Section 1

On January 20, 2021, the President of the United States issued Executive Order 13,985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (the “Diversity Executive Order”). On June 25, 2021, the President of the United States issued an Executive Order 14,035 on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce (the “DEIA Executive Order”).

Section 2

A. The President of NTEU Chapter 293 will continue to select five members of the SEC Diversity Council, which was originally set up pursuant to the parties’ Diversity MOU, dated 1/22/2009. The Parties recognize the importance of NTEU participation on the Diversity Council, and the unique input that NTEU representation can provide.

B. The Diversity Council will issue updates to the Council’s website annually and an Annual Report describing the committee’s priorities and accomplishments for the past year and its goals for the coming year. These updates and reports will be published by the SEC on the SEC Exchange and the Council website will include a list of the names of the members of the Diversity Council.

C. On an annual basis, the SEC will issue a notification to all SEC employees advising them of the diversity initiatives that have been adopted by the SEC during the previous year, including OMWI’s Annual Report to Congress.

Section 3

A. All DEIA Committees will be governed by the “Charter” attached herein. Any modifications to this Charter must be negotiated by NTEU Chapter 293 and the SEC at the national level.

B. DEIA Committees will not address terms and conditions of employment at the SEC or intervene on behalf of individual employees.

C. NTEU Chapter 293 will be notified immediately if a DEIA Committee is created in any office or division of the SEC.

D. NTEU Chapter 293 will appoint at least one union representative to every DEIA Committee before it meets. The union representative(s) will participate in all meetings of the DEIA Committee.

Section 4

The SEC will continue to maintain an exit survey process for separating employees, including specific questions designed to solicit employees’ views related to diversity and inclusion at the SEC. Upon request, the SEC will provide NTEU with the exit survey questions but not the responses from individual employees, which are confidential. The SEC will also consider any comments or edits NTEU submits regarding the content of the exit survey questions.

Section 5

Within 60 days of its issuance, the SEC will provide the Chapter 293 Union President with a copy of the most recently filed SEC Annual EEO Program Status Report as required by the EEOC Management Directive 715. Additionally, within sixty (60) days after the end of each fiscal year, the SEC will provide NTEU with an annual report that identifies the number and basis of all EEO complaints (informal as well as formal) and all union grievances containing allegations of discrimination that were made by SEC employees during that fiscal year, describing the basis of each and the disposition thereof. To protect employees’ privacy, this report will not contain any personal identifiers. The Union agrees to not publish, publicize, or distribute the report.

Section 6

The SEC encourages general pro bono and volunteer service on employees’ own time, including by utilizing credit hours flexibilities to accrue and use time. With regard to pro bono legal work, the SEC and the Union agree to form a joint committee comprised of up to two representatives from each party in order to develop a pro bono legal policy at the SEC that will grant the use of up to 30 hours of administrative leave per year for legal professional and paraprofessional employees to engage in pro bono legal services that cannot be completed on the employee’s own time. The committee will be formed within 90 days of the execution of this Agreement and will make its recommendations to management within 90 days after formation.

Section 7

A. The Division of Enforcement (ENF) will assess approaches currently in place within the Enforcement program, such as Open Architecture, that allow employees to volunteer for different types of assignments under different supervisors and share existing practices within ENF for possible broader adoption across ENF.

B. The Division of Examinations (EXAMS) will assess approaches currently in place within its program to share information about upcoming assignments, to encourage employees to express an interest in assignments, and to share practices/information within EXAMS for possible broader adoption by organizational sub-components appropriately tailored to the nature of assignments performed by those sub-components.

Section 8

A. In accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, when the SEC develops, procures, maintains, or uses Information and Communication Technology (ICT), it shall ensure, unless an undue burden would be imposed, that:

1. Bargaining unit employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that are comparable to information and data available to employees without disabilities;

2. The SEC will seek to identify the needs of bargaining unit employees with disabilities when it procures, develops, maintains, or uses ICT. This will include a determination of how bargaining unit employees with disabilities will perform the functions supported by the ICT and how the ICT will be developed, installed, configured, and maintained to support bargaining unit employees with disabilities.

B. A bargaining unit employee with a disability shall engage in OHR’s interactive process to determine the reasonable accommodation that would provide access to and use of information and data comparable to the access to and use of information and data available to an employee without a disability.

C. The SEC’s Office of Equal Employment opportunity shall:

1. Process employment related complaints pursuant to 29 C.F.R. Part 1614, including allegations that the SEC failed to comply with Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act;

2. Ensure voluntary alternative dispute resolution is available as a means of resolving allegations of violations within OEEO’s jurisdiction as outlined in EEOC Management Directive 110, such as complaints alleging disability discrimination and/or failure to provide reasonable accommodation; and

3. Refer complaints to the SEC’s Office of Information Technology when OEEO reasonably believes such complaints are within the jurisdiction of OIT, as set forth in Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (SECR 27-3) and Procedures to Implement Complaint Process Pursuant to Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

D. The SEC’s Office of Human Resources shall:

1. Assess and process the request for reasonable accommodation, and manage the interactive process to determine the reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities, including bargaining unit employees;

2. Approve the provision of information technology software and equipment for approved reasonable accommodations in a timely manner to qualified individuals with disabilities pursuant to the SEC Reasonable Accommodation Program and other IT-related policy and operating guidance as appropriate;

3. Collaborate with OIT, Office of Support Operations (OSO), and Office of Financial Management (OFM) to determine reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities who are SEC employees; and

4. Educate managers and employees about the Reasonable Accommodation Program and process.

E. Working with the General Service Administration Service, as applicable, the SEC, when making alterations to existing buildings, shall to the extent feasible adhere to the accessibility requirements required by the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) and any regulations implementing it. In choosing among available methods, the SEC shall comply with the ABA. As practicable, each building or part of a building that is constructed or altered by, on behalf of, or for the use of the SEC shall be designed, constructed, or altered so as to meet the requirements of the ABA.

F. Following an office move or relocation of any employees, the SEC may only grant administrative leave to any employee who relies upon assistive devices or technology if unmoved or uninstalled equipment prevents the employee from performing any work.”

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (“SEC”) AND THE NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION (“NTEU”) REGARDING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION COMMITTEES

WHEREAS NTEU and the SEC (collectively, the “Parties”) recognize the positive benefit of Diversity and Inclusion Committees at the SEC (“D&I Committees”) in fostering a workforce that reflects the diversity of our community, increasing awareness and understanding of the importance of diversity and how diversity enriches our workplace, acting as a resource for the entire community on issues of diversity and inclusion, and engaging in community outreach; and 

WHEREAS the Parties recognize NTEU’s role as the exclusive representative of all bargaining unit employees at the SEC with respect to terms and conditions of employment;

THEREFORE, the Parties agree as follows:

Section 1

All D&I Committees will be governed by the “Charter” attached hereto as Attachment A. Any modifications to this Charter must be negotiated by NTEU Chapter 293 and the SEC at the national level.

Section 2

D&I Committees will not address terms and conditions of employment at the SEC or intervene on behalf of individual employees.

Section 3

NTEU Chapter 293 will be notified immediately if a D&I Committee is created in any office or division of the SEC.

Section 4

NTEU Chapter 293 will appoint at least one union representative to every D&I Committee before it meets. The union representative(s) will participate in all meetings of the D&I Committee.

Section 5 – Duration

This MOU will remain in effect concurrent with the Parties’ 2018 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). After the expiration of this MOU, the Parties will continue to abide by the provisions of the MOU and will incorporate the provisions of the MOU into their next CBA.

Section 6 Approval and Effective Date

This MOU will be approved or disapproved by the Agency within thirty (30) calendar days after execution. If approved within that time period, its effective date will be the date on which it is signed by the Agency so long as that date is within the same thirty (30) calendar day period. If the MOU is not approved or disapproved by the Agency within the thirty (30) calendar days after being executed, it will become effective, as a matter of law, on the thirty-first (31st) calendar day after its execution.

FOR UNION:                                                                                                             FOR EMPLOYER:

Signed by Gregory Gilman            5/25/2021                                            Signed by Kenneth Johnson           5/25/2021

ATTACHMENT A

SEC Diversity and Inclusion Committee Charter

Purpose of Charter

The primary purpose of this Charter is to document the formation, goals, structure and operations of Diversity and Inclusion Committees at the SEC (D&I Committees). This Charter shall apply to all D&I Committees at the SEC.

D&I Committees’ Goals

D&I Committees at the SEC are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. D&I Committees seek within their office or division to: (1) make efforts to foster a workforce that reflects the diversity of our community; (2) increase awareness and understanding of the importance of diversity and how diversity enriches our workplace; (3) act as a resource for the entire community on issues of diversity and inclusion; and (4) engage in community outreach.

D&I Committees will not address terms and conditions of employment at the SEC or intervene on behalf of individual employees. Committee members will behave in a manner that is consistent with the practices and policies of the SEC.

D&I Committees Composition and Roles

D&I Committees include staff from individual SEC offices. D&I Committee members are encouraged to commit to serving renewable one-year terms. The person holding the Director of a particular SEC office or division at any given time, or their designee, will be a member of the D&I Committee for that office or division. NTEU Chapter 293 will appoint one Union representative to serve as a Union Liaison on each D&I Committee.

No formal limit on the number of D&I Committee members exists. D&I Committees’ primary member recruitment efforts will occur informally through the D&I Committee’s outreach and inclusion initiatives. Interested staff not on a D&I Committee may work on D&I Committee initiatives or events.

Co-Facilitators: Two members of each D&I Committee will serve as D&I Committee meeting co-facilitators on a rotating basis to be determined by each D&I Committee. Co-facilitators serve a minimum one-year term to ensure continuity and institutional knowledge. Co-facilitators plan and circulate meeting agendas and lead D&I Committee meetings.

Subcommittees: Each D&I Committee will form two Subcommittees, which are staffed by D&I Committee members: Inclusion and Outreach & Recruitment. One or two members of each Subcommittee will serve as Subcommittee lead(s) on a rotating basis to be determined by each Subcommittee.

Subcommittee areas of responsibility are:

Inclusion: Cultural celebrations and diversity conversations; and

Outreach & Recruitment: Community service events for the particular office or division; and recruitment.

D&I Committees and their concomitant Subcommittees will have diverse memberships (e.g., managers, non-managers, attorneys, accountants, examiners, paralegals, support staff, etc.).

Meetings

D&I Committee: Each D&I Committee should meet regularly.

A quorum of two-thirds of each D&I Committee membership is required for the D&I Committee to act. In all cases, D&I Committees are strongly encouraged to seek general consensus of the entire D&I Committee. In case of an objection to a proposed D&I Committee action item, the item will be put to a vote. If a quorum is present, the D&I Committee may act by majority vote. The D&I Committee seeks to have quorums that reflect the agency’s diversity.

Subcommittees: The Subcommittees will also meet regularly.