§ 73.2080   Equal employment opportunities (EEO).

   (a) General EEO policy. Equal opportunity in employment shall be afforded by
   all licensees or permittees of commercially or noncommercially operated AM,
   FM, TV, Class A TV or international broadcast stations (as defined in this
   part) to all qualified persons, and no person shall be discriminated against
   in employment by such stations because of race, color, religion, national
   origin, or sex. Religious radio broadcasters may establish religious belief
   or affiliation as a job qualification for all station employees. However,
   they cannot discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin or
   gender from among those who share their religious affiliation or belief. For
   purposes of this rule, a religious broadcaster is a licensee which is, or is
   closely affiliated with, a church, synagogue, or other religious entity,
   including a subsidiary of such an entity.

   (b)  General  EEO  program  requirements. Each broadcast station shall
   establish, maintain, and carry out a positive continuing program of specific
   practices designed to ensure equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in
   every aspect of station employment policy and practice. Under the terms of
   its program, a station shall:

   (1) Define the responsibility of each level of management to ensure vigorous
   enforcement of its policy of equal opportunity, and establish a procedure to
   review and control managerial and supervisory performance;

   (2) Inform its employees and recognized employee organizations of the equal
   employment opportunity policy and program and enlist their cooperation;

   (3) Communicate its equal employment opportunity policy and program and its
   employment needs to sources of qualified applicants without regard to race,
   color, religion, national origin, or sex, and solicit their recruitment
   assistance on a continuing basis;

   (4) Conduct a continuing program to exclude all unlawful forms of prejudice
   or discrimination based upon race, color, religion, national origin, or sex
   from its personnel policies and practices and working conditions; and

   (5) Conduct a continuing review of job structure and employment practices
   and adopt positive recruitment, job design, and other measures needed to
   ensure  genuine  equality  of  opportunity to participate fully in all
   organizational units, occupations, and levels of responsibility.

   (c) Specific EEO program requirements. Under the terms of its program, a
   station employment unit must:

   (1) Recruit for every full-time job vacancy in its operation. A job filled
   by an internal promotion is not considered a vacancy for which recruitment
   is  necessary.  Religious  radio  broadcasters who establish religious
   affiliation as a qualification for a job position are not required to comply
   with these recruitment requirements with respect to that job position or
   positions, but will be expected to make reasonable, good faith efforts to
   recruit applicants who are qualified based on their religious affiliation.
   Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require a broadcaster to
   grant preferential treatment to any individual or group based on race,
   color, national origin, religion, or gender.

   (i) A station employment unit shall use recruitment sources for each vacancy
   sufficient in its reasonable, good faith judgment to widely disseminate
   information concerning the vacancy.

   (ii) In addition to such recruitment sources, a station employment unit
   shall provide notification of each full-time vacancy to any organization
   that distributes information about employment opportunities to job seekers
   or refers job seekers to employers, upon request by such organization. To be
   entitled to notice of vacancies, the requesting organization must provide
   the station employment unit with its name, mailing address, e-mail address
   (if applicable), telephone number, and contact person, and identify the
   category  or  categories of vacancies of which it requests notice. (An
   organization may request notice of all vacancies).

   (2) Engage in at least four (if the station employment unit has more than
   ten full-time employees and is not located in a smaller market) or two (if
   it has five to ten full-time employees and/or is located entirely in a
   smaller market) of the following initiatives during each two-year period
   beginning with the date stations in the station employment unit are required
   to file renewal applications, or the second, fourth or sixth anniversaries
   of that date.

   (i) Participation in at least four job fairs by station personnel who have
   substantial responsibility in the making of hiring decisions;

   (ii) Hosting of at least one job fair;

   (iii) Co-sponsoring at least one job fair with organizations in the business
   and  professional  community  whose  membership  includes  substantial
   participation of women and minorities;

   (iv)  Participation in at least four events sponsored by organizations
   representing  groups  present in the community interested in broadcast
   employment  issues, including conventions, career days, workshops, and
   similar activities;

   (v) Establishment of an internship program designed to assist members of the
   community to acquire skills needed for broadcast employment;

   (vi) Participation in job banks, Internet programs, and other programs
   designed  to  promote outreach generally (i.e., that are not primarily
   directed to providing notification of specific job vacancies);

   (vii) Participation in scholarship programs designed to assist students
   interested in pursuing a career in broadcasting;

   (viii)  Establishment  of training programs designed to enable station
   personnel  to  acquire skills that could qualify them for higher level
   positions;

   (ix) Establishment of a mentoring program for station personnel;

   (x)  Participation  in  at  least four events or programs sponsored by
   educational institutions relating to career opportunities in broadcasting;

   (xi) Sponsorship of at least two events in the community designed to inform
   and  educate  members  of the public as to employment opportunities in
   broadcasting;

   (xii)  Listing  of  each upper-level category opening in a job bank or
   newsletter of media trade groups whose membership includes substantial
   participation of women and minorities;

   (xiii) Provision of assistance to unaffiliated non-profit entities in the
   maintenance of web sites that provide counseling on the process of searching
   for  broadcast  employment  and/or other career development assistance
   pertinent to broadcasting;

   (xiv) Provision of training to management level personnel as to methods of
   ensuring equal employment opportunity and preventing discrimination;

   (xv)  Provision  of  training  to personnel of unaffiliated non-profit
   organizations interested in broadcast employment opportunities that would
   enable them to better refer job candidates for broadcast positions;

   (xvi) Participation in other activities designed by the station employment
   unit reasonably calculated to further the goal of disseminating information
   as to employment opportunities in broadcasting to job candidates who might
   otherwise be unaware of such opportunities.

   (3) Analyze its recruitment program on an ongoing basis to ensure that it is
   effective in achieving broad outreach to potential applicants, and address
   any problems found as a result of its analysis.

   (4) Periodically analyze measures taken to:

   (i) Disseminate the station's equal employment opportunity program to job
   applicants and employees;

   (ii)  Review  seniority  practices  to  ensure that such practices are
   nondiscriminatory;

   (iii) Examine rates of pay and fringe benefits for employees having the same
   duties, and eliminate any inequities based upon race, national origin,
   color, religion, or sex discrimination;

   (iv) Utilize media for recruitment purposes in a manner that will contain no
   indication, either explicit or implicit, of a preference for one race,
   national origin, color, religion or sex over another;

   (v) Ensure that promotions to positions of greater responsibility are made
   in a nondiscriminatory manner;

   (vi) Where union agreements exist, cooperate with the union or unions in the
   development of programs to ensure all persons of equal opportunity for
   employment, irrespective of race, national origin, color, religion, or sex,
   and include an effective nondiscrimination clause in new or renegotiated
   union agreements; and

   (vii) Avoid the use of selection techniques or tests that have the effect of
   discriminating against any person based on race, national origin, color,
   religion, or sex.

   (5) Retain records to document that it has satisfied the requirements of
   paragraphs  (c)(1) and (2) of this section. Such records, which may be
   maintained in an electronic format, shall be retained until after grant of
   the renewal application for the term during which the vacancy was filled or
   the initiative occurred. Such records need not be submitted to the FCC
   unless specifically requested. The following records shall be maintained:

   (i) Listings of all full-time job vacancies filled by the station employment
   unit, identified by job title;

   (ii) For each such vacancy, the recruitment sources utilized to fill the
   vacancy (including, if applicable, organizations entitled to notification
   pursuant to paragraph (c)(1)(ii) of this section, which should be separately
   identified), identified by name, address, contact person and telephone
   number;

   (iii)  Dated  copies of all advertisements, bulletins, letters, faxes,
   e-mails, or other communications announcing vacancies;

   (iv) Documentation necessary to demonstrate performance of the initiatives
   required  by  paragraph  (c)(2)  of this section, including sufficient
   information to fully disclose the nature of the initiative and the scope of
   the station's participation, including the station personnel involved;

   (v) The total number of interviewees for each vacancy and the referral
   source for each interviewee; and

   (vi)  The date each vacancy was filled and the recruitment source that
   referred the hiree.

   (6) Annually, on the anniversary of the date a station is due to file its
   renewal application, the station shall place in its public file, maintained
   pursuant to § 73.3526 or § 73.3527, and on its web site, if it has one, an EEO
   public file report containing the following information (although if any
   broadcast licensee acquires a station pursuant to FCC Form 314 or FCC Form
   315 during the twelve months covered by the EEO public file report, its EEO
   public file report shall cover the period starting with the date it acquired
   the station):

   (i) A list of all full-time vacancies filled by the station's employment
   unit during the preceding year, identified by job title;

   (ii) For each such vacancy, the recruitment source(s) utilized to fill the
   vacancy (including, if applicable, organizations entitled to notification
   pursuant to paragraph (c)(1)(ii) of this section, which should be separately
   identified), identified by name, address, contact person and telephone
   number;

   (iii) The recruitment source that referred the hiree for each full-time
   vacancy during the preceding year;

   (iv) Data reflecting the total number of persons interviewed for full-time
   vacancies during the preceding year and the total number of interviewees
   referred  by  each recruitment source utilized in connection with such
   vacancies; and

   (v) A list and brief description of initiatives undertaken pursuant to
   paragraph (c)(2) of this section during the preceding year.

   (d) Small station exemption. The provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) of
   this section shall not apply to station employment units that have fewer
   than five full-time employees.

   (e) Definitions. For the purposes of this rule:

   (1) A full-time employee is a permanent employee whose regular work schedule
   is 30 hours per week or more.

   (2) A station employment unit is a station or a group of commonly owned
   stations in the same market that share at least one employee.

   (3) A smaller market includes metropolitan areas as defined by the Office of
   Management and Budget with a population of fewer than 250,000 persons and
   areas  outside  of  all metropolitan areas as defined by the Office of
   Management and Budget.

   (f) Enforcement. The following provisions apply to employment activity
   concerning full-time positions at each broadcast station employment unit
   (defined  in  this  part)  employing five or more persons in full-time
   positions, except where noted.

   (1) All broadcast stations, including those that are part of an employment
   unit with fewer than five full-time employees, shall file a Broadcast Equal
   Employment  Opportunity  Program  Report (Form 396) with their renewal
   application. Form 396 is filed on the date the station is due to file its
   application for renewal of license. If a broadcast licensee acquires a
   station pursuant to FCC Form 314 or FCC Form 315 during the period that is
   to form the basis for the Form 396, information provided on its Form 396
   should cover the licensee's EEO recruitment activity during the period
   starting with the date it acquired the station. Stations are required to
   maintain a copy of their Form 396 in the station's public file in accordance
   with the provisions of § § 73.3526 and 73.3527.

   (2)  The  Commission  will conduct a mid-term review of the employment
   practices of each broadcast television station and each radio station that
   is part of an employment unit of more than ten full-time employees four
   years  following  the station's most recent license expiration date as
   specified in § 73.1020. Each such licensee is required to file with the
   Commission the Broadcast Mid-Term Report (FCC Form 397) four months prior to
   that date. If a broadcast licensee acquires a station pursuant to FCC Form
   314 or FCC Form 315 during the period that is to form the basis for the Form
   397, its Report should cover the licensee's EEO recruitment activity during
   the period starting with the date it acquired the station.

   (3) If a station is subject to a time brokerage agreement, the licensee
   shall file Forms 396, Forms 397, and EEO public file reports concerning only
   its own recruitment activity. If a licensee is a broker of another station
   or stations, the licensee-broker shall include its recruitment activity for
   the brokered station(s) in determining the bases of Forms 396, Forms 397 and
   the EEO public file reports for its own station. If a licensee-broker owns
   more than one station, it shall include its recruitment activity for the
   brokered station in the Forms 396, Forms 397, and EEO public file reports
   filed for its own station that is most closely affiliated with, and in the
   same market as, the brokered station. If a licensee-broker does not own a
   station in the same market as the brokered station, then it shall include
   its recruitment activity for the brokered station in the Forms 396, Forms
   397,  and  EEO  public  file reports filed for its own station that is
   geographically closest to the brokered station.

   (4) Broadcast stations subject to this section shall maintain records of
   their  recruitment  activity necessary to demonstrate that they are in
   compliance with the EEO rule. Stations shall ensure that they maintain
   records sufficient to verify the accuracy of information provided in Forms
   396, Forms 397, and EEO public file reports. To determine compliance with
   the EEO rule, the Commission may conduct inquiries of licensees at random or
   if it has evidence of a possible violation of the EEO rule. In addition, the
   Commission will conduct random audits. Specifically, each year approximately
   five percent of all licensees in the television and radio services will be
   randomly selected for audit, ensuring that, even though the number of radio
   licensees is significantly larger than television licensees, both services
   are represented in the audit process. Upon request, stations shall make
   records available to the Commission for its review.

   (5) The public may file complaints throughout the license term based on a
   station's Form 397 or the contents of a station's public file. Provisions
   concerning filing, withdrawing, or non-filing of informal objections or
   petitions to deny license renewal, assignment, or transfer applications are
   delineated in § § 73.3584 and 73.3587-3589 of the Commission's rules.

   (g) Sanctions and remedies. The Commission may issue appropriate sanctions
   and remedies for any violation of this rule.

   [ 68 FR 689 , Jan. 7, 2003]

   return arrow Back to Top