The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) approved a Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) to coordinate enforcement of EEOC Policies throughout the EEOC's branch offices. The EEOC's headquarters is in Washington, DC, but carries out its work through 53 field offices in all states.
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). These laws make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information (including family medical history). They also make it illegal to retaliate against a person for complaining about discrimination, filing a charge of discrimination or participating in an investigation regarding employment discrimination.
When the EEOC gets a complaint, the Commission conducts an investigation to assess the allegations in the charge and then makes a finding. If it finds that discrimination has occurred, it will try to settle the charge. If the settlement is not successful, the EEOC has authority to file a lawsuit.
The new SEP is intended to coordinate enforcement efforts amount the EEOC offices with a goal of reducing and deterring discriminatory practices in the workplace. The SEP identifies six priorities for the enforcement effort:
- Eliminate barriers in recruitment and hiring;
- Protect immigrant, migrant and other vulnerable workers;
- Address emerging and developing employment discrimination issues;
- Enforce equal pay laws;
- Preserve access to the legal system; and
- Prevent harassment through systemic enforcement and targeted outreach.
In addition to these national priorities, the SEP requires branch offices to set local priorities to address particular issues. It also requires offices to use a coordinated approach to ensure consistent and integrated enforcement throughout the private, public and federal sector employers with the goal of greater consistency in determinations throughout the 53 field offices.
