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U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
1. SUBJECT. Federal responsibilities under Section 717 of Title VII and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act.
2. PURPOSE. This Directive provides policy guidance and standards for establishing and maintaining effective affirmative programs of equal employment opportunity under Section 717 of Title VII (PART A) and effective affirmative action programs under Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act (PART B). The Directive also sets forth general reporting requirements (PART C). Additional guidance and instructions for implementing the policies set forth herein will be issued separately.
3. ORIGINATOR. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Federal Operations.
4. SUPERSESSION. This Directive SUPERSEDES EEO Management Directives 712 (dated March 29, 1983), and 713 and 714 (both dated October 6, 1987), and all related interpretative memoranda.
5. AUTHORITY. This Management Directive is prepared pursuant to EEOC's authority under Section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16; Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978, issued pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 901 et seq.; Executive Order 11748; and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by Pub. L. 99-506, 100 Stat. 1807, October 21, 1986.
6. APPLICABILITY AND SCOPE. This Directive applies to all executive agencies and military departments (except uniformed members) as defined in Sections 102 and 105 of Title 5 U.S.C. (including those with employees and applicants for employment who are paid from nonappropriated funds), the United States Postal Service, the Postal Rate Commission, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Smithsonian Institution, and those units of the judicial branch of the federal government having positions in the competitive service.
7. POLICY INTENT. The overriding objective of this Directive is to ensure that all employees and applicants for employment enjoy equality of opportunity in the federal workplace regardless of race, sex, national origin, color, religion, disability or reprisal for engaging in prior protected activity.
9. DEFINITIONS. Definitions that apply to this Directive are located in Appendix A.
10. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. This Directive provides policy guidance and standards for establishing and maintaining effective affirmative programs of equal employment opportunity under Section 717 of Title VII (PART A) and effective affirmative action programs under Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act (PART B). The Directive also sets forth general reporting requirements (PART C). EEOC will separately issue additional guidance and instructions for implementing the policies set forth herein. In addition, EEOC will provide technical assistance and training necessary to assist agencies in the accomplishment of these objectives.
11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. The reporting requirements under this Directive are set out in Part C.
|Authorities Relevant to Federal EEO Responsibilities
Further information concerning this Directive may be obtained by contacting:
Director, Federal Sector Programs Office of Federal Operations Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 1801 L Street NW Washington, D.C. 20507 Telephone: (202) 663-4599
Date: August 25, 2003 /s Cari M. Dominguez, Chair
The United States government employs over two million men and women across the country and around the world. The ability of our government to meet the complex needs of our nation and the American people rests squarely on these dedicated and hard-working individuals. Perhaps now more than ever before – with increasing public expectations of governmental institutions – federal agencies must position themselves to attract, develop and retain a top-quality workforce that can deliver results and ensure our nation's continued growth and prosperity.
Equal opportunity in the federal workplace is key to accomplishing this goal. In order to develop a competitive, highly qualified workforce, federal agencies must fully utilize all workers' talents, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex or disability. While the promise of workplace equality is a legal right afforded all of our nation's workers, equal opportunity is more than a matter of social justice. It is a national economic imperative. Federal agencies must make full use of our nation's human capital by promoting workplace practices that free up opportunities for the best and brightest talent available. All workers must compete on a fair and level playing field and have the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential.
Policies and practices that impede fair and open competition in the federal workplace cost the American economy millions of dollars each year. The most obvious costs are out-of-pocket costs borne by both agencies and federal workers in connection with workplace disputes. Perhaps less obvious – but just as expensive – are costs associated with decreased morale and productivity and the ineffective and inefficient use of human capital resources. These costs can – and should – be avoided. Agencies must make a firm commitment to the principles of equal opportunity and make those principles a fundamental part of agency culture.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act) mandate that all federal personnel decisions be made free of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, reprisal or disability1 and also require that agencies establish a program of equal employment opportunity for all federal employees and job applicants. 42 U.S.C. §2000e-16 and 29 U.S.C. §791. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has adjudicatory responsibilities in the federal EEO complaints process and oversight responsibility for federal programs required by Section 717 of Title VII and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act generally.
This Directive, which reflects recent and significant changes in the law, including recent Supreme Court decisions, supersedes earlier EEOC Management Directives and related interpretative memoranda on this subject and provides new guidance on the elements of legally compliant Title VII and Rehabilitation Act programs. This Directive requires agencies to take appropriate steps to ensure that all employment decisions are free from discrimination. It also sets forth the standards by which EEOC will review the sufficiency of agency Title VII and Rehabilitation Act programs, which include periodic agency self-assessments and the removal of barriers to free and open workplace competition.
Additional information concerning federal sector equal employment opportunity law and programs can be found at EEOC's website at www.eeoc.gov. The EEOC will also supplement this Directive on an as-needed basis through the issuance of additional guidance and technical assistance. Questions concerning this Directive should be directed to EEOC's Office of Federal Operations.
The essential elements of model Title VII and Rehabilitation Act programs are:
Equality of opportunity is essential to attracting, developing and retaining the most qualified workforce to support the agency's achievement of its strategic mission. To this end, and in addition to the regulatory requirements found at 29 C.F.R. § 1614.102(b)(4), as interpreted in Management Directive 110 at 1-1, agencies must:
A model Title VII and Rehabilitation Act program will hold managers, supervisors, EEO officials and personnel officers accountable for the effective implementation and management of the agency's program. In ensuring such accountability, the agency must:
Federal agencies must:
The United States government must ensure that all its personnel actions are "made free" of any discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin or reprisal and that each of its agencies has "an affirmative program of equal employment opportunity" for all employees and applicants for employment. Section 717 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for the review and evaluation of all federal sector equal employment opportunity (EEO) efforts.
Thus, Section 717 of Title VII requires federal agencies to take proactive steps to ensure equal employment opportunity for all their employees and applicants for employment. This means that agencies must work to proactively prevent potential discrimination before it occurs and establish systems to monitor compliance with Title VII. Agencies must regularly evaluate their employment practices to identify barriers to equality of opportunity for all individuals. Where such barriers are identified, agencies must take measures to eliminate them. With these steps, agencies will ensure that all persons are provided opportunities to participate in the full range of employment opportunities and achieve to their fullest potential.
Agencies have an ongoing obligation to eliminate barriers that impede free and open competition in the workplace and prevent individuals of any racial or national origin group or either sex from realizing their full potential. As part of this on-going obligation, agencies must conduct a self-assessment on at least an annual basis to monitor progress and identify areas where barriers may operate to exclude certain groups. A first step in conducting this self-assessment involves looking at the racial, national origin and gender profile of relevant occupational categories in an agency's workforce. Guidance on how to group occupational categories will be provided separately. This "snapshot" can serve as a diagnostic tool to help agencies determine possible areas where barriers may exist and may require closer attention.
Agencies should be mindful, however, that statistics are only a starting point and alone rarely serve to provide a complete picture of the existence of workplace barriers. Agencies must look at statistics in the context of the totality of the circumstances. A statistical snapshot may be useful as an initial diagnostic tool, but conclusions concerning the existence of workplace barriers cannot be drawn from gross numerical assessments. Rather, the identification of workplace barriers will require a thorough examination of all of the circumstances.
The initial snapshot conducted by the agency must include, but not necessarily be limited to, an evaluation of the following data relating to the agency's status as of the end of each fiscal year:
This type of information should help an agency identify any meaningful disparities and further focus its self-assessment.
In conducting its self-assessment, agencies shall compare their internal participation rates with corresponding participation rates in the relevant civilian labor force (CLF). Geographic areas of recruitment and hiring are integral factors in determining "relevant" civilian labor force participation rates. EEOC will provide appropriate civilian labor force data for use by agencies. With respect to positions typically filled through the internal promotion process or through transfers from other federal agencies, a self-assessment will involve looking at the racial, national origin and gender profile of the occupational categories and/or grade levels from which such promotions or transfers are typically made. EEOC will, from time to time, provide additional guidance on conducting the analysis.
This Directive requires agencies to collect and maintain race, national origin and gender data on employees in their permanent and temporary workforce. Such data is also required to be collected and maintained for applicants for employment. Agencies should obtain identifying information from employees and applicants by requesting voluntary self-identification. See 29 C.F.R. 1614.601. Separate guidance, including updated information on racial and national origin groupings, will be issued from EEOC concerning the collection of this data.
Where an agency's self-assessment indicates that a racial, national origin or gender group may have been denied equal access to employment opportunities, the agency must take steps to identify the potential barrier. Workplace barriers can take various forms and sometimes involve a policy or practice that is neutral on its face. Identifying and evaluating potential barriers requires an agency to examine all relevant policies, practices, procedures and conditions in the workplace. The process further requires each agency to eliminate or modify, where appropriate, any policy, practice or procedure that creates a barrier to equality of opportunity.
For example, if a self-assessment revealed that Hispanics are virtually absent from the workforce in a facility, it would be logical for the agency to initially focus attention on its hiring and recruitment activities. The agency could rule out potential recruitment concerns if it determined that Hispanics were well represented among its applicants for employment. It would then be appropriate for the agency to examine all other aspects of the hiring process to identify the factor(s) responsible for the statistical disparity.
It is crucial for agencies to ensure that their barrier analyses are focused, methodical and involve the participation of all relevant agency officials. Depending on the nature of the potential problem an agency might consider the following questions:
Once an agency identifies a likely factor (or combination of factors) adversely affecting the employment opportunities of a racial, national origin or gender group, it must decide how to respond. For example, statistical disparities are identified in an agency's auditor occupational group and further examination of the situation reveals the following: In the past, the auditor occupational group was racially diverse, including at the higher grade levels. However, after the agency instituted a requirement that auditors must be certified public accountants (CPAs) in order to be promoted to the GS-14 level or higher, few internal candidates held CPAs and therefore did not qualify for promotional opportunities to the higher level grades. As a result, the agency recruited candidates for these positions from a local business school with a student population that primarily came from the same racial group. Over time, auditors at the grade 14 level and above did not reflect the racial diversity of auditors at the lower grade levels. Assuming the requirement for a CPA is justified by business necessity, the agency has several options to consider in designing a response to this situation. Most obviously, the agency should increase its applicant pool for positions at the grade 14 and above by recruiting at other business schools with more diverse student populations. As an additional option, the agency might take steps to encourage its own auditors at the lower grade levels to pursue a CPA.
Each agency must assess the appropriateness of any policy, practice, procedure or condition determined to negatively correlate with race, national origin or sex. In making its assessment, the agency should consider, as appropriate, the following:
Where it is determined that an identified barrier serves no legitimate purpose with respect to the operation of an agency, this Directive requires that agencies take immediate steps to eliminate the barrier. Even where a policy or practice that poses a barrier can be justified on grounds of business necessity, agencies must investigate whether less exclusionary policies or practices can be used that serve the same business purpose. Identified barriers that are not within the control or authority of the agency to change should be brought to the attention of the responsible entity and EEOC.
In addition to identifying and eliminating barriers, agencies may consider measures to enhance and maximize opportunities for all employees, such as:
Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 791, requires federal agencies to take proactive steps to provide equal opportunity to qualified individuals with disabilities in all aspects of federal employment. Congress has directed the federal government serve as a model employer of people with disabilities. Toward that end, each agency must develop and maintain "an affirmative action program plan for the hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with disabilities" that, among other things, provides adequate employment opportunities and sets out the ways in which an agency will meet the needs of its employees with disabilities.
The mandate to serve as a model employer requires several things. First, agencies may not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities. But non-discrimination alone is not enough. The Rehabilitation Act also requires agencies to take proactive steps to ensure equal employment opportunity for individuals with disabilities. This means agencies must attempt to prevent discrimination before it occurs and must establish systems to monitor their own compliance with the Act. Agencies must regularly evaluate their employment practices to identify barriers to equality of opportunity for individuals with disabilities. Where such barriers are identified, agencies must eliminate them. With these steps, agencies will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided opportunities to fully participate in employment opportunities and achieve to their fullest potential.
The Rehabilitation Act requires agencies to ensure that employment decisions are free of unlawful discrimination on the basis of disability. In 1992, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to incorporate the non-discrimination standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, the term "discriminate"3 generally includes:
The Rehabilitation Act also prohibits retaliation against an individual because such individual has opposed any act or practice made unlawful by the Act or because such individual made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the Act.
Each agency is required to conduct an internal review and analysis of the effects of all current and proposed policies, practices, procedures and conditions that, directly or indirectly, relate to the employment of individuals with disabilities. For purposes of this requirement, the term "employment" refers to the full range of employment decisions, including (but not limited to) hiring, advancement, retention, and other general terms, conditions and privileges of employment. The term "conditions" is intended to refer to the full range of environmental circumstances within an agency, including the physical layout and design of the structure in which the agency is located. In this regard, agencies should be mindful of their obligation to ensure that their physical structures and facilities comply with the requirements of the Architectural Barriers Act (42 U.S.C. § 4151 et seq) and relevant titles of the ADA.
The self-assessment required by this Directive is an ongoing obligation that must be undertaken on at least an annual basis. Each agency must collect5 and evaluate information and data necessary to make an informed assessment about the extent to which the agency is meeting its responsibility to provide employment opportunities for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities, especially those with targeted disabilities.
A snapshot of the numerical representation and distribution of applicants and employees with disabilities can alert an agency to possible barriers that may impede employment opportunities for this group. However, agencies must be mindful that, while such numerical analyses can be useful as initial diagnostic and measuring tools, not all issues relating to their obligations under the Rehabilitation Act will lend themselves to such an analysis. Moreover, an agency can be liable for discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act if its practices exclude even one individual on the basis of that individual's disability. It is the responsibility of each agency to be sensitive to any employment circumstance or condition that may be relevant to its ability to meet its fundamental obligation to effect appropriate hiring, advancement and retention of individuals with disabilities, especially those with targeted disabilities.
The self assessment must encompass the full spectrum of employment within the agency and must include, but not be limited to, an evaluation of the following with respect to the agency's status at the end of each fiscal year:
Although the census provides data reflecting the general and specific workforce participation rates of racial, national origin and gender groups, there is no comparable data currently available for individuals with disabilities. It is therefore difficult to perform a reliable statistical analysis, based on general workforce data, to determine the expected rate at which individuals with disabilities should be hired absent discrimination.
However, a review of agency annual submissions to the EEOC reveals that some agencies favorably distinguish themselves (compared to the federal government in general) through the number of employees with disabilities in their workforce. Until such time as reliable data is developed and disseminated concerning the general availability of individuals with disabilities in the workforce, this Directive recommends agencies evaluate themselves against the workforce profile of the federal government in general and that of agencies ranked highly, in this respect, in the most recent EEOC annual report on the federal workforce. All agencies, regardless of their relative standing, are strongly encouraged to effect steady and measurable progress with respect to the employment and advancement of individuals with disabilities.
In addition to the absence of reliable availability data for individuals with disabilities, any statistical analysis is complicated by the fact that disabilities are individual in nature, making gross statistical comparisons of limited value. Notwithstanding these limitations, an agency's analysis of the above information can help facilitate an assessment concerning the extent to which individuals with disabilities, especially those with targeted disabilities, are provided equal employment opportunities. Statistical information may be a useful starting point for a more thorough examination of the agency's physical facilities, electronic and information processes, personnel policies, selection and promotion procedures, evaluation procedures, rules of conduct and training systems to ensure full accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
Meeting the standards of the self-analysis under the Rehabilitation Act necessarily requires an agency to obtain and maintain information regarding whether applicants and employees have disabilities. Such disability-related information is considered to be "medical information," the collection and maintenance of which is restricted by law. Agencies must adopt procedures to ensure that all disability-related "medical" information is collected and managed in accordance with the law's requirements.
The Rehabilitation Act restricts how agencies may collect disability-related "medical" information7. Individuals with disabilities may be identified in one of the following ways:
Whenever an agency invites an applicant or employee to provide information about his/her disability, the agency must clearly notify such individual that: (a) response to the invitation is voluntary and refusal to provide the information will not subject the individual to any adverse treatment; (b) the information will be kept confidential and used only for affirmative action purposes; and (c) individuals may self-identify at any time during their employment and failure to complete SF 256 or to respond to pre-offer invitations will not excuse the agency from Rehabilitation Act requirements.
All medical or disability-related information must be kept confidential in accordance with EEOC regulations. Under these regulations, such information must be collected and maintained on separate forms, kept in separate files and treated as confidential medical records. 29 C.F.R. § 1630.14(b)(1).
For affirmative action purposes alone, medical and disability-related information may be disclosed to managers and others involved in a selection process, as well as to those responsible for affirmative action, where the information indicates that an applicant may be included under excepted appointing authorities or eligible to receive other affirmative action benefits. Moreover, disability-related information may be used to manage, evaluate, and report on EEO and affirmative action programs; data from SF 256 may, for example, be provided to those who will generate the statistics necessary for the workforce analyses required by this Directive.
All persons to whom information is disclosed for Rehabilitation Act program purposes must be informed about the restrictions placed on use of the information and instructed not to disclose it further than necessary to satisfy those purposes.
Where an agency's self-assessment indicates that qualified individuals with disabilities may have been, or may currently be, denied equal access to employment opportunities, the agency must take steps to identify the potential barrier. Workplace barriers can take various forms and sometimes involves a policy or practice that is neutral on its face. Identifying and evaluating potential barriers requires an agency to methodically examine the full range of policies, practices, procedures and conditions in the workplace. The process requires each agency to eliminate or modify, where appropriate, any factor that negatively correlates with disability.
Investigating potential barriers requires an agency to identify all policies, practices, procedures and conditions that may be relevant to the potential concern identified by the self-assessment. It is crucial for agencies to ensure that their investigations are focused and methodical. Such investigations should involve the participation of all relevant agency officials. Depending on the nature of the potential problem identified, an agency might consider the following questions:
Once an agency identifies a barrier to equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities, it must decide how to respond. Each agency must assess the appropriateness of any policy, practice, procedure or condition determined to negatively correlate with disability.
Where it is determined that a barrier to equal employment opportunity is not job-related and consistent with business necessity, this Directive requires that the agency immediately take steps to eliminate the barrier. Even where a policy or practice can be justified on grounds of business necessity, agencies must investigate whether less exclusionary policies or practices can be used that serve the same business purpose, including the provision of reasonable accommodation. Identified barriers that are not within the control or authority of the agency to change should be brought to the attention of the responsible entity and EEOC. Any barrier associated with myths, fears or stereotyping must be eliminated immediately.
Where, as a result of its self-assessment, an agency determines that merely eliminating a barrier would not adequately address the harm caused by the barrier, it must then consider other neutral alternatives to remedy the lingering effects of the problem.
In eliminating barriers, agencies should pay special attention to ensuring their reasonable accommodation procedures are effective and in compliance with applicable executive orders and EEOC guidance.
Agencies are required to establish and publicize specific written procedures for the prompt and efficient resolution of requests for reasonable accommodation.8 Such procedures should address the scope of the agency's obligation to provide reasonable accommodation and the types of accommodations that must be considered. In addition, the procedures should address at least the following:
In drafting procedures, agencies should ensure that requests for accommodations are handled expeditiously by knowledgeable personnel. Procedures should maximize the agency's ability to provide reasonable accommodation to all individuals who require accommodation. For example, agencies might consider establishing a central pool of staffing slots to provide readers, interpreters and personal assistants to individuals with disabilities throughout the agency or agency component.
The steps described above -- conducting work force analyses, reviewing agency policies, practices and facilities, and fulfilling obligations to people with disabilities under the Rehabilitation Act -- should enable an agency to make substantial progress in promoting the employment of qualified individuals with disabilities. However, such efforts may well be insufficient to provide the adequate employment opportunities that are required by the Rehabilitation Act for individuals with disabilities. Indeed, Congress anticipated that the federal government, as a model employer of individuals with disabilities, would take additional steps to include individuals with disabilities at all levels of the federal workforce.
This Directive requires agencies with 1,000 employees or more to maintain a special recruitment program for individuals with targeted disabilities and to establish specific goals for the employment and advancement of such individuals.9 For these purposes, targeted disabilities may be considered as a group. Agency goals should be set and accomplished in such a manner as will effect measurable progress from the preceding fiscal year.
To accomplish established goals, agencies should, as appropriate: 1) engage in outreach and targeted recruitment; 2) take advantage of excepted appointing authorities;10 3) create training and development plans for individuals with disabilities; and 4) take disability into account in selection decisions where an individual with a disability is otherwise qualified with or without a reasonable accommodation. To achieve maximum impact through their Rehabilitation Act program, agencies are required, under this Directive, to give special attention to those with targeted disabilities in each of the activities discussed herein.
This Directive requires each agency to report annually on the status of activities undertaken pursuant to its equal employment opportunity program under Title VII and activities undertaken pursuant to its affirmative action obligations under the Rehabilitation Act. Agency reports must also include a plan that sets forth steps it will take in the future to correct deficiencies or further improve efforts undertaken pursuant to this Directive. Additional instructions regarding the format and content requirements of reports will be issued separately and may be modified on a periodic basis as needed. Agency reports must be submitted to the EEOC annually and should include (but not necessarily be limited to) the following:
Reports filed by agencies pursuant this Directive will be evaluated for clarity and content by EEOC. EEOC will approve or disapprove specific plans as appropriate. In addition, EEOC will periodically conduct evaluations and program reviews to more closely assess whether the program elements of this Directive are being met and will be available on an ongoing basis as issues arise for agencies to consult with in facilitating program improvements.
There are many consequences associated with an agency's failure to fully implement effective EEO programs, including the out-of pocket costs that will be borne by the agency in connection with workplace disputes, especially after the passage of the No Fear Act, and the very real costs associated with decreased morale and productivity resulting from the ineffective and inefficient use of human capital resources. Moreover, where annual reports or information otherwise obtained by EEOC suggest that an agency is giving insufficient attention to its obligations under this Directive, EEOC will inform the President and appropriate Congressional committees.
The EEOC is available to provide training and technical assistance to facilitate agency compliance with this Directive. Information may be obtained by contacting EEOC as follows:
Agencies may also contact the EEOC by regular mail addressed to:
Director, Federal Sector Programs Office of Federal Operations Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 1801 L Street NW Washington, D.C. 20507
EEOC may conduct evaluations of federal agency EEO programs to ensure compliance with this Directive, other policy guidance issued by EEOC and the statutes and regulations that EEOC enforces.
The following definitions apply to this Directive:
Section 717 of Title VII of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16, requires that personnel actions be free from discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin and religion and that agencies establish affirmative programs of equal employment opportunity.
Section 715 of Title VII establishes the EEOC as the lead agency for "developing and implementing agreements, policies and practices designed to maximize effort, promote efficiency, and eliminate conflict, competition, duplication and inconsistency among ...various departments, agencies and branches of the Federal Government responsible for the implementation and enforcement of equal employment opportunity legislation, orders, and policies...."
Section 703(k) of Title VII sets forth the criteria for establishing a claim of unlawful adverse impact.
29 C.F.R. §1604 Sets forth policies and principles governing discrimination on the basis of sex.
29 C.F.R. §1606 Sets forth policies and principles governing discrimination on the basis of national origin.
29 C.F.R. §1607 Establishes policies, principles and procedures for determining when a "selection procedure" has an unlawful impact on the hiring, promotion, or other employment opportunities of members of any race, sex, or ethnic group.
29 C.F.R. §1608.4 Governs affirmative action in the private sector and requires that an affirmative action plan or program under Title VII contain three elements: a reasonable self analysis; a reasonable basis for concluding action is appropriate; and reasonable action.
29 C.F.R. Part 1614 Sets forth policies and regulations to effectuate the Government's obligation to promote equal employment opportunity and to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability.
29 C.F.R.§1614.601 Requires each agency to establish a system to collect and maintain accurate employment information on the race, national origin, sex and disability of its employees. 1614.601(b) states that data on race, national origin and sex should be collected by voluntary self identification. Subsection (e) states that an agency shall not establish a quota for the employment of persons based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Subsection (g) states that an agency shall report to the Commission on employment by race, national origin, sex and disability in the form, and at such times, as the Commission may require.
29 C.F.R.§1614.602 Requires that each agency report to the Commission complaint processing information. Subsection (c) states that each agency shall submit annually for the review and approval of the Commission written national and regional equal employment opportunity plans of action. The plans shall be in a format prescribed by the Commission.
29 C.F.R. §1690 Sets forth procedures for the prescribed coordination between the EEOC and other federal agencies having responsibility for enforcement of statutes, regulations, Executive Orders and policies which require equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability.
Executive Order 11478, as amended (1971)- Reiterated the policy of the federal government to provide equal employment opportunity on the basis of merit and fitness and "without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. To promote the full realization of this policy, the Order requires, inter alia, that agencies and departments establish "continuing affirmative programs" to ensure that equal employment opportunity is an "integral part of every aspect of personnel policy and practice in the employment, development, advancement, and treatment of civilian employees in the Federal Government."
Executive Order 12106 (1978) - Amended Executive Order 11478 to include, in its coverage, non-discrimination based on age and disability. The Order further transferred federal equal employment opportunity enforcement authority to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and made the EEOC responsible for "directing and furthering" the implementation of equal employment opportunity policy.
Executive Order 12067 (1978) - Effected the transfer of the functions of the Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinating Council to the EEOC and delineated the EEOC's responsibility for "develop[ing] uniform standards, guidelines, and policies for promoting and furthering equal employment opportunity in the government.
Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 791, requires each covered agency to establish an affirmative action program plan for the hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with disabilities. Section 501(g) of the Act incorporates the legal standards of title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12111 et seq) for complaints alleging "nonaffirmative action employment discrimination" and the provisions of sections 501 through 504, and 510, of the ADA (42 U.S.C. §§ 12201-12204 and 12210) "as such sections relate to employment."
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires agencies to provide federal employees with disabilities access to information and data that is comparable to the access provided to federal employees without disabilities.11
The Architectural Barriers Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4151 et seq is enforced by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board and requires that buildings and facilities be accessible to people with disabilities if they were constructed or altered by or on behalf of the federal government or with certain federal funds, or leased to the government, after 1968.
29 C.F.R. Part 1614 Sets forth policies and regulations to effectuate the Government's obligation to promote equal employment opportunity and to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability.
29 C.F.R. Part 1630 Regulations implementing the equal employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(t),(u) OPM special appointing authority governing employment of individuals who are mentally retarded (t) and those with severe physical "handicaps"(u).
5 C.F.R. § 213.3102 OPM special appointing authority governing persons with psychiatric disabilities. Under this provision such employees may be converted to competitive status after completion of two years of satisfactory service in their excepted positions.
5 C.F.R § 213.3202(11) OPM special appointing authority for employment of readers, interpreters, and personal assistants for employees with disabilities.
5 C.F.R. § 315.709 Authorizes employees with severe physical disabilities and mental retardation to convert to competitive status after completion of two years of satisfactory service in their excepted positions.
Executive Order 13078, as amended (2000) – Established the National Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities (now called the Presidential Task Force). The purpose of the Task Force is to implement a national policy to effect gainful employment of adults with disabilities, including employment in the Federal Government.
Executive Order 13145 (2000) – Prohibits discrimination in federal employment on the basis of genetic information.
Executive Order 13163 (2000)– Promotes a policy to increase opportunities for individuals with disabilities employed at all levels and occupations in the federal government.
Executive Order 13164 (2000) – Requires agencies to establish written procedures to facilitate the provision of reasonable accommodations under the Rehabilitation Act.
1 It should be noted that federal employees and applicants for employment are also protected from discrimination by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
2 In the past, EEOC has only required consideration of temporary employees in connection with agencies' Rehabilitation Act programs. However, as the nature of federal employment changes and more employees occupy temporary positions, an examination of Title VII data relating to temporary employees, where they comprise a significant portion of an agency's workforce, may assist an agency in identifying any meaningful disparities resulting from barriers to equality of opportunity. It is recognized that temporary employees will not experience the same career progression as the permanent workforce, and certain data, such as promotion rates, may not be relevant to temporary employees. EEOC will issue more detailed guidance to agencies concerning Title VII program treatment of temporary employees.
3See 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b).
4It is permissible for a test to measure sensory, manual or speaking skills where such skills are necessary for the performance of an essential function of the job for which the test has been designed.
5See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.601 for further guidance. In addition, EEOC will issue more detailed guidance on collecting and maintaining applicant flow data.
6Agencies should separately identify applicants and employees with targeted disabilities. Targeted disabilities are those that the federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis. Targeted disabilities (and the codes that represent them on Standard Form 256) are: 1. deafness (16 and 17); 2. blindness (23 and 25); 3. missing extremities (28 and 32 through 38); 4. partial paralysis (64 through 68); 5. complete paralysis (71 through 78); 6. convulsive disorders (82); 7. mental retardation (90); 8. mental illness (91); and 9. distortion of limb and/or spine (92).
7See 29 C.F.R. pt. 1630 app. §§ 1630.13, 14. In most cases, the Rehabilitation Act bars disability-related questions until after an agency has made a conditional job offer to an applicant and requires that any inquiries of employees be job-related and consistent with business necessity. The Commission has recognized, however, that employers may extend invitations to self-identify for purposes of their affirmative action programs. See EEOC ADA Enforcement Guidance: Preemployment Disability-Related Question and Medical Examinations (10/95) at p. 12.
8See Executive Order 13164 (July 26, 2000). See also EEOC Policy Guidance on Executive Order 13164 (October 20, 2000).
9The Rehabilitation Act requires each Federal agency to submit to the EEOC for review and approval "an affirmative action program plan for the hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with disabilities." The statute makes clear that EEOC is to approve these plans only after it "determines...that such plan provides sufficient assurances, procedures and commitments to provide adequate hiring, placement, and advancement opportunities for individuals with disabilities." 29 U.S.C. § 791(b).
10There are excepted appointing authorities that apply only to those with targeted disabilities. See 5 C.F.R. §§ 213.3102(t), (u); 213.3202(k) (1996). Agencies should follow the requirements of those authorities, which are enforced by the Office of Personnel Management, in assessing whether a particular individual with a disability is eligible for an excepted appointment.
11National security systems, as defined in the Clinger-Cohen Act, 40 U.S.C. § 1452 are exempt from these requirements. See 29 U.S.C. § 794d(a)(5).


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The Minds of the D.C. Snipers
Aired October 13, 2007 - 20:00 ET
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, MINDS OF THE D.C. SNIPERS: October 3rd, 2002 was a sun-splashed morning in the Washington, D.C. area. Hundreds of thousands were heading for work. People, like James Sonny Buchanan, a landscaper, who was doing his job, mowing a tiny patch of grass behind an automobile dealership. It was 7:42 a.m. OPERATOR: Montgomery County. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need police and ambulance. OPERATOR: What's the problem? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody's been shot down in our back lot. He's down on the ground. We got a crowd of people down here. Oh, a lawnmower blew up on this guy. He's bleeding real bad. O'BRIEN: The caller, a parts manager at the dealership, was right the first time. Sonny Buchanan's lawnmower had not broken. He had been shot in the back with a high-powered rifle. His murder was the beginning of a reign of terror that would last nearly a month and result in 10 more vicious killings. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We uncover stories never heard, images never seen. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the streets of Baghdad. O'BRIEN: People are scrambling inside. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They walked up -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A deadly risk. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can hear and see the choppers. ANNOUNCER: Now, Soledad O'Brien "The Minds of the D.C. Snipers." O'BRIEN: Less than half an hour after Sonny Buchanan was slain, a second death. A part-time cab driver named Premkumar Walekar, shot as he was pumping gas. And 25 minutes later a 34-year-old babysitter, Sarah Ramos, killed while reading a book on a bus stop bench, 8:37 a.m.. In just an hour, three people murdered. Police and paramedics were stunned. DREW TRACY, ASST. CHIEF OF POLICE, MONTGOMERY CO., MD.: I think in the beginning it was chaos. We didn't know where to go. JOSEPH DINGLE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY EMT: The EMS people that were rendering aid didn't know if we was going to be targeted, but it was scary. It was scary. O'BRIEN: And this was only the beginning. About an hour later a young woman, Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, shot and killed at a gas station. DINGLE: Once we pulled on scene, there was the lady there laying on the sidewalk, there at the gas station. It appeared she had been vacuuming her car out at the time. So we checked her out and noticed that she wasn't breathing. DEIRDRE I. WALKER, ASST. CHIEF OF POLICE, MONTGOMERY CO., MD.: It was just stunning. And it was not just how different it was from anything, any kind of template or any kind of barometer, but how different it was in the level of violence. The instantly apparent randomness of the victim selection. All of that adds up to confusion and deep, deep concern. O'BRIEN: Throughout the month, the terror continued. A 13-year- old boy, Aaron Brown, shot and wounded as he arrives at his suburban Maryland school. Another man, 53-year-old Harold Meyers, slain as he, too, is pumping gas. And across the region, where millions lived, every life, it seemed, was altered, even for people like April Carroll. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing was going on as normal. O'BRIEN: An ATF agent trying to catch whoever was responsible. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People were ducking at the gas stations. They would not stand outside, some of the gas stations were putting up drop curtains to protect their patrons. I had one boy laying out on the floor boards, because I had to get gas that day, tried not to do it with kids. O'BRIEN: Quickly the media give the killer, or killers, the name, the D.C. Sniper, but whose finger was on the trigger? Some of the answers would be found in a teenager who was born here, far from the nation's capital, a boy named Lee Malvo, who grew up on these streets. In neighborhoods like this on the island of Jamaica that haven't changed for generations, poor, violent more often than not, always on the edge. (On camera): This is a part of Jamaica most tourists will never see. It's a neighborhood of the capital city of Kingston called Waltham Park and it is where Lee Boyd Malvo was born. His father was a construction worker back then. In fact, still is now. And he finds it almost impossible to believe that his favorite son is one of America's most notorious killers. (On camera): Is it hard for you to even say his name? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very rough. It's not easy when you have a child you love, so much and this thing happens to him. O'BRIEN: Leslie Malvo remembers the good times with his son, Lee; stops for ice cream on these streets, for instance. But he is fully aware that he bears at least some responsibility for what took place later on. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cry for myself. O'BRIEN: Sometimes, for parents, and I know you're close to tears again. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, yeah. Let's see. Let the tears run. The tears move free up the mind. O'BRIEN: Free up his mind from the reality that he had done nothing to prevent Lee's mother, Una James, from sweeping in and taking his boy away. Done nothing to prevent a pattern that would occur time and time again, over the coming years, a pattern of what an expert says was neglect and violence by Lee's own mother. (On camera): Did he feel like he had a mother who loved him? Did he did feel like his childhood was -- CARMITA ALBARUS LINDO, MALVO'S SOCIAL WORKER: No. O'BRIEN: -- nurturing or calm? LINDO: No, no, no, nothing like that. He felt that the degree to which she beat him, he felt that she hated him. O'BRIEN: You get back to Jamaica fairly often? (Voice over): Carmita Albarus Lindo is a Jamaican-born social worker who spent hundreds of hours interviewing and counseling Malvo since his capture. This is her first network television interview. It didn't take long, she says, before a new and deadly influence appeared in Lee Malvo's life. O'BRIEN: John Muhammad literally stepped into the role of father. LINDO: Literally, he did, absolutely, took him shopping for his birthday. He said you are like an older brother to my children. You are their bigger brother. You have to protect them. O'BRIEN (voice over): When we come back -- (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD, D.C. SNIPER: Hello, everyone. I guess y'all thought I was finished. (END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: The man who would be that father, John Allen Muhammad. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Lee Boyd Malvo spent most of his formative years here, in this remote nearly inaccessible village called Endeavor, high in the Jamaican mountains. His mother had left him at age nine for a job on another island, so he was raised by his mother's sister, Jean Morris, a strict disciplinarian. (on camera): Give me a good picture of who he was as a child. JEAN MORRIS, MALVO'S AUNT: If Lee was a child who was rude and disobedient, and would not listen and break rules and regulations, I would never sit in this chair and talk to you. I would never. O'BRIEN: Lee Malvo attended this school in Brownstown, Jamaica. He was not just a good student. He was a gifted one. Before long, however, his mother entered his life once again, with a new destination in mind, the faraway island of Antigua, part of what Carmita Albarus Lindo says was a life-long pattern of abuse, abandonment, and reconciliation. LINDO: She had someplace for him, that she had a business for him. The business happened to be an ice box, that she was selling drinks and fruits out of it. And the place that she had, happened to be a shack. He was there, went up in July, and by January of the following year, she left. She left him in the shack. O'BRIEN: By himself? LINDO: By himself. O'BRIEN: At 14 years old? LINDO: At 14 years old. O'BRIEN: I met Una James in Jamaica. At first she said she wanted to issue a statement of sympathy for sniper victims, but she never did. Then she refused to be photographed or discuss her relationship with her son, Lee. The one thing we do know is after Una James abandoned Lee in Antigua, he met the man who convince him, and train him to become a killer, John Allen Muhammad. (On camera): You thought he'd kill you? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I knew. I saw the look in his eye. O'BRIEN: Mildred Muhammad is talking for the first time on network television about her ex-husband, a former Army combat engineer. Over the years, she says, John Mohammad grew increasingly distant and demanding. And one day, snatched her three children from their Tacoma, Washington, home, and fled to Antigua, without warning, in the middle of the night. M. MUHAMMED: He was supposed to bring them back from shopping at K-Mart. My son later told me that they got on a plane that night, and went to Antigua, and that was the last time I saw my children for 18 months. O'BRIEN: John Muhammad, Jr. has never before spoken publicly about his father, or about the time he and his two sisters lived on Antigua with Lee Boyd Malvo. (On camera): Was he part of the family? Did your father treat him like he was a son or a brother to you? JOHN MUHAMMED, JR.: My dad was real big on family, and so when he would leave, he would tell me or Lee to watch out for the girls because there's always different people, so we wasn't sure who we could trust or get close to. O'BRIEN: John Muhammad and Lee Malvo formed a bond here at the home of Jerome and Leoni Martin, but even then, there was a lie. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They used to come around here with all the kids and one day he left from his -- an American accent and he was the Jamaican accent, and my wife said wait, you're not an American. You're Jamaican, right. And he says his mother is Jamaican and so my wife said "I don't think you're John's son. Because you have a Jamaican accent." O'BRIEN: What the Martins didn't know, what no one knew, was that John Allen Muhammad was, by now, in the business of making and selling fraudulent passports. One of his customers? Una James, Lee Malvo's mother, who used one to get into the United States. J. MUHAMMED, JR.: My dad had a fake passport business to get into America. He would have fake birth certificates. And he helped her to come to the States, but he couldn't get Lee in as soon as he had his mom in, so Lee just stayed with us. O'BRIEN: Muhammad often had to leave his kids, and who took charge of his three young children then? LINDO: Immediately, Lee dropped out of school, and his role now was to be big brother, to save these children. That's really when the relationship, really, even became tighter. O'BRIEN (on camera): When you started interviewing Lee, how did he describe John Muhammad? LINDO: "My dad. This was my dad." O'BRIEN (voice over): A father figure, who would soon gather his children and flee Antigua, leaving Lee Malvo behind with deadly lessons to be learned from an ancient manual of war. LINDO: Muhammad would instruct him what sections that he should read. He should say, this is who I am. This is what I will become, and that's how he went to sleep every single night. O'BRIEN (voice over): Just ahead, John Allen Muhammad turns his surrogate son into a killing machine. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN (voice over): Throughout the month of October, 2002, the shootings continue with ferocity around the nation's capital. An FBI intelligence analyst Linda Franklin is slain as she walks out of a Home Depot near Falls Church, Virginia. She would be victim number eight. Five days later a Florida man, Jeffrey Hopper, is shot and badly wounded in a steakhouse parking lot near Ashland, Virginia. Investigators are overwhelmed with phone calls. MICHAEL BOUCHARD, ASST. DIR., BUR. OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO & FIREARMS: We had over 100,000 tips that came in on this case, in three weeks, and 16,000 of those were deemed to be viable. O'BRIEN: But authorities still had no clue as to who was behind the killing spree. One year earlier, in the fall of 2001, just after the attacks of 9/11, a new student enrolled at Bellingham, Washington high school. Principal Steve Clark still has a vivid recollection of Lee Boyd Malvo. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He entered difficult classes, honors and advanced placement level of classes. I was proud of how he conducted himself here, and how hard he worked here, and believed that he had a great future, had he continued on that path. O'BRIEN: Lee Malvo was living here in this Bellingham homeless shelter called the Lighthouse Mission. John Allen Muhammad was living there as well. They had arrived within weeks of each other. REV. AL ARCHER, EXEC. DIR., LIGHTHOUSE MISSION: I came to love these guys. O'BRIEN: Reverend Al Archer ran lighthouse mission. John Muhammad arrived first with his three children. Authorities later would learn that he had fled the Caribbean island of Antigua because his fake passport business had collapsed. ARCHER: John was one of the warmest individuals I ever met, but eventually I became suspicious of him. O'BRIEN: Suspicious, because Muhammad was traveling a great deal, to Los Angeles, he said, even to the Caribbean. ARCHER: Who is this guy that's going around, taking trips, he's got money but he's staying in the mission. O'BRIEN: In those anxious days after 9/11, Archer called the FBI, an agent told him those trips meant that John Allen Muhammad was probably a drug dealer. At the same time, Muhammad's life began to unravel. His wife, Mildred, had filed for divorce and legal custody of their children, while he was in Antigua. It turned out he'd been lying to his own children. M. MUHAMMAD: They did not know they were kidnapped. Their dad told them that I was coming every time they asked him where I was. He left them with different people to come back to the States. He said he was coming back to the States to look for me. O'BRIEN: Muhammad's arrival in Washington State set the legal process in motion. A judge granted Mildred custody of her children. John Allen Muhammad became enraged, confronting his ex-wife outside the courtroom. M. MUHAMMAD: I feel a presence, and I turn, and it's John walking towards me. O'BRIEN (on camera): And what did he say? M. MUHAMMAD: I thought, he is going to kill me. O'BRIEN: At that moment? M. MUHAMMAD: If he could, yes. O'BRIEN (voice over): The very day she was granted custody, Mildred Muhammad and her kids left Washington state, returning to the Maryland suburbs outside the nation's capital. John Muhammad was alone, so he reached out to the one person he could trust and control, 17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo. Muhammad paid for his trip to Bellingham with instructions to meet up at Al Archer's shelter. The two became inseparable. ARCHER: We knew that Lee was being brainwashed. O'BRIEN: How did you know that, with what evidence? ARCHER: Lee was setting at the table visiting with the people around the table, like people do. And john walked in, sat down and looked at Lee, and Lee dropped his head. And he didn't say anything else. O'BRIEN (on camera): And what did that signal, to the people watching? ARCHER: Lee was being trained as a soldier, and we didn't know what battle he was going to fight. O'BRIEN: (voice over): According to social worker Carmita Albarus Lindo, who spent hundreds of hours interviewing and counseling Lee Malvo, John Muhammad preached to Malvo, preached that American society was unjust, especially to African-Americans, and that the only way to correct the injustice was through the barrel of a gun. LINDO: By the time he had gotten, there, in Washington, it was not the loving, kind father that he attached to in Antigua. It was an angry man whose children had been taken from him, and he blamed the system for that. O'BRIEN: Soon, Muhammad would teach Lee Malvo how to shoot, here at this Tacoma, Washington, shooting range. LINDO: He had him project his own image onto the target, his own face onto that paper plate, that they would use. He would talk to that self, connect with his voice to that self, that was there, and he would shoot it. O'BRIEN: Authorities now believe that Muhammad had Malvo go through a lethal experiment to prove, as the young teenager could be trusted to kill. LINDO: When the first murder occurred, two days before Lee's 17th birthday, he sent him to this woman, to be killed. O'BRIEN: But it was a horrible case of mistaken identity. The intended victim was a friend of Mildred Muhammad's, who had testified on Mildred's behalf during the custody hearings. Instead, Kenya Cook opened the door. Just ahead -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're two of the most prolific serial killers this country has ever seen. O'BRIEN: Muhammad and Malvo unleash an unprecedented reign of terror in and around the nation's capitol. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) TONY HARRIS, CNN, ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. A bad scene north of Los Angeles, two big rigs smashed into each other late last night in a trucks-only tunnel. The explosion, the fire, the chain reaction crashes, the nightmarish traffic backup. It is still an ongoing emergency. This is what it looked like shortly after it happened. Two people were killed. Firefighters filled the tunnel with foam to try to cool things down. We're expecting an update in the coming hours. The bullet riddled aftermath of a deadly incident in Baghdad, it's been nearly a month since the now infamous Blackwater shooting, but the FBI is still learning details of what happened from witnesses, people who say they saw Blackwater security agents open fire on and kill unarmed Iraqi civilians. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OMAR H. WASSO, SENIOR OFFICIAL, PATRIOTIC UNIION OF KURDISTAN PARTY: They were in the middle of the circle there. CORRESPONDENT: Yes. WASSO: They shoot one red bus like this one. The bus has over 40 passengers. CORRESPONDENT: 14 or 40? WASSO: Women, and kids and old people. The driver of the Volkswagen tried to escape and they shot him in the back of the head. He was running and they hit him from the back. The head was opened like this. (END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Seventeen Iraqi civilians died in that shooting, which witnesses and Iraqi officials say was unprovoked. Blackwater's position, its employees were acting in self-defense. Former Duke University lacrosse coach, Mike Pressler is suing the school. Pressler had resigned under pressure amid allegations that three of his players sexually assaulted a stripper. Local news reports say his lawsuit stems from a financial settlement that Duke reached with Pressler. The sexual assault case was dropped. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LT. JODY CROCKER, ASHWAUBENON, WIS. POLICE: The deer finally recovered on the ground and he turned around and charged after me. HARRIS: OK. It's a battle of wills. A police officer in Wisconsin locked horns with a deer. The officer grabbed hold of the antlers with one hand, his pistol in the other. Officers were eventually able to put this young buck in his place by guiding and releasing him into the woods. (END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Those are the headlines this hour. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: As the killings and the terror mounted in and around Washington D.C., police were under enormous pressure to do something, anything. DREW TRACY, ASST. CHIEF OF POLICE, MONTGOMERY CO., MD.: We're all baffled at that point in time. We needed to do something, and I think everybody realized that and they had that sense of urgency. I think that sense of urgency got people in line. O'BRIEN: But that sense of urgency led to the biggest mistake of the entire three-week manhunt. The belief, based on witness accounts, that the killer or killers had been driving a white box truck. CHARLES A. MOOSE, CHIEF MONTGOMERY POLICE DEPT., MD.: I also know we can't be everywhere all the time. O'BRIEN: The public face of the investigation was Charles A. Moose, the chief of the Montgomery, Maryland, Police Department. MOOSE: It was our commitment to not dismiss a witness, no matter how inconvenient it might have made it for people with those types of vans, no matter how broad-based that suspect vehicle was, it was still something we heard consistently from possible witnesses. O'BRIEN: Moose is now a beat cop in Honolulu, and this is his first network television interview in more than three years. MOOSE: For some reason, it didn't click, for some reason, the perpetrators were able to mask their guilt. We're all people. We make mistakes. O'BRIEN: Mistakes, because too much time and too much manpower were thrown into the search for the white van, overlooking other leads. Police later agreed, that would turn out to be correct. DEIDRE I. WALKER, ASST. CHIEF OF POLICE, MONTGOMERY CO., MD.: The white van was all we had. It obviously resulted in witness pollution. You can't go out on the street. You can't go anywhere without seeing a white van. KELLI ARENA, CNN, JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So everybody was looking, you know, for a white van and I really think that was a disservice, not only to the people working the case but to the community. O'BRIEN: CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena was on the story from the beginning. ARENA: People weren't worried about dark Chevy Caprices. They were worried about some guy driving a white van. O'BRIEN: Kelli had begun to hear stories about another car, a dark-colored sedan that had been seen and even stopped by police several times. MOOSE: Thank you. ARENA: Moose just dismissed it and they really seemed to be just not willing to hear that information. O'BRIEN: It turned out, of course, that this was the car, a dark blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice. Not only had police in Baltimore and Washington investigated the car, because it seemed suspicious to them, it had even gotten parking tickets. John Allen Muhammad's name had even been run through police computers, not once, but several times. Still, investigators didn't make the connection. MICHAEL BOURCHARD, ASST. DIR. BUR. OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS: We knew the Caprice was stopped and that was one of the many leads that came in, and quite frankly, there were too many dots. I can't explain how bad it made us feel that, you know, a sense of failure that you know, we just couldn't get the job done. O'BRIEN: And there were more false alarms. Like this 911 call from Virginia about another sniper killing, a call that seemed to confirm police suspicions about the mysterious white van. CALLER (on audiotape): The guy is dead. He's lying on the car. And there's a white van just went by with two guys in it. O'BRIEN: Police found those two men, illegal immigrants with no connection to the case. And then, just when the investigation seemed to come to a dead end, suddenly, new clues, and lots of them. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't say anything. Just listen. O'BRIEN: Phone calls from the killers themselves. TRACY: They would call up either the hotline or one of the police stations and basically they were blown off like hey, call this number, you know, this and that. O'BRIEN: And the snipers began leaving notes, these notes, with colored stars pasted on to a letter that signified each one of their victims. Then, they demanded money, $10 million, deposited into a secure offshore account. WALKER: There was a demand for money. There were demands, in terms of how we interacted with the media. There was no kind of linear progression of things. O'BRIEN: Throughout that deadly month, Mildred Muhammad sat worrying in her suburban Maryland condominium, worrying that her ex- husband, John, would soon find her. It never occurred to her that John Allen Muhammad, her ex-husband, was a D.C. sniper. MILDRED MUHAMMAD: I thought it was a sniper but I was looking for John. I didn't put the two together. O'BRIEN: From the moment the judge granted her custody of their three kids, Mildred worried that John was stalking them. She remembers the day when she believes John Muhammad and Lee Malvo showed up near her home. She was out walking with a friend. MUHAMMAD: The driver looks at us, but the passenger is reading the newspaper. He pulls the paper up to shield his identity, and I was like, did you see that? She says, "yes." I got my cell phone and I called 911. They said, can you describe the car? I said it is like a dark blue Impala Caprice or something with New Jersey plates. She said is that it? I said yes, ma'am. APRIL CARROLL, ATF AGENT: It was just devastating that now the best lead we had for three weeks was out there. O'BRIEN: Next, leaks to the media threaten to derail the entire investigation. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: During those weeks of stark terror in and around Washington D.C., the snipers killed and lived out of this. A 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, once a Camden, New Jersey police cruiser, this small beveled hole in the trunk was for the sniper's rifle, a perfect platform for murder. RALPH DAIGNEAU, CRIME SCENE ANALYST, PRINCE WILLIAM CO., VA.: How could, in a crowded parking lot, during the day, in a congested restaurant area, gas station, an incident take place and they could fly underneath the radar or evade law enforcement? This is one of the reasons why. We found four major modifications. O'BRIEN: Crime scene analyst Ralph Daigneau kept the car in an evidence warehouse for three years. DAIGNEAU: The firewall has been cut out. O'BRIEN: This is the closest look ever by a television team. DAIGNEAU: Shooting from a vehicle is one thing, but preparing it as they did, as a, in a sense, a killing machine. O'BRIEN: It was a customized killing machine, darker than normal tinting on the back windows. The firewall between the trunk and the rear seat removed, allowing the snipers to lie down and crawl into the trunk, as in this FBI recreation. Half of the inside trunk lid was sprayed with blue paint to prevent light from bouncing off when raised. The car's battery was rigged to run a stolen laptop computer with map software to make killing locations easy to find. And this is the view that John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo had when they pulled the trigger. CARROLL: Muhammad apparently had seen some of that high technique used in the military, where you could actually shoot somebody and the round would be caught in the vehicle, you wouldn't be seen. O'BRIEN: Of course, investigators didn't know any of that in late October 2002. In fact, the one solid lead they had was from a man who had befriended Muhammad in the army. His name, Robert Holmes. Holmes called the FBI and told them his ex-army buddy had actually talked to him about killing strangers and had practiced target shooting in his back yard in Tacoma, Washington. That phone call and that information was supposed to have been secret. ATF agent April Carroll was one of the few authorized to know, but suddenly, it was all over television. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Agents from the FBI and ATF had just finished up their search. CARROLL: I saw on the TVs in the precinct station that they were in Tacoma, Washington, over Robert Holmes', you know, physical residence, where we were conducting a search warrant and I went into the ladies' room and felt like I was going to throw up. It was just devastating; that now the best lead we had in this case for the entire investigation of three weeks was out there. O'BRIEN: It was very bad news for investigators. Once the local news team saw what was happening, there were no more secrets. JEAN MESERVE, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: One of the first piece of information they have out there... O'BRIEN: Jean Meserve was CNN's lead reporter on the sniper story. MESERVE: All of the local affiliates were out there in the air and helicopters shooting, not just the stump removal but the grid search. I mean, they had tapes laid out on the ground and officers were walking along it, combing, looking for evidence. No, no secret there. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MESERVE: Well, we do know there is this lookout this evening for this 1990 Chevy blue and burgundy, possibly with two men inside, in connection with this investigation. (END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: Meserve was one of the first to broadcast the big break-through. By identifying the real sniper vehicle. Police finally did connect the dots when a Baltimore cop called in the license plate number, and investigators finally matched it with those earlier stops of the Caprice. CNN was on the air within minutes. This was early evening. Here's a license plate of that 1990 Chevy Caprice. MESERVE: We put out the license plate number. We put out the name, one step out in the public domain, then a truck driver sees the car at a rest area in Maryland. O'BRIEN: That's all it took. Around 3:30 a.m., just about five hours after CNN first broadcast the plate number, police and FBI arrested Muhammad and Malvo, just off interstate 270 in Maryland. Montgomery county assistant police chief, Drew Tracy, was in on the arrest. TRACY: No shots taken. There were no flash bangs, there were no helicopters above. I remember walking up and I remember seeing actually shining in Malvo's head and it was from the glass, they broke to pull them out of the car. BOUCHARD: As soon as I heard they were taken into custody and found some evidence, it was just a major relief. It was just, you could feel it go through your whole body. O'BRIEN: The D.C. snipers, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, were in custody, but agonizing questions remained. Why on earth would a man and a boy kill innocent men and women? And with no apparent pattern, no obvious motive. Mildred Muhammad believes she has the answer. She's convinced that Muhammad had planned all along to kill her, and cover it up with a random reign of terror. MUHAMMAD: I would have been another face. O'BRIEN: Another victim. MUHAMMAD: Another victim, and nobody would have been the wiser. Because they didn't believe me in the first place. O'BRIEN: Just ahead, a letter to CNN from convicted D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo. And a message from John Allen Muhammad. JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD: Hello, everyone. I guess you all thought I was finished. I'm still on death row fighting. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: A suburban park in Wheaton, Maryland, an ideal location for a memorial to the ten people killed in the D.C. sniper shootings. VICKI BUCHANAN-SNYDER: I think it's a beautiful place, and I think it represents how much of who my brother was. O'BRIEN: Vicki Buchanan-Snyder comes here often. Her brother, Sonny Buchanan, the landscaper shot dead on that first terrible morning. SNYDER: They shot him in the back, like a coward. I mean, you know, he didn't even know what hit him, but I know he ran for help. I know he struggled to survive. O'BRIEN: Nonetheless, Vicki Snyder is not out for revenge. She's content with the fact that at age 17, Lee Boyd Malvo did not receive the death penalty for his role in the killing. Malvo is serving life without parole. CARMITA ALBARUS LINDO, SOCIAL WORKER: He will never forgive himself for what has happened. He just hopes that through his writings, through his drawings, people will understand this. This is supposed to be Lee and his father, you know, father and son. O'BRIEN: Social worker Carmita Albarus Lindo, who spent many hours counseling Malvo believes he is now a very different person. LINDO: I believe the monstrous thing that John Muhammad created when he had him, while he shot from the car, I think the thing no longer exists. O'BRIEN: Malvo has spent much of his time taking college correspondence courses and drawing, always drawing. This is the first time anyone outside a handful of friends has seen his prison self- portraits. Nearly all have one thing in common. Almost all of his pictures show him crying. LINDO: Yes. Those are just tears, tears that he sheds for the victims. O'BRIEN: Lee Malvo is now 22, and spending his days here at this maximum security prison in rural Virginia. He's allowed one hour a day outside his cell, at first Malvo wanted to talk to us about the entire episode, but later changed his mind. He wrote in a letter to CNN, "I'm still grappling with shame, guilt, remorse, and my own healing, if that will ever be possible." What would you like to see for him? LINDO: I've always felt that you know, he needed to be in a place where he's not in a prison setting, more a hospital setting. The most that I can do for him is continue to be there, because that is his greatest fear, that, you know, another parental figure would abandon him because that is why he had been exposed all his life. O'BRIEN: In court, Lee Malvo testified against his surrogate father, John Allen Muhammad. Malvo admitted taking part in the killings and told authorities at least three other murders they had committed in other locations. Prosecutors had little sympathy. PAUL EBERT, COMMONWEALTH ATTY., PRINCE WILLIAM CO., VA.: At the time I thought he was cold-blooded. He was a person who had chosen a life of crime from the jail, he referred to Muhammad as his "O.G." which is slang for original gangster, sort of like his mentor. O'BRIEN: And when a Virginia jury spared Lee Malvo's life, some investigators could barely conceal their anger. CARROLL: That was the hardest day of my career, the day that jury handed down that sentence. The ultimate penalty in the state of Virginia was the death penalty for this type of crime, for capital murder. They were guilty of capital murder. I felt they deserved the worst punishment that state had to offer and I felt that day that we had failed when Malvo was not sentenced to death. O'BRIEN: As for John Allen Muhammad, he has never talked on camera about his actions, but CNN's Jeanne Meserve did interview him. The ground rules? No note taking, no recording devices, and no questions about the shootings themselves. MESERVE: It was probably one of the most peculiar experiences of my life. It started out with him reaching over and saying, you have something on your nose. I don't happen to believe there was anything on my nose. I think that was Muhammad setting the tone for our conversation and establishing the fact that he was going to be in control. O'BRIEN: In that interview, Muhammad was defiant. MESERVE: He said to me he was not going to die for crimes he didn't commit, and that he was not going to spend the rest of his life in jail. O'BRIEN: This is where John Allen Muhammad resides now, on death row at Sussex One State Prison near Richmond, Virginia. He is still defiant. JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD: Hello, everyone. I guess you all thought I was finished. I'm still on death row fighting. O'BRIEN: This is a video made during his Maryland trial after he has been sentenced to death in Virginia. It was handed to CNN during the course of our reporting in the Caribbean. It was made to assist in his defense. A shackled John Muhammad talks to the camera in the presence of two state social workers. What he wants he says is to establish accurate information about the time he spent with Lee Boyd Malvo in the Caribbean. JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD: So that they can get a better understanding of our relationship with each other, not the distorted relationship that has been torn through the news media. O'BRIEN: He ends the video on a note of gratitude. JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD: Thank you for your patience and kindness and the sacrifices that you all always made. Peace and may god be with you all. Thank you. O'BRIEN: In suburban Maryland, Mildred Muhammad and her three children are getting by, barely. She's begun a nonprofit web site called afterthetrauma.org to call more attention to the victims of domestic violence. Mildred still believes that her ex-husband can somehow reach out and harm her, that John Allen Muhammad can do anything he puts his mind to, even convince a smart, gifted teenager to become a cold-blooded killer. O'BRIEN: Did John have the personality where if he wanted to brainwash someone who is a young man, he could do it? MILDRED MUHAMMAD, FMR SPOUSE OF JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD: Yes, ma'am. O'BRIEN: Easily? No doubt in your mind. M. MUHAMMAD: My brother had a victim before he even knew it. His life was over when he said, Hi. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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OVW Program
OVW Programs and Services are available to victim-survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking and are available to both male and female Native American victims.Services are also available to those collaterally affected, meaning, although you may not have been a victim yourself, you were in some way affected, either as a child in the same household, were a family member, relative or other community member and would like to talk to someone in a safe, confidential environment.
STRICT ADHERENCE of CONFIDENTIALITY ENFORCEMENT OVW Programs and Services maintains compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and 2000; Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act; VAWA Reauthorization Act of 2005, OVW's Implementing Regulations at 28 CFR Part 90 and strictly adheres to the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (H.I.P.A.A.) and CFR Title 42, 290dd-2 and the regulations that implement it, Title 42, Part 2 (Federal Confidentiality Law as it pertains to AODA records).


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garden, land set aside for the cultivation of flowers, herbs, vegetables, or small fruits, for either utility or ornament. Gardens range in size from window boxes and small dooryard plots to the public botanical garden and commercial truck garden (see truck farming). Garden types are also widely varied: a garden may be devoted entirely to one kind of plant—e.g., cactuses, aquatic plants, alpine plants (see rock garden), or herbs—or may combine many types of plants to achieve maximum beauty and productivity.
Sections in this article:
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Horticulture


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When Grandma died, she took her Christmas cookies with her
After reading a post on WassupBlog, it got me thinking again about this issue, and I feel that you should take a moment to think about it, too. You have a will and life insurance to take care of the big details, but are you overlooking another big one that needs taking care of and preparing for?
In just about every family I know, there has occurred a similar situation, where a loved one has died and all of the recipes that person was responsible for, that became an integral part of that family's culture and traditions, were lost forever.
When a death occurs in a family, it is hard enough to deal with the loss of that person without adding the loss of family culture and tradition on top of it.
Sure Christmas will never be the same without Grandma, but now you don't even have her cookies to help keep her memory alive and feel like at least that part of her is still here.
I would like all moms, grandmas, and anyone else that has ever cooked any food for their family, from holiday dinners to Friday night pizza, to take a moment to think about what would happen to your recipes if anything ever happened to you. If you are a newly wed, and don't really have many yet, think about what could happen in the future when you have plenty.
Are all of your recipes written down and all in one place? Does your family know where to find them? What would happen if your house burned down, taking your paper copies of your recipes with it? Do you have any of Grandma's recipes that need to be protected so they can be handed down to future generations?
Consider publishing all your recipes to a blog, maybe including photos of the prepared items, or even better, photos of your family members enjoying them. Make sure every member of your family has the URL bookmarked.
You might want to create this recipe blog on a free service like Blogger, so there will be less risk of them being lost by being deleted by a hosting company, just in case something happens to you and the hosting bill doesn't get paid.
The bonus you will get for doing this, besides peace of mind, is that while you are still alive, all your recipes will be in one place, easy to share with family and friends, protected in case a fire or flood destroys your home, and you will be introducing others to creations that could possibly become part of their own family culture and traditions.
But more importantly, should anything happen to you, your family will still have that part of you kept alive. And it will be a big comfort to them to still be able to have that. It will be like you coming back every once in awhile to give them a big hug when they really need it most. All of the good memories that go along with the foods will be well preserved in their hearts & minds, when the taste is still on their tongues.


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Blessed Is He Who ComesBecki Slagle Mayo - Lorenz Corporation
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There is no better way to begin your Palm Sunday service than a procession that uses adults and children singing together. This joyful anthem is scored to be sung by any size choir with the options of adding unison children's choir and handbells. Using only 13 handbells, familiar texts from scripture and the hymn tune ELLACOMBE, the piece is simple to prepare and effective with choral groups of any size.
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Topic: trac or redmine using iredmail ldap auth on ubuntu 8.04 howto?
Hi All,
First of all, many thanks for this great project! I've installed the Iredmail solution on an ubuntu server and it has been working very well. One of the major differences was how light this is on resources (I run this on very low powered cpu) compared to many other mail /groupware solutions. Very impressed so far!
Now I have the Iredmail solution installed, I was keen to exploit the Ldap backend/user base and integrate this with redmine or trac (and subservion), but I'm unable to find any pointers to the ldap config required to enable trac/redmine to authenticate using the iredmail users/groups ?
Has anyone done this before? Any pointers or a howto that could help me? I'm running iredmail 0.5 on ubuntu 8.04.3 LTS.
Many thanks,


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Who We Are
Welcome to the internet site of Child Development Services of Wyoming. CDS is an organization of the Developmental Preschool Programs serving the state. These Programs provide therapeutic and educational services to preschool children with developmental disabilities and delays.
CDS has fulfilled this purpose through several programs and activities. They include:
The links to the left offer more information about these activities, their financial supporters and the regional Developmental Preschool Programs.
Site By: The BARK Firm


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warriorsstepup wrote:Am looking forward to this college football season, Jack Locke is going into the season as the top draft pick, but Andrew Luck is right behind him crazy thing. The coach out there at Standford Jim Jim Harbaugh is creating something nice over there. Don't seeing Luck staying another year. Pac 10 will be a power house in coming years, great young coaches out West.
I dont see Harbaugh staying another year either. He might bolt to a more prestigious program or take an NFL gig if Stanford has a great year.


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Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer: Frequently Asked Questions
Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer: Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about nonmelanoma skin cancer.
What is nonmelanoma skin cancer?
Nonmelanoma skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the U.S. The most common types of nonmelanoma skin cancers are basal cell skin cancer and squamous cell skin cancer. They are named for the kind of skin cell in which the cancer starts. Basal cell skin cancer is much more common than squamous cell skin cancer. Both types are most often caused by sun damage.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that starts in skin cells called melanocytes, the cells that give the skin its tan or brown color. Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. It can spread quickly to anywhere in the body.
My skin is dark and I tan easily. Can I still get skin cancer?
Skin cancer is more common in people with fair skin. But anyone can get skin cancer, including people with dark skin tones.
Sunscreen SPF numbers range from 2 to 100+. What number do I need?
Most people need a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. Some expert groups, such as the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Cancer Society, recommend using a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30. Check the bottle label to see that it protects against both UVA and UVB rays.
When do I need to apply sunscreen?
Apply sunscreen every day. Ultraviolet rays can damage your skin even on cloudy days or in the winter. Apply sunscreen 15 minutes before going outdoors and every couple of hours after that. Also reapply sunscreen after swimming, sweating, or toweling off. When outdoors, get even more protection by wearing tightly woven clothing and a wide-brimmed hat.
What do I look for during a skin self-exam?
Any change in your skin may be a sign of skin cancer. Check your skin regularly and become familiar with your skin and your pattern of moles and freckles. Pay close attention to moles larger than a pencil eraser. Note any pigmented areas that have changed color or size, as well as any growths that bleed, heal, and then bleed again. The more consistently you check your skin, the better you'll get at spotting any changes. If you find anything unusual, see your doctor right away. The earlier skin cancer is found, the better the chance for cure.
How do I do a skin self-exam?
Follow these steps:
Look at the front and back of your body in the mirror. Then raise your arms and look at your left and right sides.
Bend your elbows and look at your palms, forearms, including the undersides, and your upper arms.
Examine the back and front of your legs. Also look between your buttocks and around your genital area. You may need to use a hand mirror to do this.
Sit and closely examine your feet, including the soles and the spaces between your toes.
Look at your face, neck, and scalp. You may want to use a comb or a blow dryer so that you can see better or have someone help look at the back of your head and neck area.
Can a doctor tell if I have skin cancer by looking at it?
A doctor trained in skin cancer detection can usually tell if a growth is possibly cancerous. Even so, a biopsy is the only way to know for sure if a lesion is cancer. A biopsy involves removing some or all of the changed skin so it can be checked for cancer cells.
What is Mohs surgery?
Mohs surgery is a special surgery technique used to treat skin cancer. Your doctor uses a local anesthetic to numb the area. Then, he or she removes the cancer one layer of skin at a time. Each layer is checked under a microscope for cancer cells, and your surgeon removes layers until no more cancer is seen. Surgeons usually do this surgery for facial lesions in difficult areas, if the tumor is very large, or when cancer has come back. This technique gives the highest cure rate of all methods. Because the surgeon removes only the minimum amount of tissue, he or she can often obtain optimal cosmetic results. Surgeons usually do plastic reconstruction at the same time as Mohs surgery, though small wounds may be allowed to heal naturally after surgery. Only a dermatologist who has had special training should do this type of surgery.
What is curettage and electrodesiccation?
Curettage is a common treatment for nonmelanoma skin cancer. During this form of surgery, your doctor gives you a local anesthetic to numb the area. Then he or she scrapes the cancer with a tool shaped like a spoon with a sharp edge. This tool is called a curette. After curettage, the doctor also does electrodesiccation. The area where the cancer was removed is treated with electricity from a machine. This helps stop the bleeding and kills any cancer cells that may be left around the wound. People treated with curettage and electrodesiccation may have a scar that is white and flat.
What is an excisional biopsy?
For this type of biopsy, your doctor tries to remove the whole growth, along with some surrounding healthy tissue. An excisional biopsy is sometimes enough to cure skin cancer.
Should everyone get a second opinion for a diagnosis of nonmelanoma?
Many people with cancer get a second opinion from another doctor. There are many reasons to get a second opinion. You may want to seek a second opinion if you're not comfortable with the treatment decision, if the type of cancer is rare, if there are different ways to treat the cancer, or if you aren't able to see a cancer expert.
How can I get a second opinion?
These are some of the ways to get a second opinion:
Ask your primary care doctor. Your doctor may be able to recommend a specialist, such as a dermatologist, Mohs surgeon, medical oncologist, oncologic surgeon, or radiation oncologist. Sometimes these doctors work together at cancer centers or programs.
Check with the American Academy of Dermatology and the American College of Mohs Surgery. Both are excellent sources of information about nonmelanoma skin cancer and can provide names of doctors for second opinions.
Call the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service. The number is 800-4-CANCER (800-422-6237). They have information about treatment facilities, including cancer centers and other programs supported by the National Cancer Institute.
Seek other options. You can get names of doctors from your local medical society, a nearby hospital, a medical school, or local cancer advocacy groups, as well as from other people who have had that type of cancer.
October 14, 2017
How to select a sunscreen. American Academy of Dermatology, Skin Examinations. American Academy of Dermatology., What You Need To Know About Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers. National Cancer Institute.
Reviewed By:
Cunningham, Louise, RN,Stump-Sutliff, Kim, RN, MSN, AOCNS


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Follow This Company
Since its founding in 1976 in Portland, Ore., DEA has become a recognized leader for progressive and sustainable design and management solutions for complex transportation, land development, energy, and water resources projects nationwide. The firm has over 25 offices in seven states and employs nearly 1,100. Its staff includes professional engineers, surveyors, planners, landscape architects, and natural resources scientists. DEA is an employee-owned corporation and consistently ranks among Engineering News Record's Top 100 Pure Design firms in the U.S. DEA and its staff are committed to improving the quality of life, while demonstrating stewardship of the built and natural environments.


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20 years of DIN ISO 9001 certification
rose plastic was certified in 1993 for the first time to DIN EN ISO 9001. The cooperation with the SKZ Cert started three years later, in 1996. rose plastic was honored with the "20 years ISO 9001" award in Würzburg in September this year for their long-term commitment. The SKZ Cert thanked rose plastic for the valued partnership and the good working relationship.
rose plastic commits to a high quality standard according to ISO 9001. All processes and workflows within the company are continually and systematically reviewed, documented and improved, based on the standard requirements. Through the introduction of the ISO 9001 quality management system into the production sites in the USA, China and Brazil, rose plastic guarantees a consistently high quality standard for customers and business partners worldwide.
In addition to the high quality standard, an environment- and resource-friendly production also has a high priority at rose plastic. In addition to the ISO 9001 certification, the environment and energy management system of rose plastic AG and rose plastic medical packaging GmbH is certified according to DIN EN ISO 14001 or DIN EN ISO 50001 by SKZ.