City of Columbus amends Title 39 of City Code
On December 12, the City Council of Columbus amended Title 39 of City Code. Title 39 governs Affirmative Action for the municipality. The changes to Title 39 have replaced the Office of Equal Opportunity with the Office of Diversity and
Inclusion (ODI).
Additionally, the amendments expand the codified definition of minorities to include Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. This is now in compliance with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. ODI has been tasked with ensuring, workforce and supplier diversity as well as contract compliance and diversity outreach.
Furthermore, ODI will be responsible for Minority, Female, and Veteran Business Enterprise Certification, which will allow for certified enterprises to participate in the business networking and educational programs. Lastly, ODI will be trusted in implementing future unified goals based on the results of the 2017 disparity study.
“We feel the new amendment is a positive change for minority owned businesses,” said Stephen Francis, Chief Diversity Officer for the City of Columbus. “The changes will allow us to provide services and support to these businesses from the City. We want to certify as many minority businesses as we can to offer a wide variety of options for city departments to do business.”
Printed in OhioMBE – Dec. 15, 2016 –
