U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Fiscal Year 2015 Congressional Budget Justification

b. Federal Sector Improvements - Hearings

The overarching goal of the federal sector program is enforcement of the nation's laws outlawing employment discrimination in the federal workplace. One way the Commission fulfills this mandate is through its vigorous federal sector hearings program. With 24 hearing units located throughout the United States, the program provides federal sector complainants with a full, fair, and impartial adjudication of their EEO complaints.

In fiscal year 2013, the EEOC secured more than $56.2 million dollars in relief for parties who requested hearings. There were a total of 7,077 requests for hearings, 8 percent less than the 7,728 received in fiscal year 2012. Additionally, the Commission's hearings program resolved a total of 6,789 complaints, which is approximately 10 percent below the level in the same period in fiscal year 2012, (7,538).

Consistent with the Strategic Plan, the Commission continued its focus on expanding the use of technology to make the Federal Hearings process faster and more effective. This focus on technology includes the on-going development of the EEOC File Exchange (EFX) web-based portal system for hearings units nationwide and the expanded use of Hot Docs technology for AJs.

The EFX system is designed to allow federal agencies and federal complainants the ability to securely submit electronic Reports of Investigation, Complaint Files, and other documents to the EEOC in support of the federal hearings and appellate processes. The system has been implemented in all 24 EEOC field office hearings units, the Office of Federal Operations (OFO), and over 110 agencies or sub-components (44 agencies and 71 sub-agencies) including the US Postal Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Homeland Security, Treasury Department, Department of the Navy, Department of Air Force, and the Defense Logistics Agency. With the conclusion of this phase of EFX, agencies can now transmit their documents electronically to EEOC. Future expansion of EFX will enable the system to be available to complainants, and their representatives, providing the vehicle by which they can file motions, submit supporting documentation and obtain information about the status of their case.

Moreover, Administrative Judges will be able to issue Orders and Decisions through EFX. This will allow the federal sector hearings process to become more streamlined, efficient and transparent, thereby improving customer service to all stakeholders.

The federal sector hearings program is also exploring other tools to leverage technology in order to increase both the quality and efficiency of decisions issued by its Administrative Judges, thereby helping to manage the growing hearings inventory. With initiatives such as Hot Docs, which involves the creation of standardized Orders and Decisions that Administrative Judges can utilize as templates; as well as expanding efforts to encourage informal resolution of claims at the hearings stage, such techniques will further improve customer service to those individuals having claims adjudicated through the federal sector hearings process.

Chart 6 below demonstrates the actual workload and number of Administrative Judges assigned to handle hearing complaints for fiscal years 2011 through 2013 and projections for fiscal years 2014 through 2017. Based on recent data, hearings receipts are projected to remain steady in fiscal years 2014 through 2017 and resolutions will increase with projected hiring that will occur in fiscal year 2014.

Chart 6:
Federal Sector Hearings Workload Fiscal Year 2011 to Fiscal Year 2017

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c. Federal Sector Appeals Programs

The EEOC's regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 provide the Commission with the responsibility for acting as the neutral arbiter in the federal sector for appeals from agency decisions on EEO complaints, collective bargaining agreement grievances alleging discrimination against federal agencies, and reviewing decisions by the Merit Systems Protection Board containing allegations of discrimination in appealable actions.

In fiscal year 2013, as the result of the Commission's federal sector enforcement efforts, the EEOC appellate program secured $11.3 million in monetary benefits and issued 4,361 decisions.

The appellate decisions issued by the Commission serve as a vehicle for the development and promulgation of the Commission's EEO policy in the federal sector. Moreover they provide invaluable insight into the Commission's policy and legal interpretation of EEO law. They address complex issues in areas of the law where EEO policy is less clear or evolving. Further, they serve to educate federal sector complainants, agencies, and the public sector about the law, guide agencies in their efforts to become model workplaces, and vindicate the public interest in eradicating discrimination in federal employment.

Keenly aware that "justice delayed is justice denied," the Commission continues to manage its appellate inventory through the use of targeted management techniques and improvements in technology.

The Commission's transition from a paper-centric to a digital environment, which began in fiscal year 2005, continues to progress. In fiscal year 2012, the Commission issued new regulations requiring agencies to submit appeal-related documentation in digital format. Further, these regulations encouraged complainants and their representatives to submit their appeals and briefs in digital format.

This continued development of the Commission's digital infrastructure provides opportunities to improve efficiency in the Appellate function. For example, the Commission's EFX portal provides agencies a seamless method of submitting all complaint-related documents, and relieves Commission appellate support staff from the time-consuming process of organizing and preparing hard copy versions. The Commission's federal sector hearing and appellate programs are currently working closely with the Commission's Office of Information Technology to develop a federal sector portal that permits agencies, complainants, and their representatives to not only upload digital files, but to review those that have been submitted. In addition to the gains in efficiency, this will make the appellate process more transparent for all parties involved.

The EEOC has also employed targeted management techniques and adopted performance measures designed to both increase the efficiency and fairness of the appellate decision-making process, while effectively managing the appellate inventory. As part of this effort the Commission employs a balanced approach by resolving a target percentage of appeals within 180 days, while simultaneously ensuring that the oldest appeals in the inventory are addressed.

Chart 7 below demonstrates the actual workload inventory and number of attorneys assigned to adjudicate appeals of complaints decided by the EEOC for fiscal years 2011 through 2013 and projections for fiscal years 2014 through 2017.

Chart 7:
Federal Sector Appeals Workload Fiscal Year 2011 to Fiscal Year 2017

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One factor that contributed to the EEOC's success in managing its appellate inventory was the trend since fiscal year 2000 of declining appellate receipts. However, in recent years there have been wide fluctuations in appellate receipts, making future workload projections more challenging. For example, in fiscal year 2011, appellate receipts increased by 13.8 percent from fiscal year 2010 levels. By contrast, fiscal year 2012's receipts fell 15.9 percent from fiscal year 2011. In the coming fiscal years the Commission will continue to monitor this situation and make operational modifications as appropriate.

The effective management of the Commission's appellate inventory is just one critical component of an integrated strategy designed to combat employment discrimination through strategic law enforcement. To help in this effort and in furtherance of the Commission's Strategic Plan, the Commission's hearings and appellate units and the Office of Information Technology collaborated in the design and deployment of a new case management system, which was piloted during the 4^th quarter of fiscal year 2013 and fully implemented in the appellate program during the 1^st quarter of fiscal year 2014. This effort is discussed more fully on page 43.

d. Oversight of Federal Agencies EEO Programs

Performance Measure 5 of the Commission's Strategic Plan mandates the design and implementation of an integrated data system intended to identify pervasive discriminatory practices and policies in federal agencies. The Commission's federal sector oversight functions will be enhanced by this integrated approach. Information available to the hearings and appellate units will be combined with agency complaint data, workforce data, and barrier analyses to build a more complete picture of how agencies are progressing in the development of model EEO programs.

To implement the federal government's policy prohibiting employment discrimination, agencies are required to maintain continuing affirmative programs to promote equal opportunity and to identify and eliminate any barriers to participation by all federal employees. The EEOC, serving in its oversight capacity for these efforts, implemented EEO MD-715, which details strategies for identifying and removing barriers to free and open workplace competition and requires agencies to incorporate EEO principles into their missions. Should an agency identify barriers to equal employment opportunity, the Commission works with the agency to eliminate those barriers. The EEOC works with agencies to promote model EEO program policies and practices that foster an inclusive work culture and prevent employment discrimination by reviewing their annual MD-715 submissions, providing in-person and telephonic technical assistance, and issuing written feedback.

The Commission's development of an integrated data system pursuant to Performance Measure 5 will be the culmination of recent efforts to collect, analyze, and respond to information about agencies' efforts to create model EEO programs. As part of these efforts, the EEOC is building upon its recent pilot program whereby numerous federal agencies submitted EEO program-related data to an online data warehouse. This initiative, called the Federal Sector EEO Portal (FedSEP) is now available to capture statistical data contained in agencies' MD-715 reports, and allow for the upload and analysis of EEO complaint data (EEOC Form 462), as well as supporting narrative documentation. In addition to this data collection initiative, the Commission is exploring methods to develop EEO community web-based forums designed to allow federal sector stakeholders to exchange valuable EEO-related information, such as best practices, relevant articles, etc. These efforts will supplement the Commission's delivery of relevant and helpful information, training, and EEO solutions to federal agencies, and will enhance its dissemination of federal sector research materials through placement of Commission decisions and other helpful federal sector information on the EEOC's web site.

Additionally, the EEOC offers an extensive catalog of training courses to help agencies meet their training needs. The courses offered cover all the laws the Commission enforces and meet regulatory training requirements for certain federal EEO staff. The Commission offers both open enrollment and customized courses.

e. Federal Sector New Case Management System and Quality Control Plan

EEOC's Strategic Plan addresses case management for both private and federal sector. With respect to the federal sector, the Strategic Plan at Performance Measure 3 requires that the federal sector case inventory be categorized according to a new case management system in order to enable the Commission to bring consistency and greater efficiencies to the processing of federal sector complaints and track cases that raise priority issues set out in its Strategic Enforcement Plan. The Strategic Plan anticipates that the new case management system will also enable appropriate tracking and accounting for significant policy cases, class action cases, or other cases requiring greater time and effort on the part of administrative judges and appellate attorneys.

A workgroup consisting of EEOC Administrative Judges, appellate attorneys, and other federal sector staff provided recommendations on implementing the case management aspects of the Strategic Plan. This workgroup developed case categories and partnered with the Office of Information and Technology to develop a case management system that was piloted for appeals in the 4^th quarter of fiscal year 2013, and fully implemented at the start of fiscal year 2014.

The Commission's Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) required the Commission's federal sector to develop a federal complement plan. This plan, which was approved in July 2013, is designed to implement the SEP priorities and identify complementary federal sector priorities and the strategies for addressing them. Additionally, the federal complement plan identifies strategies to improve communication, oversight, and consistency across the federal sector. Finally, pursuant to the SEP, the Commission has contracted with an outside entity to examine the structure of the federal sector hearings program, and provide recommendations for improvements to the deployment of the federal sector resources.

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VI. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE II - Prevent employment discrimination through education and outreach.

A. Introduction

In fiscal year 2013, we continued our robust outreach program to meet the needs of diverse audiences across the Nation. The agency partnered with the employer community, colleges and universities, advocacy groups, immigrant and farm worker communities, governmental entities, and other stakeholders to foster strategies to recognize and prevent discrimination in the workplace.

Under Strategic Objective II of the Plan, we established the following outcome goals: 1) members of the public understand and know how to exercise their right to employment free of discrimination; and 2) employers, unions, and employment agencies (covered entities) better address and resolve EEO issues, thereby creating more inclusive workplaces.

The three strategies for achieving the goals of Strategic Objective II can be summarized as follows:

• Target outreach to vulnerable workers and underserved communities;
  
  • "Vulnerable workers" are those workers whose options may be severely limited due to economic or social barriers and whose ability to understand or exert their rights may be compromised. This includes, but is not limited to, low wage earners, farm workers, refugees, victims of human trafficking, youth, and older workers.
  • "Underserved communities" have been defined as those communities whose demographics, geographic location, or economic characteristics impede or limit their access to services provided by EEOC.
• Target outreach to small and new businesses; and
• Provide up-to-date and accessible guidance on the requirements of employment antidiscrimination laws.

Performance Measures 8 through 11 were developed to track our progress in pursuing these strategies under Strategic Objective II.

B. Performance Measures and Results

Performance Measures 8 and 9 focus on rewarding and encouraging interactive and sustained partnerships with community organizations and businesses that are in the communities we are trying to reach. For these two measures, we defined "significant partnerships" as an interactive and sustained relationship with an organization, community group, advocacy group, etc., that represents or serves vulnerable or underserved communities and enhances the EEOC's ability to reach those communities.

Vulnerable and Underserved Communities

Performance Measure 8: By FY 2016, the EEOC is maintaining TBD significant partnerships with organizations that represent vulnerable workers and/or underserved communities.
	FY 2013	FY 2014	FY 2015
Targets	The number of significant partnerships with organizations that represent vulnerable workers and/or underserved communities increases by 10%, nationally, or to 99.	The number of significant partnerships with organizations that represent vulnerable workers and/or underserved communities increases by 10%, nationally, or to 108.	The number of significant partnerships with organizations that represent vulnerable workers and/or underserved communities is maintained, nationally.
Results	Guidance was issued to District Offices including approaches to identifying partners and activities, and reporting on results. The number of significant partnerships increased to 102.
Image			Target Exceeded

The baseline established in fiscal year 2012 identified approximately 90 significant partnerships within the vulnerable worker and underserved communities for Performance Measure 8. The fiscal year 2013 target for this measure was to increase the number of significant partnerships with organizations that represent vulnerable workers and/or underserved communities by 10 percent, nationally over the 2012 baseline, or to 99 total partnerships. In January 2013, the agency scheduled individual discussions with each office planning to increase their partnership representation in 2013. Discussions held during January and February 2013 with District Directors and Program Analysts provided guidance on how to maximize outreach efforts and partnership development strategies within the vulnerable worker and/or underserved communities that the EEOC supports.

Throughout the fiscal year, the agency used monthly outreach submissions from each district, as well as district descriptions of their relationships with various organizations, to make two key assessments:1) whether the partnerships that were used to create the baseline were still viable under the Plan - determining whether outreach events, training, planning sessions or other activities occurred during fiscal year 2013 to warrant maintaining baseline partnerships with identified partners or whether certain partnerships should be reevaluated if they were no longer interactive and/or sustainable; and 2) whether the submissions from the districts with newly added organizations met the "significant" threshold in fiscal year 2013 for purposes of this measure. As a result, the number of partnerships increased by 12 (or 13 percent), making the current total number of significant partnerships 102 for fiscal year 2013 and exceeding our target.

Small and New Businesses

Performance Measure 9: By FY 2016, the EEOC is maintaining TBD significant partnerships with organizations that represent small or new business (or with businesses directly).
	FY 2013	FY 2014	FY 2015
Targets	The number of significant partnerships with organizations that represent small or new businesses (or with businesses directly) increases by 10%, nationally, or to 78.	The number of significant partnerships with organizations that represent small or new businesses (or with businesses directly) increases by 10%, nationally, or to 86.	The number of significant partnerships with organizations that represent small or new businesses (or with businesses directly) is maintained, nationally.
Results	Guidance was issued to District Offices including approaches to identifying partners and activities, and reporting on results. The number of significant partnerships increased to 81.
Image			Target Exceeded

In fiscal year 2012, the agency established a baseline of approximately 71 significant partnerships with organizations that represent small and new businesses (or with businesses directly), which contributes to the agency's objective of preventing employment discrimination through education and outreach to employers. The fiscal year 2013 target for this measure was to increase the number of significant partnerships with organizations that represent small or new business communities (or with businesses directly) by 10 percent nationally over the 2012 baseline, or to 78 total partnerships. Concurrent with the January 2013 notification issued by the agency for the previous measure, discussions were also held in January and February 2013 with District Directors and Program Analysts concerning how to maximize outreach efforts and partnership development strategies within the small and new business communities. Guidance was issued to District Offices that included approaches for identifying potential partners and outreach activities, as well as methods for reporting results for both Performance Measures 8 and 9.

Throughout the fiscal year, the agency employed the same methodology for assessing whether: 1) the baseline partnerships were still viable; and 2) the new partnerships were considered "significant" for purposes of this measure, as were applied to Performance Measure 8, above. As a result, the number of partnerships increased by 10 (or 14 percent), exceeding our target and raising the current total number of significant partnerships to 81 for fiscal year 2013.

Social Media Plan

Performance Measure 10: By FY 2013, the EEOC implements a social media plan.
	FY 2013	FY 2014	FY 2015
Targets	Implement the social media plan.	Assess plan and update as necessary.	N/A
Results	Began implementing the social media plan.
Image			Target Partially Met*

* Target(s) Partially Met: A rating assigned to target results where: 1) at least half of the activities targeted for completion were completed; or 2) we were unable to assess the results because full year data was not yet available.

Performance Measure 10 ensures that the agency moves into the 21^st century by utilizing social media technologies to reach the EEOC's customers.

The social media plan will build upon existing efforts to make the content on the EEOC's web site more accessible and user-friendly. It will foster better use of the Internet and other technology in the private and State and local government sectors and the federal sector charge processes. It will use multiple forms of social media platforms and educational content appropriate for each platform, with the goal of informing users about their rights and responsibilities under the laws the agency enforces. Ideally, the plan will drive our customers to the agency's web site for more information. It will also ensure that the EEOC's social media strategies are consistent with the Strategic Enforcement Plan, the Chair's priorities, and other appropriate directives.

The fiscal year 2013 target for Performance Measure 10 was to implement the agency's social media plan. Twitter accounts were institutionalized in both Spanish and English that have reached 2,760 Twitter followers of @EEOCNews and where the EEOC has transmitted 1,638 tweets. In January 2013, the agency started a new Spanish-language Twitter feed @EEOCespanol, which now has 164 followers, and the EEOC transmitted approximately 1,605

tweets. In addition, the agency began implementing the social media guidelines, first by piloting them internally to determine how they would operate and what rules would need to be adjusted/developed based on the EEOC's use.

The EEOC is currently developing the agency's Communications and Outreach Plan, as identified in the Strategic Enforcement Plan, which will incorporate the agency's social media policy and the mechanism for its implementation. Further research is being conducted to assess what social media accounts are currently used by the EEOC's program offices and how best to use social media to advance the agency's legislative work (i.e., how to expand our digital reach). To support this ongoing effort, the agency convened the Communications Content Committee (C3), a group of key program offices to help strategically manage and develop content for the EEOC's web site that can be subsequently used for any social media platform developed by the agency.

Sub-regulatory Guidance Review and Revision

Performance Measure 11: The EEOC reviews, updates, and/or augments with plain language materials its sub-regulatory guidance, as necessary.
	FY 2013	FY 2014	FY 2015
Targets	Consistent with Commission priorities, submit at least two plain language revisions of substantive policy documents to replace at least two other outdated guidance documents.	Consistent with Commission priorities, submit at least two plain language revisions of substantive policy documents to replace at least two other outdated guidance documents.	Consistent with Commission priorities, submit at least two plain language revisions of substantive policy documents to replace at least two other outdated guidance documents.
Results	Twelve documents were submitted to the Office of the Chair for consideration.
Image			Target Exceeded

Performance Measure 11 ensures that the agency's sub-regulatory guidance and documents are reviewed and that, where necessary, they are updated and accompanied by plain language text.

The agency's enforcement work in the private sector, its adjudicatory and oversight work in the federal sector, and its outreach and education work all depend on the availability of up-to-date and accessible materials explaining the laws it enforces and how to comply with those laws. While the regulations the agency issues set the basic legal framework for the implementation of those laws, sub-regulatory materials, including the EEOC Compliance Manual, provide more tangible assistance to those with rights and responsibilities under such laws.

During the fiscal year, the agency exceeded the target for performance under this measure by submitting 12 documents to the Office of the Chair for review and consideration. Among those documents issued in 2013 were two final rules: "Correcting Procedural Regulations" was issued on September 6, 2013 and "The Availability of [FOIA] Records" was published on June 19, 2013. On May 15, 2013, the Commission issued five American with Disabilities Act (ADA) documents: four revisions to the ADA Questions and Answers Series (Cancer, Diabetes, Epilepsy, and Intellectual Disabilities); and a new document, "The Mental Health Provider's Role in Client's Request for a Reasonable Accommodation at Work" that was released on May 1, 2013. And in October 2012, the Commission published "The Application of Title VII and the ADA to Applicants or Employees who Experience Domestic or Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking," to address how Title VII and the ADA may apply to employees in these contexts.

C. Outreach

Building upon efforts to prevent employment discrimination through education and outreach in the Nation's workplaces, we will continue a vigorous and far-reaching outreach program to meet the needs of diverse audiences.

OUTREACH EVENTS FY 2013
FEE AND NON FEE

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As the above map shows, we have provided and will continue to provide outreach and education to individuals in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the U.S. Possessions of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and Wake Island. This is in line with our efforts in prior years. In fiscal year 2013, we conducted over 3,850 outreach events and reached 283,000 individuals. Additionally, the fee-based program trained 17,000 individuals at over 370 events. Additional funding will provide the EEOC with needed resources to expand its presence further to service vulnerable communities and underserved areas and to assist the small or new employer community as well as provide outreach and education on other important topics that arise throughout the year in an overall effort to fulfill the goals and objectives of the agency.

Through public relations, training and education, the EEOC enhances public awareness of emerging issues of employment discrimination in America's workplaces. Our outreach is meant to provide knowledge and an understanding of workplace conditions that may give rise to violations of the statutes we enforce. Approximately 52 percent of our outreach is conducted through partnerships with employee advocates, human resource professionals, employer groups, human rights commissions and fair employment practice agencies. Employer knowledge of our laws contributes to their ability to independently identify, prevent and eliminate workplace discrimination. Employee's and job applicant's knowledge of our laws also contributes to their ability to understand their rights and responsibilities in the workplace.

The EEOC has significantly increased its outreach to small and new businesses, especially those lacking the resources to maintain full-time professional human resources staff. Approximately 15 percent of outreach conducted is to small employers. Under the leadership of an EEOC Commissioner, the Small Business Task Force is working diligently to not only continue to reach out to small employers but also to make online access to information from us easier, more comprehensible and more directly responsive to the real life issues that they face in the workplace.

In addition, the EEOC is strongly committed to providing outreach and technical assistance to stakeholders in underserved communities across the nation, including those with limited English proficiency. Approximately 50 percent of the outreach conducted is to these vulnerable communities. Immigrant and farm worker communities are included as a priority for outreach. The issue of human trafficking of those from vulnerable communities is a focus for the EEOC. We are working diligently and consistently with several organizations, governmental and non-governmental, to help stamp out the trafficking of vulnerable groups as well as pave the way for other groups to have access to employment such as those who are released from incarceration and are trying to re-enter the workforce.

Finally, we remain prepared to respond to unanticipated issues that arise in the workplace. The EEOC must be on the forefront in informing both employees and employers alike of their rights and responsibilities in the ever-changing workplace environment.

1. Non-fee based Outreach

Table 7 below shows funding for Outreach (non-fee based). Our budget request for fiscal year 2014 for Strategic Objective II is $6.0 million. The proposed request for fiscal year 2014 reflects an increase of $400K over the fiscal year 2013 level which will continue into fiscal year 2015. These additional resources will allow us to increase the staffing levels that are dedicated to our outreach and technical assistance programs and also provide funds to support the conduct of these activities across the country.

2. Fee based (Revolving Fund - Education, Technical Assistance and Training)

The EEOC Training Institute (the Institute) provides fee-based training and technical assistance to stakeholders from both the private and public sector. The operations of the Institute are funded through EEOC's Revolving Fund, which is an instrument established by Congress in 1992 to enable EEOC to charge "reasonable fees" for specialized products and services developed and delivered as part of the Commission's training and technical assistance efforts. The Revolving Fund serves as the mechanism through which EEOC is able to collect payments, thus offsetting some of the costs devoted to training and technical assistance to external entities and allowing the agency to offer more non-fee based outreach events to those populations less able to pay for training. In fiscal year 2013, the Institute trained over 17,000 individuals at more than 370 events, including approximately 121 field Customer Specific Training (CSTs), with over 5,600 attendees.

Table 8 below shows the financial summary of the Revolving Fund.

*May not add due to rounding

VII. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE III - Deliver Excellent and Consistent Service through a Skilled and Diverse Workforce and Effective Systems.

A. Introduction

This Objective is intended to ensure that the agency delivers excellent and consistent service through its efforts to support a skilled workforce while deploying effective systems - many of which service the public directly. Effective customer service and operating systems can positively influence the general public's understanding of our ability to address their employment discrimination concerns in the workplace. As a result, this measure was designed to focus on issues regarding staff and infrastructure, which are mission critical components of any successful organization.

The goal of this Strategic Objective is that all interactions with the public are timely, of high quality, and are informative. As noted in Strategic Objective I, it is a significant agency priority to enhance the timeliness and ensure the continued quality of our enforcement activities in the private, State and local government, and federal sectors. However, the EEOC must also invest in the people who carry out the agency's mission on a daily basis. To meet the evolving needs of the modern workplace and any changes in EEO law interpretation, it is necessary to invest adequately in workforce development and planning. Because all employees benefit with a diverse workforce in federal government, the EEOC must serve not only as an example to other private, state and local government, and federal employers, but should reflect the populations it serves. Finally, to improve the agency's customer service, the EEOC must ensure the effectiveness of its systems by leveraging technology to streamline, standardize, and expedite its critical functions.

To these ends, we developed the three strategies for achieving Strategic Objective III as follows:

• Effectively engage in workforce development and planning, including identifying, cultivating, and sustaining a skilled and diverse workforce;
• Rigorously and consistently implement charge and case management systems to deliver excellent and consistent service; and
• Use innovative technology to facilitate responsive interactions and streamline agency processes.

For this objective, we adopted Performance Measures 12 and 13 to support and monitor the agency's progress toward our fiscal year 2016 targets (along with two previously identified measures, Performance Measures 2 and 3 starting on page 24 22 and cross-referenced under Strategic Objective I).

B. Performance Measures and Results

Workforce Quality, Diversity, and Skills

Performance Measure 12: The EEOC strengthens the skills and improves the diversity of its workforce.
Target (a)	FY 2013	FY 2014	FY 2015
Number of employees with disabilities	413	442	471
Results	332
Image			Target Not Met

Target (b)	FY 2013	FY 2014	FY 2015
Number of employees with targeted disabilities	90	101	113
Results	56
Image			Target Not Met

Target (c)	FY 2013	FY 2014	FY 2015
Percentage of hires made within 78 days	50%	75%	80%
Results	52%
Image			Target Exceeded
Image			Overall Targets Partially Met*

* Target(s) Partially Met: A rating assigned to target results where: 1) at least half of the activities targeted for completion were completed; or 2) we were unable to assess the results because full year data was not yet available.

The fiscal year 2013 target for Performance Measure 12, Subpart (a) was to increase the number of persons hired with disabilities by 20 percent of the EEOC's workforce over 5 years, or at least 29 disabled employees each year over the fiscal year 2012 target of 384 employees with disabilities to 413 total. Successful performance under Subpart (b) was to increase the number of employees with targeted disabilities by 5 percent, or at least 11 individuals each year over the fiscal year 2012 target of 79 employees with targeted disabilities to 90 total. And finally, Subpart (c) required the agency to improve and streamline the hiring process to increase the percentage of hires made within 78 days to 50 percent of all hires made in fiscal year 2013.

In fiscal year 2013, the agency only partially met its targets for Performance Measure 12. Overall hiring and recruitment in fiscal year 2013 was impacted by a continuing hiring freeze, which affected the agency's ability to increase the number of employees hired with disabilities or targeted disabilities under Subparts (a) and (b). The limited hiring factor and correlating numbers of retirements of employees with disabilities in fiscal year 2013 resulted in a decrease in the number of employees with disabilities and targeted disabilities hired since the establishment of the fiscal year 2011 baselines for both employee groups. However, the agency has exceeded its fiscal year 2013 target of 50 percent of employees hired under Subpart (c), by increasing the percentage of hires made within 78 days to 52 percent of timely hires made in fiscal year 2013.

Due to the limited number of external hires that were authorized in fiscal year 2013, meeting the target outcomes continues to be a challenge. Nevertheless, the Disability Program Manager will continue to work to encourage hiring officials to select employees with disabilities as the agency begins the hiring process in the new fiscal year, and to manage the Schedule A applicants who are referred to the agency through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Selective Placement Coordinators website advertisements.

The Human Capital Goals for fiscal year 2013, as identified in the agency's Human Capital Management Report submitted to OPM in February 2013 were:

1. Workforce planning - enhance our ability to plan further into the future and better integrate FTE's, budget, and workload metrics into the planning process.
2. Performance management - redesign the current non-SES performance management program to foster a high performance culture, encourage clear expectations and continuous feedback; differentiate high, satisfactory and poor performers in a clear and meaningful way and align employee performance with the agency's Strategic Plan, including the Quality Control Plan.
3. Diverse and Inclusive Workforce - enhance our ability to attract, hire, and retain highly skilled and highly motivated staff.

In fiscal year 2013, the Workforce Planning Workgroup implemented the agency's workforce plan goals by utilizing workforce data to assist leadership in human resources decision making, closing competency gaps, and projecting the future human capital needs of the agency. In fiscal year 2014, our human capital goals will extend beyond the agency's formalized Mentoring Program to include implementation of a Situational Mentoring Program that will enhance our ability to develop and retain a highly skilled and motivated workforce.

In the area of performance management, the EEOC engaged an experienced consultant to facilitate the development of performance plans and standards in fiscal year 2014, and acquired a talent management tool for supervisors and their employees to use as a platform to implement and operate the performance management system. During fiscal year 2013, competencies for support positions in the agency's mission-critical occupations were identified. As the new system is developed, additional competencies will be established in fiscal year 2014 for the remaining positions within the agency. The new system will also serve as a tool for supervisors and employees to use in closing competency gaps. The long-term goal is to create a performance culture that helps the EEOC become a high performing agency.

By leveraging diversity and promoting inclusion, the EEOC moves closer to achieving its mission of "stopping and remedying unlawful employment discrimination" and the vision of "justice and equality in the workplace."In compliance with Executive Order 13583 on Establishing a Coordinated Government-wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce, the EEOC developed a Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan (the "D&I Strategic Plan") and a policy statement, which were issued agency-wide in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. To help implement the action items in the D&I Strategic Plan, the EEOC convened a Diversity and Inclusion Council. Several Headquarters' offices worked jointly on the Diversity & Inclusion Work plan that, along with the Diversity Council Charter, will guide the work of the Council. These efforts are expected to continue through at least fiscal year 2014. In addition, the EEOC committed funds to provide training for the Council and the agency employees during the third and fourth quarters of fiscal year 2013.

We will continue to work with OPM and the Office of Management and Budget in implementing Executive Order13583, including reviewing executive agency plans and working to reconcile the Presidential Administration's diversity and inclusion efforts with the EEOC's Management Directive 715 requirements. (See Management Directive 715, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Oct. 2003), http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/directives/md715.cfm).

Charge Process Responsiveness

Performance Measure 13: The EEOC improves the private sector charge process to streamline services and increase responsiveness to customers throughout the process.
	FY 2013	FY 2014	FY 2015
Targets	Develop, pilot and implement new processes and technology in a phased and iterative manner, ensuring appropriate guidance, documentation and staff training.	Meet targets determined in FY 2012.	Meet targets determined in FY 2012.
Results	The EEOC developed several new processes and previewed new technology for the Online Intake and Milestones Projects. Project pilots have been delayed until FY 2014.
Image			Target Partially Met*

* Target(s )Partially Met: A rating assigned to target results where: 1) at least half of the activities targeted for completion were completed; or 2) we were unable to assess the results because full year data was not yet available.

Performance Measure 13 requires the agency to leverage technology to improve the private and State and local government sectors charge process, including streamlining services and increasing responsiveness to customers throughout the process. Included among these initiatives are: 1) developing an on-line system that will allow potential charging parties to submit a pre-charge inquiry for review; 2) providing on-line scheduling of appointments for intake interviews (via on-site meetings, web cams, and/or teleconference); 3) providing charging parties on-line access to check the status of their charge; and 4) streamlining the intake process through automated workflow and data analysis. These technology developments are referred to as the Online Intake Redesign and e-Charge Milestones Status Projects. A fifth initiative, which will in future years be applied to the private and state and local sectors, will establish a secure portal for electronic transmittal and the receipt of charge-related documents.

For fiscal year 2013, the target for this measure was to develop, pilot, and implement the new online intake and milestone systems, processes, and technology proposed for development in fiscal year 2012, including any provisions for guidance, documentation and staff training. Although the Online Intake and Milestones Workgroups spent significant time and effort to

reach this target, budgetary constraints limited funds available to fully meet the 2013 targets for Performance Measure 13. Nonetheless, the Workgroups continued to the point where the acquisition of developers was necessary to move the project forward. The Workgroups were successful in achieving the following during the fiscal year.

The Online Intake Workgroup continued its discussion and identification of the Online Inquiry User Stories, the "epic user stories," and developed acceptance criteria for the Informational Self-Screening User Stories; as well as classifying and categorizing the user stories based on anticipated customer satisfaction. They also focused on the "Scheduling an Intake Interview Online" and related components of the project to determine whether the specific functions needed for the system to operate as planned were on track for development.

The Milestones Workgroup completed the User Stories, Kano Analyses and Prioritization needed to launch the design phase through the Agile Sprints, along with key User Acceptance Criteria. Further developments by this Workgroup were contingent upon funding for Agile contract developers, which were requested and approved by the Commission in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013. The funding approval for technology support for Performance Measure 13 included the acquisition of a web-based online scheduling tool and associated professional services, as well as the acquisition of a web-based portal, application, and associated professional services.

Budgetary Resource Alignment

Performance Measure 14: The EEOC's budgetary resources for FY 2014-2017 align with the Strategic Plan.
	FY 2013	FY 2014	FY 2015
Targets	Prepare EEOC's FY 2015 Performance (OMB) Budget that aligns resources with the Strategic Plan. Prepare EEOC's FY 2014 Congressional Budget.	Prepare EEOC's FY 2016 Performance (OMB) Budget that aligns resources with the Strategic Plan. Prepare EEOC's FY 2015 Congressional Budget. Based on approved FY 2014 appropriations develop a final FY 2014 Operating Plan.	Prepare EEOC's FY 2017 Performance (OMB) Budget that aligns resources with the Strategic Plan. Prepare EEOC's FY 2016 Congressional Budget.
Results	The FY 2014 CBJ was timely submitted to Congress on April 10, 2013. The FY 2015 Performance Budget was aligned with the agency's Strategic Plan and was submitted to OMB on September 6, 2013.
Image			Target Met

As a fundamental objective, budgets should adequately fund priority programs, grow such programs to reflect the agency's priorities, and protect against diminution when budgets are reduced. Under the Chair's direction, annual budget submissions from each program office were assessed to ensure that agency resources would implement the strategies and goals of the Commission.

The fiscal year target for Performance Measure 14 was to prepare the EEOC's Fiscal Year 2014 Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ) and the EEOC's Fiscal Year 2015 Performance (OMB) Budget that aligns with the agency's Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2012-2016. As part of the annual budget formulation cycle, the EEOC's Fiscal Year 2014 CBJ was timely submitted to Congress on April 10, 2013. The Fiscal Year 2015 Performance Budget was completed and timely submitted to OMB on September 6, 2013. The agency's final fiscal year 2014 Operating Plan was approved and signed on January 28, 2014

C. Program Areas

1. Highlighted Resource Area

Table 9 shows our highlighted budgetary resources for Information Technology under Strategic Objective III. For this strategic objective, the agency's resources are allocated between Strategic Objective I and Strategic Objective II to identify the full cost of conducting our front-line programs, including all of the elements of our operations supporting those programs.

2. Human Resources Function

a. Workforce Planning

EEOC has improved its ability to provide timely and in-depth analysis of workforce data. This includes timeliness in hiring, reducing turnover rates, and tighter integration with the budget process. These analyses are an important source of input for workforce planning.

In fiscal year 2015, the EEOC will continue to implement workforce planning that: includes an annual review of positions to ensure the proper mix of positions is achieved; involves a renewed effort to hire throughout the year and avoid hiring/freeze cycles; and ensures that decisions made in a given fiscal year are analyzed for their impact and consequences in future years. We are using our Workforce Planning Guide to ensure a systematic approach to workforce planning. It defines fundamental steps to develop and implement workforce plans as well as identifies tools available to assist managers and leaders in the overall process. As part of our effort to change our recruitment and hiring culture, we continue to include the overall fundamentals of workforce planning in our training for new managers and mid-level managers. As reports and projections regarding workforce planning become available, we post them on the EEOC's intranet for the benefit of all our employees.

Competency management will be a key part of our preparations for workforce and succession planning. We made significant progress in this arena and will continue those efforts during fiscal year 2015. In addition to the competencies established for mission critical positions, during fiscal year 2013 we identified competencies for seven positions which support our mission critical occupations. During fiscal year 2014 we expect to have identified competencies and proficiency levels for all positions and to have developed a methodology to assess competency gaps. The results of the competency assessment will be used in our new performance management system, and to evaluate and modify training and development needs to ensure employees receive competency gap training and developmental opportunities. Moreover, this work will guide future human capital management initiatives that impact performance management, recruitment and retention at the EEOC.

b. Training

We have continued to make progress in creating a comprehensive and responsive training program for EEOC employees. Developmental needs are assessed, identified, and addressed through a three pronged approach: 1) the Individual Development Plan (IDP) funding process which provides training to reduce competency gaps identified for individual employees; 2) funding of training programs to comply with regulatory requirements and government initiatives; and 3) training which is designed and delivered to meet technical requirements by position. This approach allows the agency to respond to individual employee training needs, deliver mandatory training, and address position-related competency gaps.

The use of the IDP centralized funding process has encouraged employees to request training on a recurring basis to meet their ongoing developmental needs. A key element in this process is for each employee to collaborate with their supervisor to prepare an IDP addressing their competency gaps as well as identifying their short and long term career goals. This process will continue to be used during fiscal years 2014 and 2015 as a means of addressing individual training needs identified through the use of the competency gap tool currently being developed and expected to be available to agency supervisors in fiscal year 2014. Funding in support of the IDP process increased from $294,054 in fiscal year 2011 (its inception) to $446,068 in fiscal year 2012 - an increase of over 50 percent. Although this program was temporarily suspended during the second half of fiscal year 2013 due to sequestration funding reductions, we were still able to provide $133,750 to meet individual training needs.

The EEOC provides training to its employees to not only address their individual development needs, but to also meet Federal training requirements and initiatives. Included in the fiscal year 2015 request are programs intended to: deliver mandatory training for supervisors, managers and executives to meet OPM requirements contained in 5 CFR Part 412 (Training for Supervisors, Managers, and Executives); support retirement planning education to comply with the Federal Financial Literacy initiative; offer online training courses addressing compliance with and protections guaranteed under statues such as the No FEAR Act; provide certification training for Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs); foster knowledge management through its mentoring program; as well as provide training in areas such as Cultural Competency and Diversity Awareness.

In addition to the IDP funding process which focuses on individual employee development needs and mandatory training for all employees and the agency's leadership cadre, funding is also required to address nationwide development needs for various occupational positions in response to specific initiatives or priorities. For example, following passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and in partnership with the Department of Labor, Department of Justice, and Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs), EEOC conducted nationwide Compensation Discrimination training. In addition, pursuant to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) White House Initiative, the EEOC was able to pilot AAPI training in three districts for all staff and completed delivery of the training to all district offices during fiscal year 2013. During fiscal year 2015, field enforcement staff on our front lines will continue to receive technical training designed to enhance staff skills and enable us to serve the public effectively and efficiently. Developmental programs being planned include Intermediate Skills Training for Investigators, Systemic Enforcement Training for Investigators, Negotiation/Settlement Training for Investigators and Attorneys, Legal/Enforcement Interaction Training, Program Analyst Training, and District Resources Manager Training, among others. Major training initiatives planned for trial attorneys (one of our mission critical occupations) and other legal staff covers topics such as Advanced Systemic Litigation, Concordance Training, Negotiations Training, Legal Writing and Advocacy, and Advanced Paralegal Training. The agency will also continue to send its attorneys to Trial Skills training conducted by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA).

Implementation of our Training program will enable us to support EEOC's Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2012 to 2016 and its Strategic Objective III: "Deliver excellent and consistent service through a skilled and diverse workforce and effective systems". The various elements work together to assure that our employees and the agency's leaders are prepared to the greatest extent possible to meet today's challenges and tomorrow's opportunities.

c. Telework Program

EEOC employees continue to embrace the President's initiatives for telework in fiscal year 2013. Employees are informed of their eligibility for telework and participate in the program in accordance with EEOC's policies. In fiscal year 2013, approximately 44 percent of EEOC employees regularly teleworked on either a routine or situational basis. Our focus in 2013 has included emphasis on telework training, promoting National Telework Week, responding to OPM's annual call for agency telework data, assessing our Telework Program and working with our managers and personnel and payroll system to improve the accuracy of reporting data. We have also established a formal mechanism for tracking individual employee telework agreements among EEOC Offices and are working with our Office of Information Technology to implement the plan. Moreover, under the auspices of our newly re-negotiated CBA, permissible telework participation will increase an additional day per bi-weekly period and increased emphasis is placed on telework as a space/cost savings alternative for renewed or newly leased office space.

d. Mentoring Program

The Mentoring Program continues to provide a formal mentoring experience to facilitate knowledge transfer, increase retention of valuable employees, increase representation of women and underrepresented groups in management positions, and develop and broaden the core competencies and leadership skills of participants. In fiscal year 2013 the agency partnered 40 EEOC employees (mentors) who understand the agency and its culture with 40 junior employees (mentees) to provide opportunities for mentees to learn more about the organization and strengthen core competencies and leadership skills to enhance their professional growth and development. The mentoring program is part of the agency's commitment to develop and sustain a high performance, diverse workforce that is continually learning and expanding its capacity to support the mission of the agency. Mentors and mentees were matched based on mutual interest, career goals and compatibility and included a cross section of employees from the field and headquarters. During the 12-month program, the agency provided formal training, opportunities for self and program assessment, and developmental activities. The EEOC has committed funds to extend this program through at least fiscal year 2014 with the goal of making this an ongoing opportunity for career development and an important element in succession planning. The program has grown in visibility and credibility amongst agency employees as a means of employee development and knowledge transference, resulting in demand that exceeds present capacity. Accordingly, we are exploring mechanisms to expand mentoring in the agency to reach a wider number of our employees through efforts such as situational mentoring; EEOC will launch such a program in the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 for the purpose of providing entry and mid level supervisory employees with resources and guidance to improve their managerial skills and enhance the level of support that they in turn provide to their staff.

e. Labor Management Forums

During fiscal year 2013, we continued to abide by the requirement of Executive Order 13522, Creating Labor Management Forums to Improve the Delivery of Government Services. The EEOC continues to work jointly with the National Council of EEOC Locals No. 216, AFGE-AFL-CIO forming the National Joint Labor Management Council. The Council's Cost Savings and Employee Morale workgroups are establishing agency-wide policies to be adopted in 2014 by our Local Labor - Management Forums. For example, employees are encouraged to copy materials using double sided printing to reduce costs. The agency has also provided guidance to employees to use non-contract carriers as a means to reduce travel costs in compliance with the Federal Travel Regulations.

f. Implementing the Collective Bargaining Agreement

During fiscal year 2013, the agency successfully completed negotiations on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which was ratified by the Union's membership during the same year. On July 26, 2013, the Chair approved the Agreement. In fiscal year 2014 both labor and management will coalesce to implement certain requirements of the agreement including: piloting a new Maxiflex Program, developing guidance on the new telework program that contemplates real-estate savings by reducing the square footage of future office sites, and reviewing all locally negotiated Memoranda of Understanding (many are out of compliance with the CBA as well as agency and government-wide regulations) to indicate those that should be renegotiated or abolished.

g. Performance Management

EEOC has developed a Human Capital strategy linked with the agency strategic plan. The Plan recognizes that human resource management is a key strategy for realizing organizational success and understanding emerging strategies, trends, and changes that will drive EEOC as an organization. Inasmuch as the agency's initiatives rely heavily on the contributions of its human resources, all employees are held accountable for achieving results that support the agency's strategic plan goals and objectives. Accordingly, appropriate and consistent assessment of personnel are essential to maintaining a results-oriented, high-performing workforce, thereby ensuring excellent customer service and high quality performance in every aspect of the agency's work.

For these reasons, the agency, under the auspices of a performance management workgroup composed of both labor and management has begun the development of an improved performance management system. We are accomplishing this by surveying employees to receive their input, reviewing best practices from other agencies, and becoming familiar with the Agency's Organizational Goals. In addition, the agency has been laying ground work for the new system by identifying competencies required of its employees and testing an automated tool capable of measuring gaps between expectations and actual levels of performance in these competencies. An experienced consultant was hired to facilitate the development of performance plans/standards during fiscal year 2014 and the agency plans to continue testing a talent management tool for supervisors and their employees to use as a platform to implement and operate the performance management system. We expect to implement the system when testing is completed during the 3rd quarter of fiscal year 2014.

h. Communication

We are constantly looking for ideas to improve the ways in which we provide information to employees on topics vital to the agency's mission and of concern to employees. For example, we have redesigned inSite, our intranet, to make it more user friendly.

In addition, we implemented the agency's communications plan for the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) annual employee satisfaction survey. In 2013 our efforts resulted in a 55 percent response rate, a rate that exceeded the Government wide average by 7 percentage points. To address concerns raised in the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey we will continue to utilize the BEST initiative - Building Employee Satisfaction Together. In fiscal year 2013 we addressed employee issues through the BEST webpage and email address. These avenues of communication will continue to address employee issues and seek employee feedback in fiscal year 2014. OPM recently described BEST as a best practice in its feedback to our Diversity and Inclusion Plan.

Another way we provide information to field office personnel, in particular, is through on-site visits to conduct Human Capital Accountability reviews. While on site we determine to what extent staff understand and comply with OPM and EEOC regulations and Human Resources program requirements. We then provide technical assistance for improving the quality of human resources programs within the agency and communicate results to appropriate officials.

3. Addressing Internal Workplace Issues

RESOLVE is EEOC's internal Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program that provides a forum for the informal resolution of workplace disputes (including grievances and EEO complaints) among Commission's staff in Headquarters and the 53 field offices. Mediation is the most commonly used ADR process within the program. Informal conciliation can also be used in lieu of, prior to, or after mediation. If several employees are involved in a conflict, group facilitation may be used to address office-wide concerns. We have seen that addressing workplace issues fairly and effectively helps foster amicable working relationships, enhances employee morale and productivity, and reduces the financial and other resources associated with workplace conflict. This very active program will continue outreach to all of the Commission's staff, will serve as a resource for individual employees and groups of employees, and will continue to conduct seminars to help employees develop conflict resolution skills.

To fulfill the Commission's vision for "Justice and Equality in the Workplace," and as a key component of EEOC's model workplace initiative, the Commission plans to expand its internal workplace dispute resolution program by creating an office of Organizational ombudsman. Through confidential employee engagement, the Ombudsman will promote better communication, foster constructive dialogue, increase collaboration, identify systemic issues, facilitate equitable outcomes, and improve transparency of the organization.

4. Customer Service

As an agency, we have seen charge receipts at record levels in fiscal years 2010-2012, with more than 99,000 received each year and in fiscal year 2013, our more than 93,700 receipts still fell within the top five year levels of agency receipts. We recognize that many factors may influence charge receipts, which has an effect on the number of charges filed by the public. We believe that these increases may be due to our efforts to become more accessible to the public, making charge filing easier and providing better, more responsive, customer service. The increases may also be attributable to expanded statutory authorities enacted in fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2009, along with regulations implemented during fiscal year 2011.

Through our Intake Information Group (IIG), the EEOC expanded the agency's public accessibility by phone and e-mail. The IIG consists of in-house staff that serves as the first line of contact for many members of the public and is accessible via toll-free phone lines, e-mail and facsimiles. The IIG received over 622,000 calls per year. An average of 43 percent of callers utilized the Interactive Voice Response system and needed no further assistance. Centralizing this first point of access to the public through the IIG has a significant impact on our field offices. By having calls directed to this single entity, our field offices are freed from handling these calls, many of which are seeking general information about their rights, office locations and phone numbers and other types of information more efficiently provided through this centralized service. Each month our 34 Information Intake Representatives (IIRs), co-located in 15 of our field office sites, answered more than 19,000 calls from individuals wanting more information or who wish to discuss their situation with an IIR. We continue to strive for greater efficiency in our handling of these calls and in fiscal year 2013 approximately 80 percent of calls answered by the IIRs were fully resolved by the IIR without being referred to other staff in EEOC field offices. To this end, we have dedicated significant attention to enhancing the services provided by the IIG.

Additionally, in the last five years, the EEOC has concentrated on revamping its charge intake services, expanding walk-in hours, and issuing a plain language brochure to assist potential charging parties in understanding their rights and the EEOC's intake, investigation and resolution of charges. Individuals may now contact the agency by phone, by mail, by e-mail, by going to the EEOC website, or by visiting EEOC field offices. We are continuing to explore additional avenues to ensure that our access to the public utilizes evolving technologies and other streamlined approaches to enhance customer service. By fiscal year 2014, we are projecting the full implementation of an electronic intake project that is currently under development. This system will allow potential charging parties to submit a pre-charge inquiry for review and provide on-line scheduling of appointments for intake interviews.

We have also maintained a focus on providing our staff with on-going training and sharing of case management techniques that prepare them to investigate and resolve the charges that come through our doors. This has included a nationwide training program on Compensation Discrimination, which was developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Labor (OFCCP and Wage and Hour Division) to promote more effective enforcement of the Equal Pay Act, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and Title VII. Through fiscal year 2012, we trained more than 2,000 staff from EEOC, OFCCP, Wage and Hour Division and our FEPA partners at 81 training sessions held nationwide. In fiscal year 2012, we launched a variety of other training projects, including one focused on AAPI and Limited English Proficiency issues. While the fiscal year 2013 sequestration impacted the availability of training funds, it is our hope that with additional resources provided fiscal year 2014 and our fiscal year 2015 request, we will be able to continue to provide staff with on-going training to ensure that they are prepared to effectively meet the public demand for our services.

5. Information Technology

The EEOC Information Technology (IT) strategic vision provides the agency with a roadmap for leveraging the power of technology to transform agency operations and improve the customer experience. This vision, created through working sessions with EEOC program staff, has direct alignment to EEOC's strategic goals and Federal customer service priorities. Achievement of this vision will require the use of innovative web technologies, telecommunications modernization, agile methods to streamline and automate business processes, and standardization in applying best practices across our offices.

In fiscal year 2012 EEOC initiated several cost cutting and cloud computing initiatives to reduce recurring IT costs, including: optimization of mobile device rate plans and implementation of a "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) Pilot to reduce operating expenses of the legacy BlackBerry program by more than 60 percent; restructuring of the IT Help Desk to reduce costs by 40 percent; implementation of a cloud-based financial management system for a 60 percent recurring savings; implementation of enterprise-wide electronic faxing to bring savings to analog line and consumable costs; and in-sourcing of a few IT functions where cost savings would be achieved by hiring FTE versus paying contractor service rates. In fiscal year 2014, EEOC will achieve additional cost savings through utilization of shared-services to meet print/copy/scan and mobile device requirements.

The recurring cost savings, along with the $2 million increase in technology funding in fiscal year 2014, will allow the agency to rebuild our aging technology infrastructure and deploy innovative IT solutions that will demonstrably improve customer services and administrative efficiencies. EEOC's primary focus in fiscal years 2014 and 2015 will be to continue IT initiatives that move EEOC away from inefficient manual paper-based processing and toward electronic workflow and integrated content management solutions in support of EEOC Strategic Plan Performance Measures. This includes: (1) enhancement of the Integrated Mission System (IMS) to support the implementation of the Strategic Enforcement Plan, Quality Control Plan, and Federal Case Management System; (2) design and pilot an interface to associate hearings and appeals data to their related digital files, and allow a complainant to request a hearing or appeal, and submit related documents, online; (3) integration of hearings and appeals statistical data into the Federal Sector EEO Portal; (4) implementation of an online portal which will allow a potential charging party to self-screen alleged claims of employment discrimination, submit a pre-charge inquiry to EEOC, schedule an appointment on-line, and allow charging parties to check the status of their requests; and (5) design a secure document portal, to allow private-sector charge related documents to be submitted and received electronically between EEOC and the involved parties, to be accomplished through a phased implementation.

In addition to the above referenced Strategic Plan priorities, during fiscal year 2014, EEOC will complete the expansion of our telecommunications infrastructure to provide adequate network performance to all EEOC field offices. Although EEOC is a small agency, we support a large geographically dispersed infrastructure (Headquarters and 53 field offices), which require enhancing telecommunication services to access centralized and cloud-based information systems; support enterprise communications through video conferencing and streaming; and meet the new telecommunication demands associated with expanding customer-facing applications, open government, and social media expectations.

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VIII. VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF DATA

Our private sector, federal sector, and litigation programs require accurate enforcement data, as well as reliable financial and human resources information, to assess the EEOC's operations and performance results and make good management decisions. We will continue efforts to ensure the accuracy of our program information and any analysis of the information.

We continually review the information we collect in our databases for accuracy by using software editing programs and program reviews of a sample of records during field office technical assistance visits. In addition, headquarters offices regularly conduct analyses to review the information collected in order to identify any anomalies that indicate erroneous entries requiring correction to collection procedures. We also expanded the formats that respondents can use when uploading their EEO-1 data so that more firms can use this option for filing. This will help increase the accuracy of the data provided as manual data entry in the online system will be eliminated.

We monitor our internal mechanisms for improving the validity and reliability of the EEO-1 data. As a larger number of employers are filing their reports by "uploading" data, steps were taken to subject those files to more stringent review for possible errors. Also, more training of contract support staff that provides technical assistance to filers will be implemented during this reporting period. Greater use of the EEO-1 by field staff continues to assist in identifying non-filers, which has enabled the agency to collect information more rapidly and completely. In addition, we have implemented the Federal Sector EEO Portal that enables all Federal agencies to electronically submit annual equal employment opportunity statistics (EEOC Form 462 and MD-715). These systems continue to improve the quality and timeliness of the information we receive. Finally, we continue to improve the collection and validation of information for our Integrated Mission System (IMS), which consolidates our mission data on charge intake, investigation, mediation, litigation, and outreach functions into a single shared information system. IMS includes many automated edit checks and rules to enhance data integrity. Since several of our performance measures require us to use data to assess our achievements, it is significant that we can now obtain this data much more quickly and with greater data accuracy.

The EEOC's Office of Inspector General (OIG) continues to review aspects of the status of the agency's data validity and verification procedures, information systems, and databases and offer recommendations for improvements in its reports. We use the OIG's information and recommendations to continually improve our systems and data.

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IX. PROGRAM EVALUATIONS

Program evaluation is an important component of the EEOC's effort to assure that its programs are operating as intended and achieving results. Program evaluation is a thorough examination of program design and/or operational effectiveness that uses rigorous methodologies and statistical and analytical tools. These evaluations also use expertise internal and external to the agency and the program under review to enhance the analytical perspectives and lend credence to the methodologies employed, the evaluation processes and findings, and any subsequent recommendations.

Independent program evaluations continue to play an important role in formulating the strategic objectives and performance goals detailed in the EEOC's new Fiscal Years 2012-2016 Strategic Plan and helped shape some of the program issues and key focus areas for improvement. We believe they are an invaluable management tool to guide the agency's strategic efforts in attaining overall productivity and program efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. To that end, the EEOC has undertaken the following program evaluations to advance its performance-based management initiatives under the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act (GPRAMA) of 2010, and to improve the effectiveness of key agency programs:

Review of Evaluations, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Inspector General, April 2013.

Evaluation of EEOC's Performance Measures, The Urban Institute, March 2013.

Collecting Compensation Data from Employers; Panel on Measuring and Collecting Pay Information from U.S. Employers by Gender, Race, and National Origin, National Research Council of the National Academies, August 2012.

Consistent with the Administration's focus on improving the effectiveness of Government through rigorous evaluation and evidence-based policy initiatives, we intend to identify appropriate program areas for future evaluation. This will ensure that the agency's efforts align with the EEOC's budget and other programmatic priorities.

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X. ADMINISTRATION AND SUPPORT

A. Introduction

We are constantly seeking ways to achieve organizational excellence by improving our organizational capacity through sound management of our resources. Maximizing effective use of our resources is essential to achieving our enforcement and outreach goals.

B. File Disclosure Workload

The data indicates that the number of requests received under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Section 83 of the EEOC Compliance Manual (Section 83) will stabilize in the low 25,000s through fiscal year 2017.

Table 10 below depicts the actual FOIA workload for fiscal years 2011 through 2013 and projections for fiscal years 2014 through 2017 including requests received, requests processed and pending. The data shows that the number of FOIA requests received will reach nearly 19,000 and the number of requests processed will exceed 19,000 by fiscal year 2017.

*May not add due to rounding

The data indicates that the number of Section 83 charge file disclosure requests received will stabilize at less than 5,700 annually and the number of requests processed will be slightly less than 5,000 annually by fiscal year 2017.

Table 11 depicts the Section 83 actual workload for fiscal years 2011 through 2013 and projections from fiscal years 2014 through 2017 including requests received, processed, and pending at the end of the fiscal year.

*May not add due to rounding

C. Finance and Administration

Office Expansions, Rehabilitations, and Relocations

Since 2005, we have collaborated with the General Services Administration to right-size and improve the utilization of EEOC-occupied space, with the goal of improving the efficiency of the agency's rent costs. In January 2011, we postponed or cancelled almost all planned office expansions and rehabilitation activity to accommodate higher agency priorities while operating under a constrained budget environment. This also included extending leases at locations which were not a forced move. This trend continued for expansions and rehabilitation activity through fiscal years 2012 and 2013.

In April 2013, EEOC implemented measures in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum "Promoting Efficient Spending to Support Agency Operations", Executive Orders (EO) 13514 and EO 13589 to reduce operating costs and the EEOC "footprint" by acquiring the minimum space to support EEOC employees and serve our customers. Measures we are taking to comply with "Freeze the Footprint" include, but are not limited to the following:

• To the extent feasible, we will not increase our total square footage from the fiscal year 2012 "footprint," and we will make efforts to dispose of unneeded or underutilized space (rightsizing).
• New lease actions will be based on optimum space usage, which includes preservation of existing Agency Space Allocation Guidelines for intake, caucus, joint session and other mission support areas. However, a 20 percent reduction will be applied to account for measures that EEOC offices must implement to satisfy "Freeze the Footprint" and reduction requirements, such as telework or common use work areas. The agency's ratified new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) continues to support telework and as a result endorses a 20 percent reduction to space for future office relocations and reconfigurations. The CBA promotes creative space designs including shared space, workstations and cubicles.

The agency must expand certain locations and continue to carry excess capacity at a few office locations, while relocating offices with the most urgent space needs. However, we will monitor the fiscal year 2012 aggregate baseline, to "offset" or counterbalance any increases to sustain or fall below the fiscal year 2012 "footprint." We will continue to right-size offices as leases expire, and rehabilitate office spaces as dictated by safety issues, the age of furniture and the office environment. In addition, we will continue to plan space requirements for all offices for both the short and long terms.

Two offices (Richmond and Savannah) were relocated in fiscal year 2013 due to expiring leases. Nine offices are planned for relocation in fiscal year 2014 due to expiring leases, forced moves, or environmental issues: El Paso, TX; Fresno, CA; Houston, TX; Milwaukee, WI; Las Vegas, NV; New Orleans, LA; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia, PA and San Francisco, CA. Two offices (Indianapolis, IN and New York, NY) are planned for relocation in fiscal year 2015 due to expiring leases. The total office space under lease is just less than 1.0 million rentable square feet.

D. GINA Study Commission

Section 8 of Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 requires that a commission be established on May 21, 2014 to review the developing science of genetics and to make recommendations to Congress regarding whether to provide a disparate impact cause of action under GINA. This commission, to be known as the Genetic Nondiscrimination Study Commission, is to be located in a facility maintained by the EEOC. Although members will not receive compensation for the performance of services for the Commission, the statute requires that members receive travel expenses, including per diem, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the course of performing services for the Commission. The statute authorizes sums to be appropriated to the EEOC as shall be necessary to carry out the requirements of Section 8. In order to abide by our statutory responsibilities, we anticipate that we will need to cover the following costs for the 8 member Commission: shared rent and security; IT services; per diem, including air fare; postal services; and other miscellaneous expenses. We are requesting funding in the amount of $209,000.

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APPENDIX A: GENERAL STATEMENT OF LAWS

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 253, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), (Title VII) and became operational on July 2, 1965. The EEOC has five commissioners, no more than three of whom may belong to the same political party. The commissioners are appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate for rotating five-year terms. The President designates one commissioner to serve as Chair and another commissioner to serve as Vice Chair. The General Counsel is appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term of four years.

The EEOC is charged witheliminating and preventing unlawful discrimination by investigation, conciliation, and mediation; education and technical assistance; and, litigation. The EEOC fulfills its mission through the implementation of a vigorous law enforcement program, complemented by an outreach program that provides information, guidance, and technical assistance to help prevent discrimination.

Statutes Enforced

Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin by public and private employers with 15 or more employees, by employment agencies, by labor organizations with 15 or more members, and by the federal government. The EEOC's Title VII enforcement authority includes an amendment from the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, which prohibits employment discrimination based on pregnancy, the capacity to become pregnant or medical conditions related to pregnancy.

The EEOC's enforcement authority has expanded over time. In addition to Title VII, the EEOC enforces the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act), Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). Most recently, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, to supersede the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc., 550 U.S. 618 (2007) and restore the EEOC's longstanding position that each paycheck delivering discriminatory compensation is a wrong actionable under the federal EEO statutes, regardless of when the discrimination began. The Lilly Ledbetter Act amends Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA.

The ADEA protects individuals 40 and older from age-based employment discrimination, including in fringe benefits. The ADEA covers private employers having at least 20 employees, state and local governments, employment agencies, labor organizations with 25 or more members, and the federal government. The EEOC obtained enforcement authority for the ADEA and the EPA in a 1978 government reorganization. The EPA prohibits gender-based discrimination in the payment of wages to men and women performing substantially equal work in the same establishment. The EPA applies to most employers.

The ADA, which the EEOC has enforced since its 1992 effective date, prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability by employers -- both private sector and state or local government -- with 15 or more employees, employment agencies, and labor organizations with 15 or more members. Similarly, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act protects qualified individuals from employment discrimination on the basis of disability by the federal government. Both laws require employers to make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities absent undue hardship. They also regulate when employers may ask for certain medical information, require medical testing, and disclose employee medical records, regardless of whether the affected individual is a qualified individual with a disability. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which became effective on January 1, 2009, made several changes to the definition of the term "disability" in the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, specifically overturning a number of Supreme Court decisions that Congress found to have construed the term "disability" too narrowly.

Title II of GINA, which became effective on November 21, 2009, prohibits entities that meet Title VII's definition of an employer, employment agency, or labor organization, from using genetic information (including information from an individual's genetic tests and an individual's family medical history) in making employment decisions or decisions related to union membership. GINA also strictly limits access to genetic information and requires that covered entities maintain the confidentiality of any genetic information that they obtain. The GINA requires that within six years of enactment, a Genetic Nondiscrimination Study Commission be established to review the developing science of genetics. The Study Commission will make recommendations to Congress regarding whether to provide a disparate impact cause of action under GINA.

Enforcement Methods

Members of the public may file charges alleging employment discrimination in violation of EEOC- enforced laws with an EEOC field office. Charges also may be initiated by EEOC Commissioners or, alternatively, by an individual or organization, such as a union or civil rights group, "on behalf of" another person. After charges are filed, EEOC staff members investigate and the EEOC may issue a determination of "reasonable cause" or dismiss the charge for a variety of reasons. If the agency finds cause, it attempts to resolve the charge through conciliation. The EEOC also attempts to settle charges through mediation, in lieu of an investigation. Under Title VII, the ADEA, ADA, and GINA, filing a charge generally is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit.

EEOC- enforced laws authorize the EEOC to file suit in Federal District Court in order to remedy employment discrimination if it is unable to achieve conciliation. If, however, the case involves allegations under Title VII, the ADA, or GINA against a state or local government, the EEOC refers it to the Attorney General, who may file suit in federal court. The EEOC may bring its own suits alleging violations of the ADEA or EPA against state or local governments.

The EEOC also oversees a separate administrative process for employment discrimination claims against the federal government. The federal government, as an employer, is subject to these antidiscrimination requirements through Section 717 of Title VII, Section 15 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Equal Pay Act, and Section 201 of GINA. These laws provide the EEOC with oversight responsibility, including the authority to maintain procedures used by federal departments and agencies in processing internal complaints of employment discrimination. In addition, the EEOC has jurisdiction to review final administrative decisions of departments or agencies on their discrimination complaints. The EEOC may award relief to remedy harm suffered by violations of these laws and monitor federal agencies' compliance. It also is responsible for ensuring that federal departments and agencies maintain programs of equal employment opportunity, including by posting equal employment opportunity data pursuant to the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (the "No FEAR Act") to help Congress, federal agencies, and the public assess whether and the extent to which agencies are meeting their EEO responsibilities.

Data Reporting and Recordkeeping

Under section 709(c) of Title VII, the EEOC may require covered entities to keep records that are relevant to determining whether the law has been violated, and may require reporting from this information. Pursuant to this authority, the EEOC requires covered private employers, state or local governments, and labor organizations to file periodic reports providing data on the makeup of their workforces or membership by gender and racial/ethnic categories. The EEOC uses this data in charge investigation and other enforcement activities. It also uses this data to produce reports about the status of workers by ethnicity or gender in selected industries. Further, the data are shared with other federal, state, and local agencies charged with enforcement of equal employment opportunity laws, and in aggregate form with non-government organizations and researchers concerned with equal employment opportunity.

Leadership and Coordination of Federal EEO Efforts

Under Executive Order 12067, the EEOC provides leadership and coordination to all federal departments and agencies' programs enforcing federal statutes, executive orders, regulations, and policies that require equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. The Executive Order instructs the EEOC to eliminate conflict, competition, duplication, and inconsistency when coordinating these programs and to promote efficiency and effectiveness. All federal departments and agencies are required to cooperate with and assist the EEOC in performing these functions and are required to furnish the EEOC with such reports and information as it may require, including any proposed rules, regulations, policies, procedures or orders concerning equal employment opportunity during their development and in final at least 15 working days before issuance.

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