Introduction
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, commonly referred to as EEOC is a government body of enforcement that has the power to challenge the hiring or other practices of employment in specific instance of a discrimination complaint filed by either an employee, either current or former or any other applicant. However, the EEOC also deals with assisting employers in discrimination avoidance in their employment practices. Thus, the EEOC can be referred to as a partner of every organization that is legally licensed to operate under the United States Law. EEOC is headquartered in Washington D.C. with an additional 53 field offices across the entire United States.
EEOC holds the responsibility of enforcing federal laws that mandate discrimination against workers as being an illegal act and accordingly, any employer found to be behaving in a discriminatory manner is punishable by the law and the victim of workplace discrimination can file a complaint with the EEOC in case they experience discrimination at workplace.
Discrimination, according to EEOC laws is defined as discernment of people on the basis of their race, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation which also includes pregnancy, genetic information, nationality, and/or disability among several things. Discriminating a person on the basis of any complaint that the individual might have lodged with EEOC is also considered to be illegal.
Majority of the employers in the United States who have a minimum of 15 employees fall under the purview of EEOC laws. This number is slightly higher and goes up to 20 employees, specifically in relation to age discrimination. Several labor unions as well as employment agencies in the United States are also covered under the EEOC laws. The laws are applicable to all sorts of workplace circumstances, like for example, recruitment, dismissals, promotions, physical and sexual harassment, wages, as well as benefits.
The Power & Role played by EEOC
The EEOC is vested with the power of investigating discrimination charges against employers who are legally covered by the United States law. The role of EEOC in any given investigation concerning workplace discrimination is to impartially and precisely evaluate the charges levied upon the employer as mentioned in the complaint of the victim and ultimately infer the facts. If the investigation of the EEOC rules out the incidence of discrimination, then it would help the victim in settling the dispute and charge made against the employer in the most amicable manner. In case of failure of the EEOC in settling the charge in an amicable manner, then it is also bestowed with the power to file a complaint in the court of law, with the sole aim of protecting the individual rights and the interests of citizens of the United States. However, the EEOC does not file legal cases in all instances of discrimination, as there is a discretion for it to go ahead and file a lawsuit.
The EEOC also works towards preventing discrimination prior to its incidence by way of outreaching, creating awareness about discrimination as well also by offering technical assistance to both employees as well as employers. The EEOC also offers leadership and guidance to all agencies of the federal government on all issues related to the federal law dealing with equal employment opportunity.
EEOC actually guarantees complete compliance with the laws of both the department as well as the federal government regulations, while also offering technical assistance to the federal agencies dealing with the equal employment opportunity complaints arbitration, monitoring as well as also assessing the affirmative employment programs of the federal agencies.
Moreover, the EEOC is also known to be developing and distributing the educational materials of the federal sector while it also carries out training for all the various stakeholders in order to create awareness about discrimination and also offering the required guidance and support to the Administrative Judges conducting the hearings on all complaints related to equal employment opportunities, and arbitrates the appeals from administrative decisions that the federal agencies make about such complaints.
EEOC – Origins and Inception
The EEOC is in essence as bilateral Commission that encompasses of five members appointed by the President of the United States. These five members of the commission are “the Chair, Vice Chair, and three Commissioners.”
The Chair is endowed with the responsibility of administrating and implementing the policy for as well as also the commission’s financial management and organizational development. The Vice Chair and the other three Commissioners take equal part in the improvement and endorsement of the various policies of the Commission, while he also has the responsibility of issuing charges of discrimination in apt instances, and approve the filing of lawsuits.
The President also appoints a General Counsel in addition to the three commissioners. The primary objective behind the appointment of the General Counsel is to uphold the values of the Commission and offer direction, coordination, as well as administration to the litigation program of the EEOC.
Currently, the Commission comprises of the following members:
“Jenny R. Yang, Chair
Constance S. Barker, Commissioner
Chai R. Feldblum, Commissioner
Victoria A. Lipnic, Commissioner
Charlotte A. Burrows, Commissioner”
David Lopez is the current General Counsel of the EEOC.
What happens when a complaint is filed with the EEOC?
Whenever an individual files a complaint stating charges of discrimination with the EECO, he or she is provided a copy of the complaint that has a reference number on it. Within a time span of days, the EEOC also sends out a notice to the employer against whom the charges have been file. In a few cases, the EEOC would also seek the participation of both the complainant as well as the employer in the mediation program that the commission would conduct.
If the EEOC laws that are enforced are deemed as being inapplicable to the claims, or if the charge is filed too early, or in case the EEOC decides that it might not be determine if the charge filed is actually against the laws, then in such cases, the investigation on such charges would be closed and the parties involved would be notified.
The Option of Mediation
If the employee who had filed a charge and the employer against whom the charge is filed agree for a mediation, then in such instances, a mediator from the EEOC would get involved to facilitate the mediation process between the parties involved and ultimately would help the parties come to a mutual consensus and settlement voluntarily.
Mediation gives both the complainant as well as the employer to discuss the concerns across the table and negotiate. Mediators however do not decide on who is being right and who is wrong. But, they suggest ways in dealing with the concerns and solving the problems in an amicable manner.
Grounds of Discrimination as approved by EEOC Laws
There are a number of grounds upon which charges of discrimination against employers could be filed with the EEOC. A few such grounds are discussed briefly in the following sections of the paper.
Race, Sexual orientation, Nationality, Color and Religion
“Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, protects applicants and employees from discrimination in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, referral, and other aspects of employment, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), or national origin.” Religious discrimination consist of issues like failing to rationally accommodate the religious practices of an employee, despite no unjustified adversity is imposed by such an accommodation.
Disability
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, with specific reference to Title IV and V, offers protection to individuals who are qualified as disabled, from discrimination on the grounds of disability in recruitment, promotion, expulsion, wages, incentives, training, grouping, and a plethora of other employment related aspects. Discrimination on the grounds of disability encompasses actions like not making reasonable accommodation to the limitations, both physical as well as mental, of which the employer is already aware, for an otherwise qualified person suffering with a disability. Such individual might either be an applicant for the job or an existing employee.
Age
“The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, protects applicants and employees 40 years of age or older from discrimination based on age in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, referral, and other aspects of employment.”
Sex (Wages)
Apart from the sexual discrimination as forbidden by the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and also the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (both Acts as amended), proscribes discrimination on the grounds of an individual’s sexual orientation, specifically with regard to variation in the wages paid to women and men, who might be performing almost equal amounts of work, in the positions where the required skill, capability, and the effort involved is also equal amidst the two genders.
Retaliation
All of the Federal laws stated above forbid all those entities that are legally covered under the United States federal law, from striking back against an individual who might file discrimination charges with the EEOC and even takes part in the proceedings of the discrimination charges file earlier, or might also fails to silently suffer form an illegal practice of employment.
The Investigation Process of the EEOC
The investigation process of the EEOC for any charge of discrimination that has been filed with the office is predominantly dependent on the facts of the charges that have been filed, along with also the kind of other relevant information, which the EEOC has to gather to be efficient in the investigation process.
In certain situations or cases, representatives from the EEOC make a visit to the workplace or employer against whom the charges have been file and hold interviews with the employer and in the process, also collect the various documents that the EEOC might require for investigating the charges. There are also a few other cases wherein the EEOC interviews a witnesses and seek all the documents required. After the investigation is completed, the result is informed to the parties involved.
Subpoena
“If an employer refuses to cooperate with an EEOC investigation, EEOC can issue an administrative subpoena to obtain documents, testimony or gain access to facilities.”
Aftermath of the Investigation Process
If EEOC is not successful in ascertaining possible violations of the law, then you a Notice-of-Right-to-Sue is issued to the person who had filed the discrimination charges. This notice allows the person to approach the court of law and seek justice. If on the contrary, the EEOC investigation confirms violation of the law by an employers, then representatives from the EEOC will approach the employer and try seeking a voluntary settlement.
In case where such a settlement is not possible, then such cases are referred to the legal staff at EEOC or in a few cases, even to the Department of Justice, who would further investigate the entire issue and conclude if the agency should approach the court of law. If EEOC does not prefer filing a lawsuit, then it would issue a Notice-of-Right-to-Sue to the person who would have filed charges of discrimination.
Prohibited Practices under the EEOC
According to the various laws as enforced by the EEOC, it is unlawful and unwelcome conduct to differentiate an employee or an applicant on the basis of that individual’s race, color, religion, sexual orientation, which further comprises of gender, sexual orientation, as well as also pregnancy, nationality, or disability. It is also deemed to be illegitimate to strike back against an individual for having filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC.
EEOC enforces a few federal laws based on which an employer or any other enterprise that is legally covered by the United States Federal law, is prohibited from making use of neutral employment policies, which might contain an unreasonable and excessive degree of negative impact on the employers or job applicants belonging to a specific race, color, sex nationality, religion, or even a disability or disabilities.
In case the employment practices and policies issued issue to be irrelevant to the job and yet required for the successful functioning of the business. The laws that the EEOC enforces also forbid an employer from making use of neutral employment practices, which might also have an excessively undue amount of negative effect on the employer or job applicants, with specific relevance to their age (40 years or above), if the policies at issue do not deal with probably a reasonable factor apart from the age of the employer or the applicant.
References
Federal Register - The Dailly Journal of the United States Government. (2016). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from Federal Register - The Dailly Journal of the United States Government: https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/equal-employment-opportunity-commission
Hauge, J. C. (2016). EEOC Resources Offer Valuable Help. Retrieved from Non Profit Risk Management Center: http://www.nonprofitrisk.org/library/articles/employment050606.shtml
Legal Information Institute (LII). (2016). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from Cornell University Law School: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/equal_employment_opportunity_commission
Office of Federal Operations. (2009). EEOC FY 2009 Annual Report on the Federal Work Force. Washington D.C.: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission - Office of Federal Operations. Retrieved February 22, 2016, from http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/reports/fsp2009/upload/FY-2009-Annual-Report.pdf
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. (2009). Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law. Washington D.C.: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. Retrieved February 22, 2016, from http://www1.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/eeoc_self_print_poster.pdf
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. (2016). Overview. Retrieved from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) . (2016). What You Can Expect After You File a Charge. Retrieved from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) : http://www.eeoc.gov/employees/process.cfm
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2016). The Commission. Retrieved from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/commission.cfm
