EEOC ISSUES NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING ON APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS UNDER THE ADEA

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding regulations for apprenticeship programs (CFR 29 1625.13) under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), as amended. The notice is scheduled to appear in the Federal Register this week.

The ADEA regulations currently provide that apprenticeship programs are exempt from the provisions of the age discrimination law. This interpretation was initially published by the U.S. Department of Labor prior to the transfer of enforcement responsibility for the ADEA to EEOC under the President's Reorganization Plan No. 1 in 1978. The Commission has decided to assess the existing interpretation in light of recent demographic changes in the U.S. workforce and structural changes in the workplace. EEOC is seeking comment on whether apprenticeship programs should be subject to the ADEA.

In accordance with Executive Orders 12067 and 12866 on federal regulatory coordination and review, EEOC has circulated the notice to affected federal agencies and is now soliciting public comment from employers, labor organizations, and other interested individuals or groups.

In addition to enforcing the ADEA, which prohibits employment discrimination against individuals 40 years of age or older, EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; the Equal Pay Act; sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991; Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments; and prohibitions against discrimination affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal government.