The Honorable Board of Supervisors County of Los Angeles 383 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration Los Angeles, California 90012 Dear Supervisors: APPROVAL OF AGREEMENTS WITH EQUITY OVERSIGHT PANEL MEMBERS (ALL DISTRICTS - 3 VOTES) IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOUR BOARD: 1. Approve Agreements with the proposed Equity Oversight Panel (EOP) Members. PURPOSE/JUSTIFICATION OF RECOMMENDED ACTION You may recall that the EOP consists of five (5) civilians who shall be responsible for, among other matters, monitoring and evaluating the quality of the Equity Unit investigations and the effectiveness of the Policy of Equality and related procedures. The EOP will also make findings and recommend discipline on all cases involving violations of the Policy of Equality. Approval of these EOP candidates by your Board will enable the Sheriff s Department to establish the EOP, and thereby, further comply with the Federal Court Orders in Bouman vs. Baca. This action is recommended in order to staff the five (5) member civilian review panel which will monitor and evaluate Department investigations and discipline related to harassment, discrimination, retaliation and other Policy of Equality violations. The creation of this panel was previously approved by your Board and the Federal District Court in order to comply with the Court ordered requirements to implement
Page 2 a lawful sexual harassment policy. IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS The creation and implementation of the EOP supports the County s Strategic Goals for the two (2) strategies related to Workforce Excellence. Specifically, Strategy 1 and Strategy 2 are addressed by the creation of the EOP in that the establishment of an outside independent oversight panel to better ensure compliance with Departmental equity policies and procedures will provide and enhance employee well-being and related productivity by further evidencing to Department Members the Department s commitment to resolve equity related situations appropriately. FISCAL IMPACT/FINANCING EOP Members will serve in a part-time capacity for a not to exceed annual hourly commitment of 500 hours and a not to exceed annual monetary amount of $100,000. Due to the additional administrative functions to be executed by the EOP Chairperson, it is recommended that the EOP Chairperson serve in a parttime capacity for a not to exceed annual hourly commitment of 750 hours and a not to exceed annual monetary amount of $150,000. Funding will be identified from within existing Departmental funds. FACTS AND PROVISIONS/LEGAL REQUIREMENTS On July 17, 1997, the Court ordered the Department and County to publish and implement a lawful sexual harassment policy. The Court's order followed its finding that the County and the Sheriff have not yet published a lawful sexual harassment policy as ordered. In February 1999, Defendants and Class Counsel stipulated, among other things, that defendants would rewrite and submit for the Court's approval a lawful sexual harassment policy. The parties also stipulated that they would be using the services of an expert to assist in the preparation of a lawful harassment policy. These efforts resulted in the development of a harassment policy and procedures (the "Policy of Equality and associated Procedures") which on November 7, 2000, the Board of Supervisors approved. As part of this process, the parties recognized that the development of the Policy of Equality and associated Procedures alone would not be effective without the
Page 3 establishment of an independent expert oversight body. The EOP is a critical component of the Policy of Equality and related Procedures. Indeed, EOP existence is a necessary step toward bringing the Department into compliance with the Federal Court Orders governing this matter. SELECTION PROCESS The EOP selection process has been underway for the past several months. Resumes were solicited from interested persons, and interviews conducted by the County s lawyers. Five of the eight interviewed candidates were also interviewed by a panel consisting of Assistant Sheriff Dennis Dahlman, Dennis Tafoya, Director of the County s Office of Affirmative Action, Bill Pellman, County Counsel, and Dennis Harley, Class Counsel in the Bouman matter (See Resumes attached). CONTRACTING PROCESS The form of an Agreement to be used with all EOP members is attached for your review and approval. The form is based on the Special Counsel to the Board and Office of Independent Review (OIR) format. IMPACT ON CURRENT SERVICES(OR PROJECTS) Approval of these Agreements will ensure the Sheriff s Department s further compliance with a Federal Court mandate originating from the civil action of Bouman vs. Baca. In addition, current Departmental services and/or projects will not experience any negative impact or disruption by this act. CONCLUSION
Page 4 Your Approval of these matters is requested. Respectfully submitted, LEROY D. BACA SHERIFF LLOYD W. PELLMAN COUNTY COUNSEL LDB:CAT:WJG:MW (Bureau of Compliance)
DRAFT Page 5 3: Dennis C. Dahlman, Assistant Sheriff Cathy A. Taylor, Commander, Office of the Undersheriff Willa J. Glover, Captain, Bureau of Compliance Mary Wickham, County Counsel David E. Janssen, Chief Administrative Officer Executive Officer, Board of Supervisors Dennis A. Tafoya, Director of Office of Affirmative Action Compliance Attachments