SJ0007 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0007 LRB099 08558 GRL 28717 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Guaranteeing equal employment opportunity in federal jobs has traditionally been at the forefront of the government's efforts to curtail nationwide racial discrimination; and

WHEREAS, Over the years, a series of executive orders have been propagated to promote these policies of ending racial discrimination; and

WHEREAS, On September 24, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors and federally-assisted contractors and sub-contractors that generally have contracts exceeding $10,000 from discriminating in employment decisions based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order 11246 requires covered contractors to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin"; and

WHEREAS, The United States Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs enforces Executive Order 11246 and other regulations banning discrimination; and

WHEREAS, A covered contractor in violation of Executive Order 11246 or associated regulations may have its contracts canceled, terminated, or suspended; the contractor may also be declared ineligible for future government contracts; and

WHEREAS, Section 201 of Executive Order 11246 requires that the Secretary of the Department of Labor shall adopt rules, regulations, and orders as he or she deems necessary to achieve the purposes of the Order; and

WHEREAS, Since October of 1980, the Code of Federal Regulations requires the Director of the United States Department of Labor to issue goals and timetable for minority and female utilization in the contracts covered under Executive Order 11246; and

WHEREAS, The Code of Federal Regulations requires these minority and female utilization goals to be published in the Federal Register; and

WHEREAS, On October 3, 1980, the Minority Participation Goals were published in the Federal Register, declaring that until further notice, the goals for minority utilization shall be included in all federal or federally-assisted construction contracts and subcontracts in excess of $10,000 to be performed in the respective geographical area; and

WHEREAS, The Minority Participation Goals published in 1980 were calculated using data from the 1970 United States Census and are set at the 1970 levels of minority representation in the experienced civilian work force; and

WHEREAS, The United States workforce has seen a substantial increase in representation by women and minorities; however, the minority participation goals and timetables have not been updated since they were issued in 1980; and

WHEREAS, Since 2010, the United States Department of Labor has included Executive Order 11246 on its Annual Regulatory Agenda for retrospective analysis of the existing related rules; and

WHEREAS, The Regulatory Agenda declares that the guidance issued to Executive Order 11246 "is more than 30 years old and warrants a lookback"; and

WHEREAS, The Regulatory Agenda declares that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs "will issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to create sex discrimination regulations that reflect the current state of the law in this area"; and

WHEREAS, Neither a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has been filed, nor has any other action been taken to update the regulations implementing Executive Order 11246, including the minority utilization goals; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we, as elected representatives of the people, respectfully but emphatically urge the President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of Labor, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and the members of Congress to update the regulations implementing Executive Order 11246, including the minority utilization goals; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we respectfully but emphatically urge the United States Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking providing guidance and regulations for implementation of Executive Order 11246, which accurately reflect the current state of the United States workforce; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President of the United States, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Secretary of the United States Department of Labor, and the members of the Illinois congressional delegation.