GROUPS DEBATE WHETHER FCC EEO RULES SHOULD APPLY TO PART-TIMERS

FCC’s latest rulemaking on EEO rules has exposed large rift over how part-time positions in broadcasting and cable should be treated. In documents filed at FCC’s comment deadline Thurs., it wasn’t even clear how many people issue affected, since NAB said there was “apparently low prevalence” of part-time jobs in industry, while National Organization for Women (NOW) said part-time positions constituted “a significant portion of the total work force in the broadcast industry.” FCC defines part-time as fewer than 30 hours per week.

Under new rules, broadcasters and cable operators would have to widely disseminate information on full-time jobs, except under exigent circumstances, notify organizations that requested job vacancy notices and carry out specified number of outreach activities from menu of options (CD Nov 8 p3), such as job fairs or internships. Those rules don’t apply to part-time positions, although FCC asked in latest notice whether they should. Previously, agency hadn’t required outreach-related reporting for part-time positions but had directed companies to “substantially comply” with recruiting requirements.

NAB said low number of part-time positions “does not warrant full application of the new EEO rules.” It cited Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data that showed part-time workers made up 8.77% of total work force in radio, TV and cable in 2001. Mandate to “substantially” comply would “more than suffice,” NAB said. What’s more, it said, forcing full recruitment for part-time positions “could cause the unintended consequence of incenting stations to eliminate part-time positions.”

Under FCC rules, stations hiring part-time workers following full recruitment effort could later promote them to full time without requiring new recruitment round. However, if station didn’t do full recruitment to fill original part- time job, then it would have to do so before converting employee to full-time. NAB said it believed policy of not requiring full recruitment “until this point is reasonable.”

NOW said maintaining different standards for part-time positions “may lead to substantial abuse of the EEO rules” by allowing broadcasters that wanted to evade rules to hire people at just fewer than 30 hours per week. NOW also said that, in order to avoid having to go through full recruitment, some broadcasters could decide against converting part-time jobs to full-time. It said full recruitment measures should be applied to part-time jobs.

NOW cited study conducted by RTNDA and Ball State U. that found that in 2001, part-time positions constituted 31% of radio news staffs and 10% of TV news staffs. It also cited Mo. School of Journalism report that said of 12,000 radio station employees in 2001, almost half worked fewer than 40 hours per week. NOW said part-time positions were vital, providing entree to industry for many candidates who otherwise wouldn’t have had opportunity.

AWRT like NOW, advocated FCC apply full rules to part- time jobs. It cited same Ball State study, saying it showed women and minorities were underrepresented in broadcast stations and were absent particularly at highest levels of management. Not applying full rules, AWRT said, “could easily be manipulated and exploited at the employer level.”

NCTA suggested new regime for FCC to apply rules: It would have Commission define part-time as permanent employee who worked at least 25 hours per week but not more than 30. NCTA said Commission should apply same recruitment, reporting and recordkeeping procedures to part-time workers as to full- time employees as long as those part-timers worked at least 25 hours per week. But rules shouldn’t apply to permanent employees who worked less than 25 hours per week, it said. NCTA also wouldn’t have rules apply to temporary workers or employees of independent contractors working for cable companies. Drawing line at 25 hours “strikes the proper balance” between rules and “excessively burdensome processes,” NCTA said. Assn. said it didn’t know how many persons in cable industry worked fewer than 25 hours, but said many were customer service representatives and telemarketers.

Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC) said FCC lacked authority to deny part-time workers full protection of EEO regulations. “Denying EEO protection to part-time workers would violate the Act, as well as being irrational and indefensible,” MMTC said, noting that part-timers had enjoyed full FCC EEO protection for 30 years. It also said “to the best of our knowledge,” no federal or state civil rights statute affecting EEO omitted coverage of part-time employment. MMTC cited 1986 FCC figures showing more than 17% of broadcast employees were part-time.

Meanwhile, survey by The Most Influential Women in Radio (MIW) said opportunities for women to rise to top managerial positions in radio “are still far below” those for men. Survey of all U.S. radio groups that owned 12 or more stations “clearly shows that the radio broadcasting industry is ‘behind the curve’ in advancing women,” said MIW spokeswoman Joan Gerberding of Nassau Media Partners. Of groups surveyed, 17% of stations had women gen. mgrs., 10% female program dirs. and 31% of gen. sales mgrs. were women while 39 groups owning 816 stations had no women gen. mgrs.

American Cable Assn. (ACA) said FCC’s policy of not considering owners holding 20%-50% voter interest in broadcast station as employees also should apply to cable. It said number of recruitment options to be performed by Sept. 30 should be reduced for small cable operators because of shorter implementation period.

Coalition of most state broadcaster associations said it remained concerned FCC wasn’t recognizing Internet as recruiting tool, instead forcing upon them “less efficient and less effective dissemination methodologies.” New EEO rules would create more paperwork and result in reluctance to fill openings, said coalition of associations from 43 states and D.C.

Extension of FCC EEO requirements to include part-time employees would “cause severe and unnecessary hardships on [stations] in small and medium markets,” Ark., Miss. and N.M. state associations said in separate filings. They said that as recently as 2000, agency order continued to exclude part- time positions and “concluded that the requirements otherwise placed on full-time positions would be too burdensome” if added to part-timers: “Nothing has been submitted to the Commission that would require a change in policy.”