will also discuss strategies to promote affirmative action and diversity in the face of economic headwinds and legal challenges to end it. “This conference is filled with opportunities to galvanize and design a proactive plan to advance an agenda of more inclusion and opportunity,” said the AAAA president.

For more information, go to http://www.affirmativeaction.org/.

Founded in 1974, the American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA) is a national not-for-profit association of professionals working in the areas of affirmative action, equal opportunity, and diversity. AAAA helps its members to be more successful and productive in their careers. It also promotes understanding and advocacy of affirmative action to enhance access and equality in employment, economic and educational opportunities.

###
888 16th Street, NW, Suite 800 * Washington, D.C. 20006 *202-349-9855 ex 1857 *
800-252-8952 * Fax: 202-355-1399 * www.affirmativeaction.org

Administration Issues Civil Rights Guidance on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag, issued preliminary guidance on the federal agencies' use of funds appropriated under the recently-passed stimulus bill. The guidance, issued on February 18, 2009, includes language that emphasizes the importance of federal agency compliance with existing equal opportunity statutes, regulations and executive orders:

1.6 What additional responsibilities exist for Executive Branch agencies?

The Executive Branch shall distribute Recovery Act funds in accordance with:
"All anti-discrimination and equal opportunity statutes, regulations, and Executive Orders that apply to the expenditure of funds under Federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, loans, and other forms of Federal assistance. Grant-making agencies shall ensure that their recipients comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and any program-specific statutes with anti-discrimination requirements. Generally applicable civil rights laws also continue to apply, including (but not limited to) the Fair Housing Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Uniform Relocation Act.

To review the entire OMB guidance, go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_fy2009/m09-10.pdf

Dartmouth Names Global Health Leader as Its Next President

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
By KARIN FISCHER

Dartmouth College on Monday tapped Jim Yong Kim, a physician known for his work in the global fight against AIDS and tuberculosis, as its next president.
Dr. Kim, who is 49, will assume the presidency at a time when the Ivy League institution has been undertaking a series of painful budget cuts and layoffs following a steep drop in the value of its endowment (The Chronicle, November 13, 2008). He will succeed James Wright, who had previously announced he would resign after 11 years as president, on July 1.
Dr. Kim, who is chairman of the department of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School, said he recognized that Dartmouth, like other institutions, has had to make "difficult choices" in recent months, but he praised Mr. Wright and college leaders for doing so in a manner that preserved key institutional priorities, like need-blind admissions for both American and foreign students.
Dartmouth has lost more than $200-million of its once $3.8-billion endowment, which provides more than a third of the college’s $700-million operating budget. In response, the college has announced plans to lay off staff, freeze salaries, reduce work hours, and postpone construction projects.
Despite the tough economic climate, Dr. Kim suggested, it might also be a time to exercise bold leadership. "This is a time for a great institution like Dartmouth to think about how to leap ahead when others are afraid and cutting back," he said. "It's a matter of being strategic."
Dr. Kim brings a wealth of international experience to an institution that has sought, in recent years, to become more deeply engaged globally. He is a former senior official at the World Health Organization, where he started an effort to greatly expand HIV/AIDS treatment in low- and middle-income countries. He is a co-founder and former executive director of Partners in Health, a nonprofit organization that supports health programs in poor communities worldwide...

Raised in Iowa, he is a native of South Korea who came to the United States with his parents when he was 5 years old. He is one of the few people of Asian heritage to lead a major American university and the first to lead an Ivy League institution.

Full Story: http://chronicle.com/daily/2009/03/12730n.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Anti-affirmative action group opposes bill

Omaha World-Herald
Published Tuesday
March 3, 2009

BY MARTHA STODDARDWORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Backers of the ban on affirmative action in Nebraska objected Monday to a bill meant to bring the state's student diversity scholarship program in line with the ban.Marc Schniederjans, a local leader of the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative, argued that complying with the intent of the constitutional amendment that voters approved last year should mean that the scholarships are ended rather than altered.The amendment bars public agencies such as universities and city governments from considering race, gender or ethnicity when handing out contracts, hiring employees or awarding scholarships.Legislative Bill 440 would eliminate all reference to "racial, ethnic and cultural diversity" in the law creating the scholarships and would require that the scholarships simply promote "diversity" in the state's public colleges and universities.

Full Story: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10577435

Background Information for EEOC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking On Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
February 25, 2009

On May 21, 2008, the President signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). GINA includes two titles. Title I, which amends portions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code, addresses the use of genetic information in health insurance. Title II prohibits the use of genetic information in employment, prohibits the intentional acquisition of genetic information about applicants and employees, and imposes strict confidentiality requirements.
GINA requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to issue regulations implementing Title II of the Act by May 21, 2009 (one year after the law’s enactment). EEOC will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on or about February 26, 2009, under that authority and is currently accepting comments about its proposal. This Q&A document summarizes the requirements of Title II of GINA, as interpreted by the Commission in the proposed regulations.
Who must comply with Title II of GINA?
Title II applies to private and state and local government employers with 15 or more employees, employment agencies, labor unions, and joint labor-management training programs. It also covers Congress and federal executive branch agencies. The NPRM and this document use the term “covered entity” to refer collectively to all entities subject to Title II of GINA.
Are entities subject to Title II of GINA required to comply with the law now?
No. There will be some time between issuance of final regulations and the date on which the law becomes effective and entities need to begin complying with it. Title II of GINA is effective on November 21, 2009.
Why is GINA needed?
GINA was enacted, in large part, in recognition of developments in the field of genetics, the decoding of the human genome, and advances in the field of genomic medicine. Genetic tests now exist that can inform individuals whether they may be at risk for developing a specific disease or disorder. But just as the number of genetic tests increase, so do the concerns of the general public about whether they may be at risk of losing access to health coverage or employment if insurers or employers have their genetic information.
Congress enacted GINA to address these concerns, by prohibiting discrimination based on genetic information and restricting acquisition and disclosure of such information, so that the general public would not fear adverse employment- or health coverage-related consequences for having a genetic test or participating in research studies that examine genetic information.
What is “genetic information?”
The statute and the NPRM include a detailed description of what constitutes “genetic information.” Genetic information includes, for example, information about an individual’s genetic tests, genetic tests of a family member, and family medical history. Genetic information does not include information about the sex or age of an individual or the individual’s family members, or information that an individual currently has a disease or disorder. Genetic information also does not include tests for alcohol or drug use. The Commission specifically invites public comment on other kinds of tests that covered entities may conduct and whether they should be considered genetic tests.
What practices are prohibited by GINA Title II?
Title II of GINA prohibits use of genetic information in making decisions related to any terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, prohibits covered entities from intentionally acquiring genetic information, requires confidentiality with respect to genetic information (with limited exceptions), and prohibits retaliation.

Full Q & A: http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/qanda_geneticinfo.html