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

Some content may contain outdated and offensive terminology. See: New York State Archives Statement on Language in Descriptive Resources

Overview of the Records

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.

Alternate Formats Available

Items Online

New York State Archives Digital Collections

Department of Civil Service Merit System Affirmative Action Office subject, correspondence and project files, 1974-1982

Related Material

B0545 Agency Affirmative Action Plans and Monitoring Files and

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

Other Finding Aids

Available at Repository

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.

Access Terms

Detailed Description

Subseries 1: Merit System Affirmative Action Office Director's Subject and Correspondence Files

Scope and Content Note:

This subseries documents most of the activities of the Merit System Affirmative Action Office and particularly its Director Audrey Harvey, who was a key figure in the State's affirmative action initiatives. It also contains information on state agency affirmative action programs (especially the program of the Department of Civil Service), the Governor's Executive Committee for Affirmative Action, various women's programs supported by the Merit System Affirmative Action Office (including the Center for Women in Government) and individual discrimination complaints and grievances. The Merit System Affirmative Action Office's guidelines (B1F7) specifically describe each of the groups the office was charged to assist. For example, these guidelines describe the state's Hispanic population as persons "of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race." Although "Hispanics" is one of the categories in state agencies' affirmative action and equal employment opportunity surveys and questionnaires throughout this series, in the majority of agency reports, plans, correspondence and other records, they are grouped in the "Ethnic Minorities" category along with Blacks, Asian or Pacific Islanders and American Indian or Alaskan Natives. The other categories used in these records are: White (not of Hispanic origin), disabled person, Vietnam era veteran and women. Blacks and women are the two groups most often specifically mentioned.

Arrangement:

The Merit System Affirmative Action Office Director's Subject and Correspondence Files are further divided by subject: general affirmative action files, civil service and examination files, women's programs files, chronological correspondence files and miscellaneous files. In the original files, some files were labeled with pink, yellow, or white labels to reflect each sub-grouping. Where these colored labels were present, it has been noted in the description.

Subseries : Sub-subseries 1: General Merit System Affirmative Action Office Files

Scope and Content Note:

General Merit System Affirmative Action files, indicated by pink labels, contain Governor's Executive Committee and the Department of Civil Service Affirmative Action Committee meeting agendas and minutes and affirmative action guidelines and procedures including planning guidelines and reporting procedures for State agency affirmative action programs, Affirmative Action Officer criteria, definitions of affirmative action terms, discrimination complaint procedures and historical notes (B1F7-8). In large part, the memoranda and correspondence in these files relates to administrative matters. Letters request that the Department of Civil Service make waivers and create new positions to facilitate minority hiring; describe and seek attendance for affirmative action traineeships, workshops, internships and fellowships; and request or provide review and comment on the affirmative action plans of State agencies. Included here are also letters voicing concern about the Department of Commerce Minority Business Enterprise Office's ability to positively affect minority business and an exchange between the Merit System Affirmative Action Office and the Masten Park Secure Center Division of Youth Facilities concerning Masten Park's commitment to hire locals at its facility. Evidence that the Merit System Affirmative Action Office was aware of Hispanic concerns about underrepresentation in State government can be found in letters from the Police Examination Review Committee (B1F29) and from two Hispanic individuals (B1F2, B1F28). The Governor's Executive Committee's Assembly Subcommittee testimony, some of it annotated, relates to Executive Order 40, its administration, its effect on affirmative action in State government and suggestions for its revision. A hearing statement by Audrey Harvey, General Merit System Affirmative Action Office's Director, is included in B1F11. Also present are quarterly reports, updates and internal procedure manuals created by the Department of Civil Service Affirmative Action Committee and the Department of Civil Service Testing Bias Committee. Reports relating to affirmative action programs in local governments and in other states can also be found here, as can progress reports, implementation standards and correspondence relating to the hiring of the disabled under Section 55b of the 1977 Civil Service Law, also known as "Governor's [Hugh Carey] Program to Hire the Handicapped." The summaries of accomplishments (B1F1-B1F2) of the Affirmative Action Advisory Council (made up of affirmative action officers from all the state agencies and formed to advise the Merit System Affirmative Action Office) and the agendas, meeting minutes and annual reports from the Governor's Executive Committee on Affirmative Action (B1F15-B1F16), provide an overview of both groups' goals and initiatives. They illustrate that the under representation of Hispanics in State government was among the concerns of the agencies. As early as 1974, the Merit System Affirmative Action Office found itself monitoring discrimination complaints and/or referring them to other agencies. By 1976, however, they were processing complaints themselves. The majority of these complaints addressed situations involving Blacks or women. Only three of the fifty-plus complaints in these records involve Hispanics (B1F25-B1F26, B2F21). Still, these grievance files, which make up over half of this sub-subseries, give a comprehensive view of the types of issues that gave rise to the complaints and an understanding of the process with which they were addressed.

Subseries : Sub-subseries 2: Civil Service and Examination Files

Scope and Content Note:

Civil Service and Examination files, indicated by yellow labels, contain correspondence and memoranda concerning numerous civil service matters related to affirmative action such as civil service examination policy, the creation of individual examinations, the re-classification of positions, the reallocation of salaries, recruitment issues and civil service examination appeals cases. The vast majority of these appeals cases involved women and Blacks; only two cases involved Hispanics (B2F26, B2F32).

Subseries : Sub-subseries 3: Women's Programs Files

Scope and Content Note:

The Merit System Affirmative Action Office supported, or was directly involved with, several groups established to increase the number of women in state government, both as legislators and employees. The questionnaires, correspondence, memoranda, reports and newsletters created by these groups – the Center for Women in Government, the Women's Advisors Program for Affirmative Action and the affirmative action Women's Committees' of nineteen State agencies - are included in this sub-subseries. Two Hispanic women participated in the Women's Advisors Program (B3F1, B3F4). These files were indicated by white labels.

Subseries : Sub-subseries 4: Chronological Correspondence and Subject Files of Merit System Affirmative Action Office Director, Audrey Harvey

Scope and Content Note:

This sub-subseries contains both outgoing and incoming correspondence, the bulk of which documents policy issues and the administrative activities of the Merit System Affirmative Action Office. Except for women and Blacks, very little of this correspondence refers specifically to the minority groups that affirmative action was designed to assist. For example, in only four instances are Hispanic issues addressed. A request for names for a Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus watchdog committee was answered by Merit System Affirmative Action Office Director Audrey Harvey with a list of five names, none of them Hispanic. A letter from the County of San Diego Health Care Agency mentions that the California agency needs to "improve [their] affirmative action posture" towards Mexican-Americans and women because of a Federal Court action. A letter from an Hispanic individual expresses concern about his position on the Employment Interview (Spanish Speaking) eligible list (B3F41) and an exchange between an Hispanic individual and Audrey Harvey concerns the individual's understanding (Harvey would say "misunderstanding") of his responsibilities as staff member doing work for the File and Testing Cultural Bias Committee (B3F43). Also among Merit System Affirmative Action Office Director Audrey Harvey's files are a few miscellaneous documents. These include a report on bilingual testing for the Federal Civil Service occupations in Puerto Rico, a copy of the equal opportunity case "U.S.A. against the State of New York et. al." and a presentation on affirmative action. Also included is correspondence between the Public Employees' Federation's Black Caucus and the Merit System Affirmative Action Office.

Arrangement:

Sub-subseries 4 is arranged in reverse chronological order by date.

Subseries 2: Merit System Affirmative Action Office Staff Project Files

Scope and Content Note:

The records in this subseries (meeting minutes, memoranda, correspondence, monthly reports, staff meeting files and office management guidelines) furnish additional documentation of the activities and operations of the Merit System Affirmative Action Office and the Affirmative Action Advisory Council which was made up of affirmative action officers from all state agencies and formed to advise the Merit System Affirmative Action Office. This subseries also contains specific state agencies' affirmative action program descriptions, individual discrimination complaints, civil service examination information, complaint procedure guidelines and files relating to collaborative projects between the Merit System Affirmative Action Office and other offices in the Department of Civil Service. The files of Omoye Cooper, Associate Opportunities Career Analyst in the Merit System Affirmative Action Office, comprise the last third of this subseries. Her annotations appear on documents throughout her files. In 1980, the Affirmative Action Advisory Council formed an Ad Hoc Committee on the Status of Hispanic Representation in the New York State Government Workforce. Despite a very poor response rate among the state agencies surveyed, the committee produced three pages of recommendations designed to "improve upon the current limited representation of Hispanics in all occupational categories in New York State Government." These recommendations were included in the Affirmative Action Advisory Council's final report for 1980 (B4F1). Minutes of an Affirmative Action Advisory Council meeting serve as evidence that the Council again addressed Hispanic issues in 1981 (B4F2). Also included in the Advisory Council's files is correspondence from a Hispanic State employee offering a succinct appraisal of the under representation of Hispanics in State government and suggestions on how to improve the situation. Except for the Board of Parole (B4F10), the Department of Agriculture and Markets (B4F11) and the Division of Probation (B4F9) no state agencies that communicated with the Affirmative Action Office specifically mentioned concern about Hispanics issues in their correspondence. Finally, the issue of bilingualism (English and Spanish), was addressed in this subseries three times: twice by the Education Department's Bureau of Bilingual Education and its Bilingual Subcommittee of the Bureau Affirmative Action Committee (B4F5) and once when the Department of Civil Service administered a Minority Group Personnel Specialist (B5F9) exam in Spanish.