Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Management Directive 715 (MD-715) is policy guidance for federal agencies to establish and maintain effective EEO programs, as required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This directive requires USAID to report annually on the status of its program. The USAID MD-715 Report serves two main purposes:

  1. It provides the EEOC with information necessary for them to provide oversight and guidance.
  2. It provides USAID leaders a snapshot of the agency's status and progress toward meeting its EEO obligations, including compliance with EEO laws and regulations, corrective actions undertaken to resolve identified deficiencies, efforts to identify and eliminate barriers to EEO, and plans to recruit, hire, advance, and retain people with disabilities.  

The MD-715 Report contains 10 mandatory parts (A through J) and 18 mandatory data tables (A-1 through B-9). Each part contains specific information, so that the collective report identifies:

  1. The organizational and demographic composition of the agency.
  2. Key personnel responsible for EEO matters and relevant non-EEO programs.
  3. The status of the agency's compliance with EEO laws, regulations, and EEOC guidance.
  4. Agency plans and progress toward eliminating identified compliance deficiencies.
  5. Barriers to EEO identified through analysis of MD-715 tables and other sources of information (a policy, procedure, practice, or condition that tends to limit the employment opportunities of a particular demographic group).
  6. Agency efforts to recruit, hire, advance, and retain people with disabilities.

Six Essential Elements for a Model EEO Program

The six essential elements for a model EEO program, as described in MD-715, are included in the EEOC's Instructions to Federal Agencies for MD-715, Section I The Model EEO Program. They are:

  1. Demonstrated commitment from agency leadership;
  2. Integration of EEO into the agency's strategic mission;
  3. Management and program accountability;
  4. Proactive prevention of unlawful discrimination;
  5. Efficiency; and
  6. Responsiveness and legal compliance.

For more information on the MD-715 or Special Emphasis Programs, please contact ocr-affirmative-employment-program@usaid.gov.

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