FCC CONTINUES VIGOROUS
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Two recent actions by the FCC
underscore its ongoing commitment to enforcement of its equal employment
opportunity (“EEO”) rules. Taken together, these actions serve as a
strong reminder that the FCC is carefully reviewing broadcasters’ EEO
efforts. First, the FCC issued
Notices of Apparent Liability (“NALs”) to two
broadcasters for failing to recruit properly for multiple full-time vacancies
as required under the FCC’s EEO rules, after reviewing the broadcasters’ most
recent EEO public file reports included as part of their license renewal
applications. In issuing the NALs, the FCC
criticized the broadcasters for recruiting only through Internet websites,
word-of-mouth referrals, and vacancy announcements posted on company employee
bulletin boards to notify potential applicants of the vacancies.
According to the FCC, reliance on these types of sources – without notifying any
additional public, non-Internet sources – was not sufficient to satisfy the
requirement that broadcasters widely recruit for each full-time job
vacancy. In addition, the FCC criticized the broadcasters for failing
to engage in the required self-assessment of their EEO recruitment programs,
which is a separate violation of the EEO rules. The NALs
assessed forfeitures of $8,000 and $14,000, and imposed additional EEO
reporting requirements for three years in each case. The additional
reporting requirements apply not only to the current licensees of the
stations named in the NALs, but also will apply to
any new stations added to the employment unit and to any successor licensee
of the stations involved. The obligations imposed by the additional
reporting requirements to subsequent owners is different from the FCC’s usual
enforcement policy which only holds the licensee at the time of the
underlying conduct responsible for fines or corrective conditions; as a
result, the reporting requirements will need to be disclosed to and followed
by potential station buyers in the future. Second, last week the FCC
hosted a summit discussing best practices and compliance issues with its EEO
rules. The FCC’s EEO summit included panels featuring FCC officials
responsible for oversight of the agency’s EEO program and communications law
practitioners – including Lerman Senter’s S. Jenell Trigg – who regularly
counsel broadcasters on EEO matters. During her panel, S. Jenell
presented a Top Ten list of ways to comply with the FCC’s EEO rules, a copy
of which is available here.
At the summit, the FCC staff indicated that more NALs
are forthcoming, and that the EEO office will take enforcement action not
only in connection with license renewal applications and random audits, but
also through its own informal investigations of stations’ websites. The
entire summit is available for viewing here. Should you have any
questions concerning compliance with the FCC’s EEO rules, please contact your
primary attorney in our office. January 13, 2012 |
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This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues and should not be regarded as legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations if desired. Copyright © 2012, Lerman Senter PLLC 2000 K Street NW,
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