New York State Department of Civil Service Merit System Affirmative Action Office Subject, Correspondence and Project Files

Statement on Language

Some content in this finding aid may contain offensive terminology. For more information on why this language is occasionally retained, see: New York State Archives Statement on Harmful Language in Descriptive Resources.

Overview of the Records

Repository
New York State Archives
222 Madison Avenue
Albany, NY 12230
Summary
The Merit System Affirmative Action Office was established by the Department of Civil Service in 1977 to serve as a liaison among state and public agencies concerned with equal opportunity, to handle discrimination complaints and to monitor the affirmative action programs of all state agencies. The records in this series, created by the Office's director and her staff, include reports, policy and procedure documents, minutes, correspondence and memoranda and discrimination complaints. The records reveal the impact of State laws and public policy on ethnic minorities.
Title
Department of Civil Service Merit System Affirmative Action Office subject, correspondence and project files
Quantity
5 cubic feet
Inclusive Dates
Series Number
B0546
Creator

This collection description was enhanced as a part of Ventana al Pasado: Building a Latino/Hispanic Online Research Collection. The New York State Archives and Centro de Estudios Puertorrique?os received funding for this project from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Arrangement

Organized into two subseries: 1. Merit System Affirmative Action Office Director's Subject and Correspondence Files (has four sub-subseries); 2. Merit System Affirmative Action Office Staff Project Files

Administrative History

Executive Order 40 (1976) established a New York State government-wide affirmative action mandate and required every state agency to draft a plan for the achievement of equal employment opportunities for ethnic minorities (Black, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander and American Indian or Alaskan Native) and women. The Division of Human Rights received and approved agency plans and the Governor's Executive Committee for Affirmative Action, chaired by the Civil Service Commission's president, oversaw the entire program.

The next year, in response to the same executive order, the Department of Civil Service established a Merit System Affirmative Action Office. This Office was responsible for coordinating the Department of Civil Service's own affirmative action program and for assisting the Merit System Affirmative Action Office's president as she/he took on the role of Governor's Executive Committee for Affirmative Action chair. The Affirmative Action Office also served as liaison between the Department of Civil Service, the Division of Human Rights and non-governmental organizations concerned with equal opportunity. In addition, the Merit System Affirmative Action Office referred discrimination complaints to the agencies mandated to handle them and even investigated a number of complaints itself.

Executive Order 40.1 (1980) gave the Department of Civil Service primary responsibility for the State's affirmative action program. It also expanded affirmative action coverage to disabled individuals and Vietnam era veterans. The Merit System Affirmative Action Office in turn was assigned the task of reviewing, approving and monitoring each state agency's affirmative action plan. In addition, this executive order formally recognized the Affirmative Action Advisory Council, made up of designated Affirmative Action Officers and other full-time affirmative action professionals and established the council as an advisory body to the Governor's Executive Committee on Affirmative Action. In 1981 the Merit System Affirmative Action Office was merged with the Civil Service Department's Career Opportunity Division to form the Division of Affirmative Careers.

B0545Series B0545, Agency Affirmative Action Plans and Monitoring Files and

L0103Series L0103, Assembly Standing Committee on Governmental Operations, Subcommittee on Affirmative Action Files contain related records.

Other Finding Aids

A Spanish version of this finding aid is available.

Access Restrictions

Researchers shall not reveal names of individuals involved in complaints and grievances for 30 years after creation of records.

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