HAWTHORNE : City Council Approves Minority Hiring Plan
City Council members unanimously approved an affirmative action hiring plan Monday, almost five years after an original proposal was drafted.
The plan calls for hiring that reflects the ethnic makeup of the county work force. Although no numbers have been set, beginning next July, city officials will set goals for hiring of women and minorities. Those goals, however, will be considered targets and not quotas, according to the plan.
Earlier this year the city came under fire for not having an affirmative action plan when it applied for a federal police grant. Although the Police Department received the grant, reports released during the application revealed that the force had only three African Americans among 90 sworn officers. The city is 28% black.
In addition, several racial discrimination suits filed against the department spurred U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Department of Justice officials to question the city’s lack of an affirmative action plan.
City officials said a plan was drafted in 1989, but it was never brought before the council for a vote. Officials could not offer an explanation for the delay.
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