Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the Director of the Division of Investment in the Department of the Treasury is authorized and directed to investigate the extent to which United States corporations or their subsidiaries doing business in Northern Ireland, in which the assets of any State pension or annuity fund are invested, adhere to principles of nondiscrimination in employment and freedom of workplace opportunity. In making this determination, the director shall consider, without limitation, the following standards for corporate activity:

a. Increasing the representation of individuals from underrepresented religious groups in the workforce, including managerial, supervisory, administrative, clerical and technical jobs;

b. Adequate security for the protection of minority employees both at the workplace and while traveling to and from work;

c. The banning of provocative religious or political emblems from the workplace;

d. All job openings should be publicly advertised and special recruitment efforts should be made to attract applicants from underrepresented religious groups;

e. Layoff, recall and termination procedures should not in practice favor particular religious groups;

f. The abolition of job reservations, apprenticeship restrictions and differential employment criteria, which discriminate on the basis of religion or ethnic origin;

g. The development of training programs that will prepare substantial numbers of current minority employees for skilled jobs, including the expansion of existing programs and the creation of new programs to train, upgrade and improve the skills of minority employees;

h. The establishment of procedures to assess, identify and actively recruit minority employees with potential for further advancement;

i. The appointment of a senior management staff member to oversee the company’s affirmative action efforts and the setting up of timetables to carry out affirmative action principles.

The director may use information disseminated by, or surveys or reports of, international, national, independent, state or city agencies if, in the opinion of the State Investment Council, the information, survey or report satisfies the requirements of this section.

L. 1987, c. 177, s. 2.