Student Internships Memphis District Office

The Memphis District of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has internship opportunities in its Alternative Dispute Resolution unit (mediation), its Enforcement unit (investigation), its Legal unit (litigation), and its Hearings unit (federal sector cases).  EEOC internships are unpaid; however, interns may receive academic credit for their services with approval from their school.  Requirements: Semester interns are asked to provide at least 20 hours per week of work. To Apply:  Applications for unpaid internships occurring during the school year may be made at any time.  Applications for summer internships should be made no later than May 1st.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Mediation Unit - is charged with the responsibility of conducting mediations on employment discrimination claims involving private sector and public sector non-federal entities: Persons selected for this internship should have taken one or more classes of Conflict Resolution, and or Employment/Labor Law.  Interns will be involved in all phases of mediation, from the development of mediation candidates, telephoning parties to explain the potential benefits of mediation, to the scheduling of mediations, and the observation and potential participation in actual mediations, as the parties attempt to resolve the dispute.  In doing so, interns are given the opportunity to get real life exposure to different mediators, attorneys and stakeholder explanations and emotions, approaches and styles of negotiation in the mediation context.

Positions Available: A limited number of internships are available with the ADR Units in the Memphis District Office.  Interested students should e-mail or send a letter of interest and resume to Jimmy Jones, ADR Program Coordinator, c/o Altovise Douglas, District Resources Manager at EEOC, 200 Jefferson Ave, Ste 1400, Memphis, TN 38103 or altovise.douglas@eeoc.gov.

Enforcement

Enforcement Unit - is charged with the responsibility of conducting investigations on employment discrimination claims involving private sector and public sector non-federal entities: Persons selected for this internship should have taken a class in Employment/Labor Law.  Interns will be involved in all phases of the investigative process, including but not limited to: 1) interviewing parties and witnesses by phone and face- to-face to gather relevant evidence on all allegations of complaint; 2) reviewing EEOC guidelines and applicable legal memoranda in the development of requests for information and documents;  3) observe and/or participate in on-site investigations; 4) assist in the analysis of presented evidence and recommendations on the processing of the charge; 5) submitting written analysis and recommendations regarding disposition of cases; and 6)  assist Enforcement staff with other collateral duties, as applicable.

Positions Available: A limited number of internships are available with the Enforcement Units in the Memphis District Office, the Nashville Area Office, and the Little Rock Area Office.

For the Memphis District Office, interested students should e-mail or send a letter of interest and resume to Karen Johnson, Enforcement Manager, c/o Altovise Douglas, District Resources Manager at EEOC, 200 Jefferson Ave, Ste 1400, Memphis, TN 38103 or altovise.douglas@eeoc.gov.

For the Nashville Area Office, interested students should e-mail or send a letter of interest and resume to Phillip Bornefeld, Area Director, c/o Altovise Douglas, District Resources Manager at EEOC, 200 Jefferson Ave, Ste 1400, Memphis, TN 38103 or altovise.douglas@eeoc.gov.

For the Little Rock Area Office, interested students should e-mail or send a letter of interest and resume to William Cash, Area Director, c/o Altovise Douglas, District Resources Manager at EEOC, 200 Jefferson Ave, Ste 1400, Memphis, TN 38103 or altovise.douglas@eeoc.gov.

Legal

Legal Unit – is charged with the responsibility of litigating individual and class employment discrimination cases in the federal courts on behalf of employees and job applicants:  EEOC seeks law students with a commitment to public interest law and EEOC’s mission. We give preference to students with a demonstrated commitment to civil rights and/or who have completed course work in employment discrimination, employment law, evidence, or trial practice.  Law student interns assist with various aspects of litigation and litigation development. Assignments typically include legal research and writing relating to employment discrimination and general federal practice issues such as discovery, trial practice and evidence. Interns may also be involved with interviewing claimants, drafting discovery demands or responses, summarizing deposition testimony, attending depositions and court conferences, analyzing documents, using litigation support software, and assisting with outreach projects. Interns also assist attorneys and other EEOC staff with investigating and analyzing charges of discrimination before litigation.

Positions Available: A limited number of internships are available with the Legal Unit in the Memphis District Office, Nashville Area Office, and Little Rock Area Office. Interested students should e-mail or send a letter of interest and resume to Faye Williams, Regional Attorney, at EEOC, 200 Jefferson Ave, Ste 1400, Memphis, TN 38103 or faye.williams@eeoc.gov, indicating which office they wish to be considered for.

Hearings

Hearings Unit – is charged with the responsibility of conducting hearings on claims of employment discrimination involving federal agencies:  Persons selected for this internship need to have a class in Employment law, and preferable labor law as well.  The position requires much writing of judicial decisions.  For this reason, proven proficiency in legal writing is a must.  The interns will work with all of the Administrative Judges in the office, as much as practicable.  Case files will be provided which are ready to have a decision written without need for a hearing or, put another way, a summary decision.  The intern will be given opportunities to participate in pre-hearing conferences, settlement judge conferences and, depending on proficiency demonstrated, writing decisions based on observation of a hearing.  Complexity of the work provided will depend on demonstrated abilities during the internship.

Positions Available: A limited number of internships are available with the Hearings Unit in the Memphis District Office. Interested students should e-mail or send a letter of interest and resume to Deana Windham, Supervisory Administrative Judge, c/o Altovise Douglas, District Resources Manager at EEOC, 200 Jefferson Ave, Ste 1400, Memphis, TN 38103 or altovise.douglas@eeoc.gov.

Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov