This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-07-493R 
entitled 'Data on Hispanic Representation in the Federal Workforce' 
which was released on May 18, 2007. 

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May 18, 2007: 

The Honorable Henry A. Waxman:
Chairman:
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: 
House of Representatives: 

The Honorable Danny K. Davis:
Chairman:
Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Post Office,and the District of 
Columbia: 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: House of Representatives: 

The Honorable Charles A. Gonzalez:
House of Representatives: 

The Honorable Grace Flores Napolitano: 
House of Representatives: 

Subject: Data on Hispanic Representation in the Federal Workforce: 

In August 2006, we reported to you on the results of our review, done 
at your request, of factors affecting Hispanic representation in the 
federal workforce and efforts being taken by the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), 
and other agencies related to Hispanic representation.[Footnote 1] We 
reported that EEOC and OPM require agencies to analyze their workforces 
to help ensure equal employment opportunity and that EEOC requires 
agencies to analyze subsets of their workforce to determine whether 
barriers to such opportunities may exist.[Footnote 2] As indicated in 
that report, and as discussed with your offices, this report contains 
additional data on Hispanic representation in various subsets of the 
federal workforce with some comparisons to Hispanic representation in 
the Civilian Labor Force (CLF).[Footnote 3] (See enclosure 1.) The data 
in this report provide a foundation for further analyses by agency 
officials and policymakers as they consider a broad spectrum of issues 
related to Hispanic representation in the federal workforce. These data 
include analyses by agency, selected occupation, occupational category, 
grade, and among new hires. For purposes of these analyses, the federal 
workforce governmentwide includes civilian employees of all cabinet- 
level departments, independent agencies, commissions, councils, and 
boards in the executive branch except the intelligence agencies, the 
Postal Service, and the Foreign Service (as of 2006).[Footnote 4] 

The data in this report are descriptive and our analyses did not 
include any statistical tests controlling for citizenship, education, 
or other factors that can affect an individual's placement in the 
federal workforce or the CLF. These data are not intended to and do not 
show either the existence or absence of discrimination against 
Hispanics or any other group by a federal agency. Additionally, these 
data should be considered in the context of changes to the size, 
structure, and occupational composition and hiring needs of individual 
agencies and the federal workforce as a whole. For example, in 2003 the 
Department of Homeland Security was formed from portions of other 
cabinet-level departments, including the Departments of Justice, 
Transportation, and Treasury, and all of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, an independent agency. We did not report data on 
Hispanic representation where the total number of employees in the 
particular subset of the federal workforce was less than 20 because a 
single employee within a subset of less than 20 employees can change 
representation levels by 5 percent or more. We also indicated where the 
total number of employees in a particular subset ranged from 20 to 50. 

For our analyses of Hispanic representation among on-board federal 
employees, we included both permanent and nonpermanent employees 
because the CLF, to which the federal workforce is often compared, 
includes both permanent and nonpermanent employees. However, because 
about half of all new federal hires are nonpermanent employees compared 
to about a tenth of all current federal employees, for our analyses of 
Hispanic representation among new hires, we provided data on Hispanic 
representation separately for permanent and nonpermanent hires. 
Permanent employees include those who have career or career-conditional 
appointments, while nonpermanent employees include those with a 
temporary or limited term appointment or other appointment that does 
not make them eligible to become a career employee. In our August 2006 
report, we reported on the reliability of the same datasets used for 
these analyses--the Central Personnel Data File (CPDF) and the Census 
2000 Special EEO File. Because we use these datasets in this report for 
similar purposes as they were used in our August 2006 report, we 
consider these datasets sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this 
report. 

* In table 1, we provide data on Hispanic representation for each of 
the 24 Chief Financial Officer Act agencies,[Footnote 5] using the CPDF 
for each of the years 1990-2006. The CPDF is a database maintained by 
OPM that contains individual records for most federal employees and 
personnel actions. It is the primary governmentwide source for 
information on federal employees. 

* In table 2, we provide data on Hispanic representation in the CLF and 
governmentwide by EEOC's occupational categories.[Footnote 6] EEOC uses 
nine occupational categories for the federal workforce--officials and 
managers, professionals, technicians, sales, office and clerical, craft 
workers, operatives, laborers, and service workers. EEOC also requires 
private sector employers to report data using these nine categories. We 
determined Hispanic representation in the federal workforce by EEOC's 
occupational categories using the CPDF for each of the years 2000-2006. 
We did not analyze Hispanic representation using EEOC's categories for 
the federal workforce or CLF for 1990 because changes in how federal 
occupations were categorized in 1990 versus 2000 did not allow us to 
adequately conduct these analyses. For the analysis of Hispanic 
representation in the CLF by EEOC's occupational categories, we used 
the Census 2000 Special EEO File. The Census 2000 Special EEO File is a 
tabulation based on decennial Census data, which permits analyses of 
representation in the CLF by occupation, race, ethnicity, and gender. 
The Census Bureau prepares these files based on specifications set by 
EEOC, OPM, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Labor. 

* In table 3, we provide data on Hispanic representation governmentwide 
by OPM's occupational categories. OPM, which is responsible for 
classifying federal occupations, uses six occupational categories; one 
covering blue-collar occupations, which includes occupations comprising 
the trades, crafts, and manual labor, and five covering white-collar 
occupations--professional, administrative, technical, clerical, and 
other white collar.[Footnote 7] We determined Hispanic representation 
in the federal workforce governmentwide by OPM's occupational 
categories using the CPDF for 1990 and each of the years 2000-2006. We 
did not analyze CLF data by OPM's occupational categories because some 
federal occupations are included in multiple categories depending upon 
the employee's grade level and the Census 2000 Special EEO File does 
not have comparable grade-level data to allow us to adequately conduct 
an analysis. 

* In table 4, we provide data on Hispanic representation in federal 
occupations and in similar occupations in the CLF. We selected the 
occupations which in September 2004 had 10,000 or more federal 
employees--47 occupations in total. For Hispanic representation in 
these occupations governmentwide, we used the CPDF for each of the 
years 2000-2006. For Hispanic representation in these occupations in 
the CLF, we analyzed the Census 2000 Special EEO File. To match the 
federal occupations with similar occupations in the CLF, we used a 
crosswalk provided to us by EEOC. 

* In tables 5 through 30, we provide data on Hispanic representation by 
pay plan/ grade. Table 5 contains governmentwide data and tables 6 
through 30 contain data for each agency, using the CPDF for each of the 
years 1990-2006 in groupings of Blue Collar (wage grade), General 
Schedule grades 1 through 4, 5 through 8, and 9 through 12; separately 
for grades 13, 14, and 15; and separately for those in the Senior 
Executive Service, Senior Level/Senior Technical positions, and under 
the Executive Schedule. 

* In tables 31 through 34, we provide data on Hispanic representation 
governmentwide and in table 35, for each agency, among new hires, 
separately for permanent and nonpermanent hires, using the CPDF for 
1990 and each of the years 2000-2006. Governmentwide, we provide data 
on new hires overall, by pay plan/grade, and EEOC's and OPM's 
occupational categories. In the definition of permanent new hires, we 
included reinstatements--those who had career status when they were 
separated from the federal workforce and received new career 
appointments. We did not include the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 
the new hire data because it does not submit data to the CPDF on hires 
and other personnel actions. Additionally, beginning in January 2006, 
OPM required agencies to ask new hires to identify whether or not they 
are Hispanic--their ethnicity--separate from or regardless of their 
race rather than, as previously required, in response to a single 
question where Hispanic could be selected from a list of racial and 
ethnic groups, which could affect the reported percentage of Hispanic 
new hires. 

We provided the Chair of EEOC, the Director of OPM, the Attorney 
General, and the Secretary of Commerce with a draft of this report for 
their review and comment. EEOC, OPM, and the Department of Commerce 
provided technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate. In 
response to comments by the Department of Justice, we have added 
explanatory notes to tables 2 and 4. Justice's comments are reprinted 
in enclosure II. 

We will send copies of this report to the Chair of EEOC, the Director 
of OPM, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Commerce, the 
Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and other interested 
parties. Copies will be made available to others upon request. This 
report will also be available at no charge on GAO's Web site at 
http://www.gao.gov. 

If you have questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-
9490 or stalcupg@gao.gov. In addition to the contact named above, Belva 
M. Martin, Assistant Director; Karin K. Fangman; Anthony P. Lofaro; 
Rebecca Shea; Tamara F. Stenzel; and Gregory H. Wilmoth made major 
contributions to this report. 

Signed by: 

George H. Stalcup: 
Director, Strategic Issues: 

Enclosures: 

[End of section] 

Enclosure I: Hispanic Representation in Subsets of the Federal 
Workforce Data Tables: 

[See PDF for Data Tables] 

[End of tables 1-35] 

[End of section] 

Enclosure II: Comments from the Department of Justice: 

U.S. Department of Justice: 

April 13, 2007: 

Washington, D.C. RC 20530: 

Ms. Belva Martin: 
Assistant Director: 
Strategic Issues:
United States Government Accountability Office: 
Washington, D.C. 20548: 

Dear Ms. Martin: 

This letter responds to a letter, dated March 29, 2007, from George H. 
Stalcup, Director of Strategic Issues, United States Government 
Accountability Office ("GAO"), to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales 
inviting comment by this Department to the GAO's proposed report 
entitled Data on Hispanic Representation in the Federal Workforce (GAO- 
07-439R)("Draft Report"). We thank you for providing us the opportunity 
to comment on your Draft Report. 

The GAO's Draft Report references (at 1) the GAO's report of last 
August that, inter alia, addressed various factors (citizenship, level 
of education, etc.) that affect the representation of Hispanics in the 
federal workforce. See GAO, The Federal Workforce: Additional Insights 
Could Enhance Agency Efforts Related to Hispanic Representation, GAO- 
06-832 (Washington, D.C.: August 17, 2006) (the "August 2006 Report"). 
The Draft Report then states (at 2) that: 

this report contains additional data [to that presented in the August 
2006 Report] on the Hispanic representation in various subsets of the 
federal workforce with some comparisons to Hispanic representation in 
the Civilian Labor Force (CLF). [footnote omitted] The data in this 
report provide a foundation for further analyses by agency officials 
and policymakers as they consider a broad spectrum of issues related to 
Hispanic representation in the federal workforce. 

We are concerned with the GAO's presentation - without any qualifiers - 
of comparisons between Hispanic representation in the CLF and Hispanic 
representation in the federal workforce. See Draft Report, Tables 2 and 
4. In our view, comparisons of this type that do not include the effect 
of various factors (citizenship, level of education, etc.) are at a 
minimum misleading, and could lead to misinterpretation and 
misapplication by the federal agencies and others. 

Let us illustrate the serious problem with presenting such comparisons 
without any qualifiers. In its August 2006 Report, the GAO found that 
"Hispanics 18 [years of age] and older were 30 percent less likely than 
non-Hispanics to be employed (i.e., represented) in the federal 
workforce, relative to the nonfederal workforce." August 2006 Report, 
at 7. However, the GAO correctly observed that, with few exceptions, 
U.S. citizenship is required for federal employment; and, indeed, "99.7 
percent of federal executive branch employees were U.S. citizens or 
nationals in 2005." Id. When the GAO took into account the effect of 
citizenship, it found that Hispanic citizens 18 years of age and older 
were only "5 percent less likely than non-Hispanics to be employed in 
the federal workforce compared to their representation in the 
nonfederal workforce. Id. Further, the GAO correctly observed that 
"[t]he federal workforce contains a greater percentage of occupations 
that require higher levels of education than the CLF." Id., at 8. When 
the GAO took into account the effects of both citizenship and level of 
education, it found that "Hispanic citizens were 1.16 times or 16 
percent more likely than similarly educated non-Hispanic citizens to be 
in the federal workforce than the nonfederal workforce." Id. Lastly, 
when the GAO took into account all of the factors in its statistical 
model that affected Hispanic representation in the federal workforce 
(citizenship, level of education, gender, veteran's status, race, 
English proficiency, age, disability status, school attendance, 
employment status and geography), it found that "among citizens, 
Hispanics were 24 percent or 1.24 times more likely than non-Hispanics 
to be employed in the federal workforce than in the nonfederal 
workforce." Id., at 7. 

In light of the above, we feel strongly that the GAO should insert a 
caveat as to the limited use that can be made of the comparisons 
presented in Tables 2 and 4 of the Draft Report and incorporate by 
reference those findings of its August 2006 Report that arc discussed 
above. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to review and comment on the draft 
report. If you have any questions, please contact Richard Theis, DOJ 
Audit Liaison, who can be reached on 202-514-0469. 

Sincerely, 

Signed by: 

Lee J. Lofthus: 
Assistant Attorney General for Administration: 

[End of section] 

(450529) 

FOOTNOTES 

[1] See GAO, The Federal Workforce: Additional Insights Could Enhance 
Agency Efforts Related to Hispanic Representation, GAO-06-832 
(Washington, D.C.: Aug. 17, 2006). 

[2] EEOC defines barriers as agency policies, principles, or practices 
that limit or tend to limit employment opportunities for members of a 
particular gender, race, or ethnic background, or based on an 
individual's disability status. 

[3] Hispanics are defined as persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, 
Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin. The CLF 
is defined as those 16 and older (including federal workers) who are 
employed or looking for work and not in the military or 
institutionalized. With a few exceptions, 18 years is the minimum age 
for federal employment. 

[4] For on-board employees, the Foreign Service is not included for all 
2006 data, and for new hires, the Foreign Service is not included as of 
March 2006. 

[5] In 2006, the Chief Financial Officer Act agencies employed 98 
percent of federal employees. 

[6] EEOC also calls its categories, "job" or "employment" categories. 
For purposes of this report, we refer to them as "occupational" 
categories. 

[7] For the white-collar occupations, OPM considers the subject matter 
of work, the level of difficulty or responsibility involved, and the 
educational requirements of each occupation in determining the 
occupational category. 

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