EEOC Seeks Input on Strategic Enforcement Plan

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released for public comment a draft of its Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP).  Comments must be submitted by 5:00 pm ET on September 18, 2012 at strategic.plan@eeoc.gov or received by mail at Executive Officer, Office of the Executive Secretariat, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 131 M Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20507.  The Commission plans to vote on the draft plan at the end of this fiscal year.

The first requirement of the EEOC's Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2012 - 2016 was to develop the SEP by the start of fiscal year 2013 - October 1, 2012.  The SEP will establish the Commission's priorities and integrate all components of EEOC's private, public and federal sector enforcement.  

The process for developing the SEP has been highly inclusive and collaborative.  The plan was developed by the Commission with input from a Work Group consisting of district and headquarters staff, led by Chair Jacqueline Berrien, General Counsel P. David Lopez, and Memphis District Director Katharine Kores.  On June 5, the Commission solicited written input on the SEP's development.  In response, comments were submitted by more than 100 individuals, organizations, and coalitions - internal and external to the agency - from across the nation.  On July 18, the Commission held a public meeting to receive input from more than 30 stakeholders on the issues they believed should be addressed in the plan.   

The Commission is continuing this inclusive effort by soliciting comments from the general public on a draft of the SEP.  Your input is vital to their efforts to ensure accountability to our nation's workers, employers, and taxpayers in general. All comments will be reviewed and considered as the Commission continues to edit the plan.  

The EEOC has served as the nation's lead enforcer of employment antidiscrimination laws and chief promoter of equal employment opportunity (EEO) since 1965.  The agency is responsible for enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and Title II of the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.  Together, these laws protect private, public, and federal workers from employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.  They also make it illegal to retaliate against a person for filing a charge of, or participating in an investigation or lawsuit regarding, employment discrimination.  

For general inquiries about the plan, please email strategic.plan@eeoc.gov or call (202) 663-4070/(TTY: 202-663-4494). For press inquiries, please contact the Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs at (202) 663-4191 or newsroom@eeoc.gov.   If you are seeking EEOC information, please call (202) 663-4900 or e-mail info@eeoc.gov.  Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.