Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION

1801 L Street NW., Washington, DC 20507

Phone, 202-663-4900. TTY, 202-663-4494. Internet, http://www.eeoc.gov/.

Chairman Paul M. Igasaki

Executive Assistant J. Kenneth L. Morse

Attorney Advisor Jason S. Hegy

Special Assistant Mark W. Wong

Executive Director Maria Borrero

Special Assistant (vacancy)

Vice Chairman Paul M. Igasaki

Executive Assistant J. Kenneth L. Morse

Attorney Advisor Jason S. Hegy

Special Assistant Mark W. Wong

Commissioner Paul Steven Miller

Senior Adviser R. Paul Richard

Special Assistants Lisa S. Cottle, Antoinette M. Eates, Justin S. Lisser

Commissioner Reginald E. Jones

Special Assistants Naomi Levin, Wallace Lew, Cassandra Menoken

Commissioner (vacancy)

Executive Officer Frances M. Hart

Attorney Advisor Stephen Llewellyn

General Counsel C. Gregory Stewart

Inspector General Aletha L. Brown

Director, Office of Communications and William J. White, Jr., Legislative Affairs Acting

Director, Office of Equal Opportunity Cynthia C. Matthews

Director, Office of Federal Operations Ronnie Blumenthal

Legal Counsel Ellen J. Vargyas

Director, Office of Field Programs Elizabeth M. Thornton

Director, Office of Financial and Resource Kassie A. Billingsley

Management

Director, Office of Information Resources Sallie T. Hsieh

Management

Director, Office of Human Resources Patricia Cornwell Johnson

Director, Office of Research, Information, and Deidre Flippen

Planning

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces laws which prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age in hiring, promoting, firing, setting wages, testing, training, apprenticeship, and all other terms and conditions of employment. The Commission conducts investigations of alleged discrimination; makes determinations based on gathered evidence; attempts conciliation when discrimination has taken place; files lawsuits; and conducts voluntary assistance programs for employers, unions, and community organizations. The Commission also has adjudicatory and oversight responsibility for all compliance and enforcement activities relating to equal employment opportunity among Federal employees and applicants, including discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was created by title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-4), and became operational July 2, 1965. Title VII was amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

Executive Order 12067 of June 30, 1978, abolished the Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinating Council and transferred its duties to the Commission with responsibility for providing coherence and direction to the Government's equal employment opportunity efforts.

Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. app.) effective January

1, 1979, transferred Federal equal employment functions from the Civil Service Commission to the EEOC. Authorities for transferred functions include:

--section 717 of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16), which prohibits discrimination in employment in the Federal Government on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;

--Executive Order 11478 of August 8, 1969, which sets forth the U.S. policy of providing for equal employment opportunity in the Federal Government through affirmative action programs in Federal departments and agencies;

--the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 206) in the Federal sector;

--section 15 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended (29 U.S.C. 633a) in the Federal sector; and

--section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791), which pertains to employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the Federal Government.

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On July 1, 1979, responsibility for enforcement--in private industry as well as in State and local governments--of the Equal Pay Act of 1963

(EPA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) was transferred from the Department of Labor to the Commission. The EPA prohibits sex-based pay differences where substantially equal work is performed in the same establishment under similar working conditions and requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility; and the ADEA prohibits employment discrimination against workers or applicants 40 years of age or older. In addition to employers, the ADEA covers activities of employment agencies, and both acts cover activities of labor organizations.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) was approved on July 26, 1990. Title I of the act has been enforced by EEOC since July 26, 1992, for employers with 25 or more employees, and since July 26, 1994, for employers with 15 or more employees. Title I governs private employers, State and local governments, employment agencies, labor organizations, and joint labor-

management committees. The ADA prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities and requires that employers make reasonable accommodations for such qualified individuals if it would not create undue hardship.

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 reversed parts of several U.S. Supreme Court rulings and provided for compensatory and punitive damages for intentional discrimination under title VII, the Rehabilitation Act of

1973, and the ADA.

The Commission is comprised of five Commissioners appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for 5-year staggered terms. The President designates a Chairman and a Vice Chairman.

The Commission operates through 50 field offices, each of which processes charges.

Activities

Enforcement The Commission's field offices receive charges of job discrimination under title VII, the ADA, the EPA, and the ADEA. Field offices may initiate investigations to find violations of the acts. Members of the Commission also may initiate charges alleging that a violation of title VII or the ADA has occurred. Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 covers Federal employees and applicants only.

Charges Under Title VII Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin by private employers, State and local governments, and educational institutions with 15 or more employees, or by the Federal Government, private and public employment agencies, labor organizations, and joint labor-

management committees for apprenticeship and training.

Charges of title VII violations in the private sector must...