On May 11, Brendan Holland presented a Webinar on the FCC’s EEO Rules. Hosted by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and shared with 28 other state broadcast associations, the seminar provided a refresher course on the Equal Employment Opportunity rules. A copy of the Power Point presentation from Brendan’s seminar is available here, and an archived copy of the Webinar itself will be available on the web soon. Broadcasters should contact their state broadcast associations or the Michagan Association of Broadcasters for the link and access to the archived Webinar. Also, a copy of DWT’s EEO primer is available here. A description of yesterday’s Webinar is below.
With annual EEO public file reports due for stations in Michigan by June 1st, and the next broadcast station license renewal cycle just around the corner in 2011, stations need to make sure that they are familiar with the FCC’s EEO rules and are taking all the steps necessary to ensure that they stay out of trouble. EEO continues to be a hot issue for the FCC, and one that draws many fines from the Commission, both at license renewal time and in connection with the ongoing random EEO audits that the FCC conducts several times a year.
With the changes in ownership, personnel, and hiring efforts that inevitably occur at stations over time, it is important that station owners, managers, and hiring personnel are on top of the FCC’s rules. This session hosted by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters will provide a primer on the FCC’s Equal Employment Opportunity rules, including the outreach required for the opening of jobs at the stations, the non-vacancy related activities that stations should be engaging in, and the record keeping requirements to make sure you keep all the necessary documents to support what the station did. The goal of the session is to refresh your understanding of the rules, provide insight into the FCC’s enforcement and guidance in the past few years, and highlight some common pitfalls.