Mcle Self-study: the Eeoc's Enduring Civil Rights Legacy: Addressing Workplace Discrimination in Vulnerable Communities Through the Pandemic and Beyond

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Author: By Anna Y. Park and Nakkisa Akhavan
• Publication year: 2022
• Citation: Vol. 36 No. 2

MCLE Self-Study: THE EEOC'S ENDURING CIVIL RIGHTS LEGACY: ADDRESSING WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION IN VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE PANDEMIC AND BEYOND

California Labor & Employment Law Review Official Publication of the California Lawyers Association Labor and Employment Law Section

By Anna Y. Park and Nakkisa Akhavan

Anna Park is the Regional Attorney for the Los Angeles District Office of the EEOC which covers Central and Southern California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the territories in the Pacific including Wake Island, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. She is in charge of all litigation on behalf of the EEOC in her district and has brought groundbreaking and influential cases on behalf of the Commission for the past two decades. Co-author Nakkisa Akhavan is a Supervisory Trial Attorney for the EEOC. She has extensive experience litigating employment discrimination cases in federal courts including the Global Horizon, Prestige, and JPL cases. The authors thank Natalie Nardecchia, Senior Trial Attorney, for her assistance with this article. The authors can be reached at info@eeoc.gov or (800) 669-4000.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established by enactment of the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 to enforce laws prohibiting employment discrimination. The agency plays a vital role in both investigating complaints of discrimination under federal law and litigating in the public interest. As we reflect on the advancement of civil rights protections in employment, we also acknowledge the ever-evolving manifestation of discrimination in the workplace. This has been particularly true during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EEOC is no stranger to responding and advancing the civil rights mission as workplace discrimination evolves. The agency has been at the forefront of addressing each new wave and form of discrimination. The EEOC's work is more important than ever in the wake of the pandemic and the resulting "great resignation."

On April 28, 2021, the EEOC convened a meeting called the "Workplace Civil Rights Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic."¹ A number of stakeholders from advocacy groups, the employer community, and other non-governmental entities provided insight into the problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact upon different communities, and the role the EEOC can play in addressing these civil rights challenges. EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows, appointed by President Biden, noted the far-reaching effects of COVID-19 and the ensuing civil rights crisis, where existing inequities in the workplace have been magnified and marginalized communities have been profoundly harmed. "The pandemic's health and economic fallout has disproportionally impacted people of color, women, older workers, immigrant and migrant workers, and individuals with disabilities, Native Americans, and many transgender persons and other vulnerable workers," Chair Burrows observed. Of importance is how the EEOC has historically carried out its civil rights mission and will continue to do so under the global pandemic and beyond.

ADDRESSING ISSUES FACED BY ESSENTIAL WORKERS

During the April 28, 2021 hearing, Mónica Ramírez, Founder and President of Justice for Migrant Women, spoke of the over-representation of people of color in frontline jobs (41.22% Black, Latinx, Asian American Pacific Islander, and other non-White categories). Many frontline workers are also over the age of 40 and live in poverty. Ms. Ramírez spoke of the devastating harm toward employees in certain sectors like meatpacking, where lack of concern for worker safety has led to numerous workers becoming sick or dying. All the while, many of the same companies employing these workers experienced financial boons. She called for stronger enforcement to ensure equitable working conditions.

The pandemic has caused a re-examination of how essential workers are defined. Prior to the pandemic, warehouse workers, grocery workers, meatpackers, and other "frontline" workers were largely not viewed as "essential" but replaceable. The pandemic has brought to light, on a national scale, the great importance of these and other workers to ensure that people have access to food, water, and vital services and the supply chains run uninterrupted. The EEOC has long been aware of the essential nature of these jobs and workers. The civil rights violations faced by the very workers finally viewed as essential by a much larger sector of society have been the focus of the EEOC's enforcement actions for decades. These same frontline workers and industries have long been the subject and focus of numerous EEOC cases, as the EEOC has steadfastly been committed to serving vulnerable and "frontline" populations. More recently, the EEOC has seen a rise in race harassment cases directed at African Americans, who work in warehouses, service facilities such as laundry, and in construction.² Many such workers are placed in minimum or low-wage temporary positions by staffing agencies and often do not enjoy the same protections as permanent employees do. The pandemic has demonstrated the ongoing critical role that the EEOC plays with regard to safeguarding the rights of these essential, and often low-wage, workers in various industries. The EEOC will continue to focus on serving these workers, who have worked tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of the public throughout this pandemic.

ADDRESSING HARASSMENT

During the April 28, 2021 EEOC hearing, President and CEO of the National Women's Law Center Fatima Goss Graves spoke about the burdens faced by women and people of color. They have been some of the hardest hit by disruptions caused by the pandemic, because low-wage service workers are...