Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy

Policy & Procedures                 No. 4.23
                                  Subject:
                Equal Opportunity and Affirmative
                 Action
                                  Issuing Authority:                                       Effective Date:   Review Date:
                     Chief of Police                       01/19/2015   01/12/2023
                                                                                 References:

 Revision
 &          01/12/2017
 Reissued
 Dates:

CALEA STANDARDS
31.1.1    31.2.1   31.3.1

Policy

The Department prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, sex, color, religion,
creed, age, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, military veteran
status, age, and physical impairment. 31.2.1

Affirmative Action

The Department recognizes that when the effects of employment practices, regardless of their
intent, discriminate and create adverse impact against any group of people, affirmative action
must be taken to ensure equal opportunity and to provide equitable remedies for the
consequences of present and past discriminatory practices.

Department Commitment

Under the legal authorities of, but not an all-inclusive list thereof:

•      Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151B;
•     The Equal Pay Act of 1963;
•       Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
•     The Age Discrimination Act of 1967;
•     The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972;
•     The Civil Rights Act of 1991;
•      Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
•     The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990;

 Canton Police Department’s Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy     Page 1

•     The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

The Department is committed, within the context of these laws to ensure equitable participation
of minorities, women, military veterans and persons with disabilities in all of its daily operations.

Application / Statement of Objectives

This directive applies to all employment practices and employment programs sponsored by this
Department. The Department shall review, investigate, and where necessary, initiate changes in
its processes relative to facilities and programs accessible to the public, including for the
provision of reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.

This directive shall also apply to the areas of recruitment, selections, promotions, termination,
transfer of assignment, compensation, training, benefits, reasonable accommodations, and other
terms and conditions of employment. 31.3.1

Recruitment

The Chief of Police, along with elected Town Officials, is responsible for the administration and
recruitment process for new hires. This includes working closely with the Town’s Human
Resources Department to achieve a diverse sworn staff, reflective of the available workforce.
The Chief of Police compares current CPD personnel statistics for ethnic, cultural, racial, and
gender composition with available workforce statistics to determine whether the Department
statistics are in line. When the Chief indicates that a misalignment is apparent, the Department
will endeavor to return to a diverse workforce reflective of the available workforce.

CPD’s recruitment efforts are primarily web based making the information available to as much
of the population as possible. To help with recruitment, CPD employees will participate in career
days/job fairs when possible. In addition, CPD offers an Internship (College students) and
Externship (Canton High students) Program. CPD is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action
employer. 31.1.1

Program Benefits

The Department recognizes that successful implementation of this recruitment program provides
positive benefits to society, by utilizing and developing potential for the public and all current
employees and by expanding opportunities to a larger public and greater number of potential
employees.

Management Employees Responsibilities

Management employees have responsibility for personnel in regards to this program and shall
ensure compliance with legal requirements and the program’s successful implementation.

All management personnel shall be evaluated on the success of this program in the same manner
as their performance is evaluated relative to other Department goals and objectives.

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Program Analysis

The Chief of Police along with members of the command staff will conduct a frequent analysis
report on the recruitment plan which will include:

         a.     Progress toward stated objectives; and
        b.     Revisions to the plan, as needed.

The analysis report should include a description of progress toward the objectives and the results
of recruitment efforts such as number of applicants from each recruitment source and the number
of successful candidate hires.

Filing a Discrimination Claim 31.2.1

Any employee or applicant for hire that feels they have been discriminated against by the Canton
Police Department is encouraged to file a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission’s Office (EEOC). To protect the individual’s rights, it is always best to contact
EEOC promptly when discrimination is suspected.

The Boston office’s hours of operation are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
1-800-669-4000 or 1-800-669-6820 (TTY). Written correspondence can be made to the office at
John F. Kennedy Federal Building, 475 Government Center, Boston, MA 022203-0506.

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