CHAIRMAN CASELLAS APPOINTS PEGGY R. MASTROIANNI EEOC's ASSOCIATE LEGAL COUNSEL

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chairman Gilbert F. Casellas has announced the appointment of Peggy R. Mastroianni as Associate Legal Counsel. Ms. Mastroianni previously served as Director of EEOC's Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy Division.

In announcing his decision, Chairman Casellas said, "Ms. Mastroianni's creativity, initiative, and foresight have enormously benefited the Commission, and as Associate Legal Counsel she will continue to be an invaluable resource in our commitment to equal opportunity for all."

A Commission attorney since 1979, Ms Mastroianni has served as Director of the Commission's ADA Policy Division in the Office of Legal Counsel since 1991. In this position, she has been the Agency's key manager in charge of formulating for Commission approval the Agency's policy interpretations under the Act. Chairman Casellas noted, "Her ability to provide sound and thoughtful counsel on the myriad of complex issues arising under this law has been a cornerstone of the Commission's policy and enforcement operations."

Ms. Mastroianni began her distinguished career with EEOC as a Trial Attorney in 1979, and in 1983 moved within the Office of General Counsel to serve as an Appellate Attorney. She subsequently served as a Special Assistant to the General Counsel and as an Attorney Advisor to the Chairman from January 1990 to June of 1991.

As Associate Legal Counsel, Ms. Mastroianni will principally be responsible for developing for Commission consideration guidance under the Federal anti-discrimination statutes the Commission enforces.

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 Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act; the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people 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.