§5.0 I. Overview Of The U.S. Eeoc And N.Y.S. Dhr

• Jurisdiction: New York

I. Overview of the U.S. EEOC and N.Y.S. DHR

Federally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an independent federal agency, separate from the U.S. Department of Labor.³⁸² The Department of Labor, however, has its own agencies to review and enforce equal employment opportunities: "Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws prohibit specific types of job discrimination in certain workplaces. The Department of Labor has two agencies which deal with EEO monitoring and enforcement, the Civil Rights Center and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs."³⁸³ For purposes of this chapter, though, on the federal level we will examine and evaluate the EEOC and its procedures.

Pursuant to the EEOC's website:

Overview

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

Most employers with at least 15 employees are covered by EEOC laws (20 employees in age discrimination cases). Most labor unions and employment agencies are also covered.

The laws apply

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