1009 - Employee Demographic Data Collection

Category

Equal Employment Opportunity

Audience List

• Agency Secretaries
• Department Directors
• Equal Employment Opportunity Officers
• Human Resources Chiefs
• Transactions Supervisors
• Workforce Planning

Synopsis

This policy:

• Prescribes when and how departments collect employee race/ethnicity, disability, veteran, and gender data.

• Establishes standards for administering the annual change in status disability and veteran survey.

Introduction

Workplace diversity is an important part of today’s workplace culture. There is growing significance placed on creating diverse environments that include considerations of race, ethnicity, age, gender, disabilities and veteran status. Assurance of a workplace free of discrimination for all people is critical to the success of the State of California as a model employer for the people that it serves. Diversity is at the forefront of workplace culture cultivation as the state’s population increases and becomes increasingly diverse.

The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) collects specific federal and state demographic information of the civil service workforce to evaluate equal employment opportunities. The data collected is analyzed through the Annual Workforce Analysis to identify any barriers to equal employment opportunity and to gauge the success of each department’s efforts to recruit and retain a diverse workforce. CalHR collects the data and reports its findings to the Legislature annually.

Improving the state’s data collection points and the collection methods used to capture and report demographic data of its workforce, as well as preserving the accuracy of the data, is essential to obtaining relevant workforce data. Equally important is employee participation which is paramount to the success of the data collection efforts; however, reluctance to self-identify race/ethnicity, veteran and disability statuses in fear of discrimination is a hurdle the state acknowledges and must overcome to achieve accurate data reporting.

Setting forth a consistent method for capturing demographic data brings credibility to the process and addresses employee reservations regarding confidentiality and disclosure.

Statement

Mandated by Government Code section 19792 (h), CalHR maintains statistical information necessary to evaluate equal employment opportunity programs in the state civil service. The statistical information includes specific data to determine the underrepresented groups based on race/ethnicity, gender, disability, and veteran status.

In addition, Under Public Law 88-352, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, all state and local governments are required to report race and ethnicity to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Each state agency, department, board, and commission shall use the following methods to collect employee demographic data:

Race and Ethnicity Questionnaire

Department personnel offices shall provide upon hire the State Employee Race/Ethnicity Questionnaire, form CalHR 1070, to all new employees and to rehire employees who have no race/ethnicity data in the State Controller Office (SCO) system. Employees are requested to self-identify their race/ethnicity and gender. Departments shall inform the employee that absent self-identification, federal law requires departments to visually identify the employee’s race and gender.

The goal of the race/ethnicity questionnaire is to assess and compare the race/ethnicity of state civil service employees to California’s workforce and comply with state and federal non-discrimination requirements necessary to evaluate equal employment opportunities in state civil service. The best California workforce data  available for comparison purposes is collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Bureau’s racial categories generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and do not attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. In addition, the Bureau’s race definitions reference racial, national origin, and sociocultural groups.  For purposes of race and ethnicity categories, the U.S. Census Bureau uses the following definitions:

Hispanic or Latino. Hispanic origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before arriving in the United States. People who identify as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be any race.

White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as White or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian.

Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as Black, African American; or report entries such as African American, Kenyan, Nigerian, Haitian, a descendant of a person or persons who were enslaved in the United States, not a descendant of a person or persons who were enslaved in the United States, including, but not limited to, African Black, Caribbean Black, or other Black, and descendant status is unknown or choose not to identify.

American Indian and Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. This category includes people who indicate their race as American Indian or Alaska Native or report entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup'ik, or Central American Indian groups or South American Indian groups.

Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes people who indicate their race as Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Other Asian or provide other detailed Asian responses.

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as Native Hawaiian, Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoan, and Other Pacific Islander or provide other detailed Pacific Islander responses.

New Employee Survey Upon Hire: Disability and Veteran Status

Department personnel offices shall provide all new, rehired, and external agency transfer or promotional employees with the New Employee Survey link upon hire. Employees are requested to complete the confidential, voluntary survey to self-identify disabilities and veteran status. The survey data is collected and maintained by CalHR. Departments’ access is limited to only statistical data used to gauge efforts to recruit and retain a diverse workforce.

Change in Status Survey Links

Departments shall post the Change in Disability Status Survey and Change in Veteran Status Survey link on the department’s intranet page, or in central locations where employees may easily access the surveys when a change in their disability or veteran status has occurred.  In addition, department Reasonable Accommodation Coordinators may provide the change in disability status link to employees who request a Reasonable Accommodation and engage in the confidential, interactive process.

Change in Status Survey Campaign

Disability Survey

Department Equal Employment Offices shall conduct an employee disability survey campaign annually to capture employees’ change in disability status from the previous year. All departments shall conduct the annual employee disability survey during October in consideration of October’s annual National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Veteran Survey

Department Equal Employment Offices shall conduct an employee veteran survey campaign annually to capture employees’ change in veteran status from the previous year. All departments shall conduct the annual employee veteran survey campaign during November in consideration of Veterans Day.

Application

Race and Ethnicity Questionnaire

Procedural information related to processing the State Employee Race/Ethnicity Questionnaire, form CalHR 1070, is found in the Personnel Action Manual (PAM), Section 2.59 Item 445 – Ethnic Origin.

Change in Status Survey Campaign

Departments shall use a statewide standardized approach to conduct an annual employee disability and veteran survey campaign to capture a change in status from the previous year. CalHR has established standards for administering the annual surveys prescribed in the Change in Status Survey Toolkit.

Data Use and Reporting

Race/ethnicity and gender data is entered into the SCO system by the department’s personnel office and becomes part of the employment history system maintained by SCO. Department personnel offices have access to the SCO system and the employees’ race, ethnicity and gender data. SCO only shares the statistical data collected through the CalHR 1070 form with CalHR.

The data collected through the CalHR 1070 form and the disability and veteran surveys is used only for statistical purposes to evaluate and comply with state and federal non-discrimination requirements necessary to evaluate equal employment opportunity programs in the state civil service.

The statistical information includes specific data to evaluate the distribution and proportionality of the workforce and to determine the underrepresentation of groups based on race/ethnicity, gender, disability, and veteran status within the civil service workforce.  This data is reported through the Departmental Demographic Reports that helps departments both to gain an understanding of the race/ethnicity, disability, and gender make-up of the classifications used in the department and to also identify significant underutilizations with the organization’s workforce. The statistical data is published annually on CalHR’s webpage in the Annual Census of Employees in State Civil Service and reported to the Legislature.

Authorities

• Government Code section 19232
• Government Code section 19233
• Government Code section 19792 (h)
• Government Code section 19795
• Government Code section 19797
• Government Code section 19799
• Government Code section 8310.5
• Government Code section 8310.6

Resources

FAQs

• Change in Status Survey Toolkit: Guidance for conducting annual disability and veteran change in status surveys, including email templates for employee communication
• New Employee Demographic Collection FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about New Employee Demographic Survey and Form 1070
• New Employee Welcome - EEO Officer: Sample New Employee Welcome Letter from EEO Officer

Forms

• CalHR 1070: State Employee Race/Ethnicity Questionnaire

Related Policies

• Personnel Action Manual (PAM): Personnel Action Manual (PAM) Section 2.59 Item 445 - Ethnic Origin

Web Pages

• Departmental Demographic Reports: Reports on employee demographics by department
• Employee Demographic Surveys: Disability, Veteran, and New Employee surveys
• Workforce Analysis and Census of Employees: formal reports about state civil service employee demographics

Authorized By

Division Chief
Civil Rights
California Department of Human Resources

Contact Person

Workforce Analysis
Staff Services Manager I
Phone: 916-909-3707
Email: Workforce.Analysis@calhr.ca.gov

Superseded Policies

History

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