B. NATIONAL DIVERSITY RECOGNITION PROGRAM

Since 1996 the Postal Service National Awards Program for Diversity Achievement has recognized the contributions and outstanding achievements of individuals and teams that have encouraged and promoted diversity. It is the largest peer recognition program in the Postal Service and serves as an important vehicle for delivering the diversity message. Awards are given in six categories: Individual, Leadership, Team, Altruism, Mentoring, and the Dot Sharpe Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2005 the National Awards Program for Diversity Achievement experienced an 80 percent increase in participation compared with 2004. This year’s program recognized 35 employees, bringing the total number of employees acknowledged since its inception to 329.

C. EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

The Postal Serves uses regular competitive procedures in selecting individuals with disabilities for employment. Individuals with severe disabilities receive noncompetitive employment consideration through referrals from individual state departments of vocational rehabilitation or the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2005 the Postal Service’s career workforce included 42,329 employees with reported disabilities.

In 2005 the Postal Service launched Phase 1 deployment of its Video Relay Service (VRS) and Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) systems at plants with the highest concentration of deaf and hard-of-hearing employees. The VRS is the high technology version of TDD/TTY service and is recommended for one-on-one communication for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. The VRI is a Web-based service that can be viewed on a large screen TV via an Internet connection. VRI service is available 24 hours a day.

D. VETERANS EMPLOYMENT

The Postal Service is one of the largest employers of veterans and disabled veterans in the nation. In 2005 the Postal Service employed 187,144 veterans. Of this group, 63,456 received injuries while in uniform and, of that number, 16,859 were rated at 30 percent or more disabled. The Postal Service has long established processes for recruitment, advancement, and monitoring of disabled employees.

E. AFFIRMATIVE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM

The Postal Service’s goals for its Affirmative Employment Programs are centered on compliance with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Management Directive 715 (MD-715). This directive, which sets forth reporting requirements for all federal agencies, is designed to better address evolving trends in the federal workplace. Rather than having agencies focus solely on the participation rates of minorities, women, and persons with disabilities, the new directive calls for the identification and elimination of workplace policies, practices, procedures, and conditions that prevent equal employment opportunity.

MD-715 requires all agencies to meet six essential elements of a model Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program. During 2005 the Postal Service established a cross-functional taskforce whose purpose is to monitor and implement MD-715. The Postal Service submitted the new Annual EEO Status Report and trained all area EEO managers and diversity professionals on the MD-715 in conjunction with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

1. HISPANIC PROGRAM

The Postal Service facilitated the exchange of best practices and ensured implementation of Hispanic Program guidelines. The program included a national leadership training symposium participation in Hispanic outreach conferences and events. The Hispanic Program Web page was enhanced to include the Hispanic Program Recruitment Toolkit, which provides employees and recruitment staff with a menu of recruitment tools and resources, and Spanish Language Tools, which provides employees with resources to assist Spanish speaking customers with information about Postal Service products and services.

2. NATIONAL WOMEN’S PROGRAM

The Postal Service celebrated the 30th anniversary of its Women’s Program, dedicated to providing employment and developmental opportunities to women. Profiles in Diversity Journal featured an article, “Delivering Diversity for Over 30 Years,” which highlighted how the program provided developmental opportunities for women who today comprise 32 percent of mid-level managers, and 23 percent of executives. In 2005 the National Women’s Web page made its debut, offering users an array of information about the Women’s Program from its history to current stories about women making news in the Postal Service.