Next Commission Meeting Wednesday, March 20

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hold a meeting on Wednesday, March 20, at 9:50 a.m. (Eastern Time), at agency headquarters, 131 M Street, N.E. In accordance with the Sunshine Act, the open session of the meeting will be open to public observation of the Commission's deliberations and voting.  The meeting will address the development of the agency's Quality Control Plan (QCP) for investigations and conciliations.  For scheduling purposes, the meeting is anticipated to conclude at 4:00 p.m, with an hour break taken around 1:00 p.m.  

The EEOC's 2012-2016 Strategic Plan establishes a framework for achieving the EEOC's mission to stop and remedy unlawful employment discrimination by focusing on strategic law enforcement, education and outreach and efficiently serving the public.  The second performance measure of the plan requires the EEOC to approve a QCP, which is currently being developed.

QCP is intended to revise the criteria used to measure the quality of agency investigations and conciliations throughout the nation.  To develop a draft of the plan for Commission consideration, Chair Jacqueline Berrien appointed an internal work group chaired by Commissioner Chai Feldblum, Chicago District Director John Rowe, and Dallas District Director Janet Elizondo.  The work group is reviewing the current status of EEOC investigations and conciliations to look for areas where the agency is excelling in its administrative law enforcement program and where the agency would benefit from improvements within the context of the agency's limited fiscal resources. 

To ensure the views of agency staff and external stakeholders are incorporated into the development process, the Commission solicited written public input in February 2012 and is now holding a public meeting featuring three moderated roundtable conversations with EEOC staff and private practitioners.  Participants will address EEOC investigations and conciliations and offer their recommendations for indicia to measure their quality. 

As part of our efforts to comply with the President's sequestration order, panelists will participate via video teleconference (VTC) from an EEOC office, telephone, or in person at their own expense.  The following persons are confirmed to participate: 

Roundtable I

• Shannon Breen Else, Lead Systemic Investigator, Denver Field Office
• Melanie Breen, Enforcement Supervisor, Cincinnati Area Office
• Mathew Cleman, Investigator, Seattle Field Office and Labor Member, San Francisco District Labor-Management Forum
• John Douglass, Investigator, New York District Office
• Karen McCabe, Investigator, Philadelphia District Office
• Sean Oliveira, Investigator, St. Louis District Office

Roundtable II

• Linda Burwell, Nemeth Burwell, P.C.
• Daniel Kohrman, National Employment Lawyers Association
• Elizabeth Kristen, Legal Aid Society, Employment Law Center
• Joyce Margulies, Joyce Margulies Employment Law Consulting
• Lorene Schaefer, Workplace Investigations Group
• Mary Anne Sedey, Sedey Harper P.C.
• Rae Vann, Equal Employment Advisory Council

Roundtable III

• Julianne Bowman, Deputy Director, Chicago District Office
• Gail Cober, Director, Detroit Field Office
• Martin Ebel, Deputy Director, Houston District Office
• Travis Hicks, Director, San Antonio Field Office
• Suzanne Kotrosa, Program Analyst, Office of Field Programs
• Mary Jo O'Neill, Regional Attorney, Phoenix District Office
• Faye Williams, Regional Attorney, Memphis District Office

EEOC's Legal Counsel Peggy Mastroianni will moderate each discussion. 

Seating is limited, and it is suggested that visitors arrive 30 minutes before the meeting in order to be processed through security and escorted to the meeting room.  

The Commission agenda is subject to revision. Additional information about the hearing, when available, will be posted at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/meetings/index.cfm.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.   Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.