Sec. 23.55  Equal employment opportunities.

    (a) General policy. Equal opportunity in employment shall be 
afforded by all common carrier licensees or permittees to all qualified 
persons, and no personnel shall be discriminated against in employment 
because of sex, race, color, religion, or national origin.
    (b) Equal employment opportunity program. Each licensee or permittee 
shall establish, maintain, and carry out, a positive continuing program 
of specific practices designed to assure equal opportunity in every 
aspect of employment policy and practice. Under the terms of its 
program, a licensee or permittee shall:
    (1) Define the responsibility of each level of management to insure 
a positive application and vigorous enforcement of the policy of equal 
opportunity, and establish a procedure to review and control managerial 
and supervisory performance.
    (2) Inform its employees and recognized employee organizations of 
the positive equal employment opportunity policy and program and enlist 
their cooperation.
    (3) Communicate its equal employment opportunity policy and program 
and its employment needs to sources of qualified applicants without 
regard to sex, race, color, religion, or national origin, and solicit 
their recruitment assistance on a continuing basis.
    (4) Conduct a continuing campaign to exclude every form of prejudice 
or discrimination based upon sex, race, color, religion, or national 
origin, from the licensees' or permittees' personnel policies and 
practices and working conditions.
    (5) Conduct a continuing review of job structure and employment 
practices and adopt positive recruitment, training, job design and other 
measures needed in order to insure genuine equality of opportunity to 
participate fully in all organizational units, occupations and levels of 
responsibility.

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    (c) Additional information to be furnished to the Commission. (1) 
Equal Employment Programs to be filed by common carrier licensees or 
permittees.
    (i) All licensees or permittees will file a statement of their equal 
employment opportunity program not later than December 17, 1970, 
indicating specific practices to be followed in order to assure equal 
employment opportunity on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, or 
national origin in such aspects of employment practices as regards 
recruitment, selection, training, placement, promotion, pay, working 
conditions, demotion, layoff, and termination.
    (a) Any changes or amendments to existing programs should be filed 
with the Commission on April 1 of each year thereafter.
    (b) If a licensee or permittee has fewer than 16 full-time 
employees, no such statement need be filed.
    (2) The program should reasonably address itself to such specific 
areas as set forth below, to the extent that they are appropriate in 
terms of licensee size, location, etc.
    (i) To assure nondiscrimination in recruiting. (a) Posting notices 
in the licensee's or permittee's offices informing applicants for 
employment of their equal employment rights and their right to notify 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Communications 
Commission, or other appropriate agency. Where a substantial number of 
applicants are Spanish-surnamed Americans such notice should be posted 
in Spanish and English.
    (b) Placing a notice in bold type on the employment application 
informing prospective employees that discrimination because of sex, 
race, color, religion, or national origin is prohibited and that they 
may notify the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal 
Communications Commission or other appropriate agency if they believe 
they have been discriminated against.
    (c) Placing employment advertisements in media which have 
significant circulation among minority-group people in the recruiting 
area.
    (d) Recruiting through schools and colleges with significant 
minority-group enrollments.
    (e) Maintaining systematic contacts with minority and human 
relations organizations, leaders, and spokesmen to encourage referral of 
qualified minority or female applicants.
    (f) Encouraging present employees to refer minority or female 
applicants.
    (g) Making known to the appropriate recruitment sources in the 
employer's immediate area that qualified minority members are being 
sought for consideration whenever the licensee hires.
    (ii) To assure nondiscrimination in selection and hiring. (a) 
Instructing personally those on the staff of the licensee or permittee 
who make hiring decisions that all applicants for all jobs are to be 
considered without discrimination.
    (b) Where union agreements exist, cooperating with the union or 
unions in the development of programs to assure qualified minority 
persons or females of equal opportunity for employment, and including an 
effective nondiscrimination clause in new or renegotiated union 
agreements.
    (c) Avoiding use of selection techniques or tests which have the 
effect of discriminating against minority groups or females.
    (iii) To assure nondiscriminatory placement and promotion. (a) 
Instructing personally those of the licensee's or permittee's staff who 
make decisions on placement and promotion that minority employees and 
females are to be considered without discrimination, and that job areas 
in which there is little or no minority or female representation should 
be reviewed to determine whether this results from discrimination.
    (b) Giving minority groups and female employees equal opportunity 
for positions which lead to higher positions. Inquiring as to the 
interest and skills of all lower-paid employees with respect to any of 
the higher-paid positions, followed by assistance, counseling, and 
effective measures to enable employees with interest and potential to 
qualify themselves for such positions.

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    (c) Reviewing seniority practices to insure that such practices are 
nondiscriminatory and do not have a discriminatory effect.
    (d) Avoiding use of selection techniques or tests, which have the 
effect of discriminating against minority groups or females.
    (iv) To assure nondiscrimination in other areas of employment 
practices. (a) Examining rates of pay and fringe benefits for present 
employees with equivalent duties, and adjusting any inequities found.
    (b) Proving opportunity to perform overtime work on a basis that 
does not discriminate against qualified minority group or female 
employees.
    (d) Report of complaints filed against licensees and permittees. (1) 
All licensees or permittees shall submit an annual report to the FCC no 
later than May 31 of each year indicating whether any complaints 
regarding violations by the licensee or permittee of equal employment 
provisions of Federal, State, Territorial, or local law have been filed 
before any body having competent jurisdiction.
    (i) The report should state the parties involved the date filing, 
the courts or agencies before which the matters have been heard, the 
appropriate file number (if any), and the respective disposition or 
current status of any such complaints.
    (ii) Any licensee or permittee who has filed such information with 
the EEOC need not do so with the Commission, if such previous filing is 
indicated.
    (e) Complaints of violations of Equal Employment Programs. (1) 
Complaints alleging employment discrimination against a common carrier 
licensee will be considered by the Commission in the following manner:
    (i) If a complaint raising an issue of discrimination is received 
against a licensee or permittee who is within the jurisdiction of the 
EEOC, it will be submitted to that agency. The Commission will maintain 
a liaison with that agency which will keep the Commission informed of 
the disposition of complaints filed against any of the common carrier 
licensees.
    (ii) Complaints alleging employment discrimination against a common 
carrier licensee of permittee who does not fall under the jurisdiction 
of the EEOC but is covered by appropriate enforceable State law, to 
which penalties apply, may be submitted by the Commission to the 
respective State agency.
    (iii) Complaints alleging employment discrimination against a common 
carrier licensee or permittee who does not fall under the jurisdiction 
of the EEOC or an appropriate State law, will be accorded appropriate 
treatment by the FCC.
    (iv) The Commission will consult with the EEOC on all matters 
relating to the evaluation and determination of compliance by the common 
carrier licensees or permittees with the principles of equal employment 
as set forth herein.
    (2) Complaints indicating a general pattern of disregard of equal 
employment practices which are received against a licensee or permittee 
who is required to file an employment report to the Commission under 
Sec. 1.815(a) of this chapter will be investigated by the Commission.
    (f) Records available to public--(1) Commission records. A copy of 
every annual employment report, equal employment opportunity program, 
and reports on complaints regarding violation of equal employment 
provisions of Federal, State, Territorial, or local law, and copies of 
all exhibits, letters, and other documents filed as part thereof, all 
amendments thereto, all correspondence between the permittee or licensee 
and the Commission pertaining to the reports after they have been filed 
and all documents incorporated therein by reference, are open for public 
inspection at the offices of the Commission.
    (2) Records to be maintained locally for public inspection by 
licensees or permittees--(i) Records to be maintained. Each licensee or 
permittee required to file annual employment reports, equal employment 
opportunity programs, and annual reports on complaints regarding 
violations of equal employment provisions of Federal, State, 
Territorial, or local law shall maintain for public inspection, in the 
same manner and in the same locations as required for the keeping and 
posting of tariffs as set forth in Sec. 61.72 of this chapter, a file 
containing a copy of each such report

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and copies of all exhibits, letters, and other documents filed as part 
thereto, all correspondence between the permittee or licensee and the 
Commission pertaining to the reports after they have been filed and all 
documents incorporated therein by reference.
    (ii) Period of retention. The documents specified in paragraph 
(f)(2)(i) of this section shall be maintained for a period of 2 years.
[ 35 FR 12894 , Aug. 14, 1970, as amended at  36 FR 3119 , Feb. 18, 1971. 
Redesignated at  38 FR 22481 , Aug. 21, 1973]