EEOC NEW YORK DISTRICT OFFICE TO RESUME PARTIAL OPERATIONS NEXT WEEK

PRESS RELEASE
9-27-01

WASHINGTON - Chair Cari M. Dominguez announced today that the New York District Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will resume limited operations next Wednesday, October 3, from temporary office space at the agency's Newark Area Office. EEOC's New York office, which had been located on the 18th floor in Building 7 of the World Trade Center, was destroyed during the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11. All agency personnel, along with other residents of the building, were safely evacuated before the structure collapsed.

"I am pleased to announce that EEOC will begin to restore services, on a limited basis, to the New York area next week," said Chair Dominguez. "I am extremely proud of the EEOC staff - especially those from our New York office - who have worked so hard to reestablish our operations there. Like many organizations that had offices at the Trade Center, EEOC has a challenging task ahead. Our New York District Office will not be fully operational for some time. Challenges notwithstanding, the public may be assured that we as an agency will continue to make every effort to meet the needs of those we serve in the New York area. We are grateful for your continued patience and cooperation."

The New York District Office's temporary quarters in Newark will be staffed by a small group of New York personnel. The staff will give priority to matters requiring immediate attention, such as potential charges that must be filed quickly in order to meet a fast-approaching statute of limitations deadline. In all other cases, individuals who wish to file a charge initially may be asked to submit a letter describing his or her allegations or to work with investigative staff from other EEOC offices who will be assisting the New York District Office while reconstruction efforts are still underway.

At the Newark location, New York District Office staff will initially receive calls between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and may be reached at the following telephone numbers: (973) 645-5974 or (973) 645-3727 and (973) 645-3004 (a TTY line for callers with hearing and/or speech impairments only). Mail should be addressed as follows: Newark Area Office, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Attn: New York District Office, 1 Newark Center, 21st Floor, Newark, NJ 07102-5233.

Callers nationwide can automatically connect with the EEOC office nearest to them by calling the following toll-free telephone numbers - (800) 669-4000 voice and (800) 669-6820 TTY. While these numbers are inoperable within area codes that ordinarily connect with the New York District Office, EEOC expects to have both lines re-programmed and operable in the New York area by mid-October.

The EEOC has secured additional temporary office space in Manhattan and anticipates that the New York District Office will be able to expand their operations there by late October. At that time, the New York District Office will resume handling non-emergency inquiries and complaints, correspondence involving less immediate litigation matters, and federal sector complaints.

In the near future, answers to other frequently asked questions about the New York District Office will be available on the EEOC's Web site at www.eeoc.gov.

The EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act; Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments; prohibitions against discrimination affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal government; and sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

This page was last modified on September 27, 2001.