Sala de prensa

BOCA RATON, FL -- Ida L. Castro, Chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will address the American Bar Association (ABA) EEO Committee Midwinter Meeting on Friday, March 26, 9:00 a.m., at the Boca Raton Resort in Boca Raton, Florida.

The midwinter meeting of the EEO Committee traditionally hears from the Chair of the EEOC. Among the topics Chairwoman Castro will focus on in her remarks are EEOC

Ida L. Castro, Chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will announce a series of innovative actions to improve customer service to small and mid-sized employers during a keynote speech to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The announcement, part of EEOC's new Small Business Initiative, will be made at SHRM's 14th Annual Legal and Legislative Conference on the morning of Tuesday, March 23, from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. at the Capital Hilton, 16th and K Streets, N.W.

Washington - La Comisión de Derechos en la Igualdad en el Empleo de los Estados Unidos (EEOC) se place en anuciar que su Directora la Comisionada Ida L. Castro se dirijira al Octavo Congreso de Derechos Civiles el cual se celebrara en Puerto Rico el miércoles 24 de marzo de 1999 a las 10:45 de la mañana. La conferencia esta auspiciada por la Comisión de Derechos Civiles de Puerto Rico y tiene como

WASHINGTON -- U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chairwoman, Ida L. Castro, will be speaking at the Eighth Annual Congress on Civil Rights on Wednesday, March 24, 1999, at 10:45 am. The conference, sponsored by the Puerto Rico Civil Rights Commission (PRCRC) , will run from March 24 - 26 at the University of Puerto Rico regional campus of Carolina, with the theme "Gender, Race and Civil Rights."

This trip

WASHINGTON -- The next public meeting of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will be Tuesday, March 23, at 1:45 p.m. in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Conference Room (9th Floor), 1801 L Street, N.W. The Commission Meeting will include a panel discussion with agency stakeholders representing older workers and union workers on issues affecting their constituencies.

The public is urged to attend the open session of the meeting at which the

KANSAS CITY, MO -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a $2.1 million settlement of a class employment discrimination lawsuit against Woodbine Healthcare Center (Woodbine), a nursing home in Gladstone, Mo. The suit alleged that Woodbine discriminated against 65 Filipino registered nurses in wages, assignments, and other terms and conditions of employment due to their national origin.

"This is the second significant settlement in a week that EEOC has handled

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today released a comprehensive policy guidance entitled Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The guidance addresses the duty of employers to provide "reasonable accommodations" to applicants and employees with disabilities under Title I of the ADA. The Commission also released a shorter version of the guidance entitled Small Employers and Reasonable Accommodation.

"This

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Tanimura & Antle, one of the largest lettuce growers/distributors in the United States, announced today that they reached a $1,855,000 voluntary settlement, approved by U.S. District Court Judge James Ware in San Jose, California. The settlement through a Consent Decree avoids protracted litigation by the EEOC on behalf of two employees and a class of current and former Tanimura & Antle employees who

*** New Initiative Endorsed By Agency Stakeholders, Praised by Vice President Gore ***

WASHINGTON -- A new initiative launched today by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to significantly expand its voluntary mediation program won the endorsement of a broad range of agency stakeholders, including business and labor advocates, civil rights groups, and representatives of the employer and plaintiffs bar. The mediation initiative, also praised by Vice President Al Gore, was announced

WASHINGTON -- As part of the Clinton Administration's Civil Rights Initiative, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will announce the kick-off of its national mediation program on Thursday, February 11, at 11:00 a.m. at EEOC Headquarters, 1801 L Street, N.W. (First Floor Training Facility).

"What EEOC has learned is that matters resolved through voluntary mediation result in win-win outcomes for employers and employees alike," said EEOC Chairwoman Ida L. Castro. She continued

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received recommendations yesterday on how to proceed with priority initiatives to improve communications and enhance outreach to minorities, women, and the disability community. The recommendations were presented by a panel of representatives from various civil rights groups at the second Commission Meeting conducted by Chairwoman Ida L. Castro.

"As we move ahead to meet our goals for fiscal year 1999, it is extremely important

WASHINGTON -- The next meeting of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will be Tuesday, January 26, at 2:00 p.m. in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Conference Room (9th floor), 1801 L Street, N.W. The Commission Meeting will include a panel discussion with national civil rights groups on issues affecting their constituencies.

The public is urged to attend the open session of the meeting at which the following business will be conducted

WASHINGTON -- Ida L. Castro was sworn-in on Monday, December 14, 1998, by Vice-President Al Gore as the Chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the first Hispanic female to serve in this capacity. Ms. Castro was nominated by President Clinton on April 2 and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 21. She fills the vacancy left by Gilbert F. Casellas, who resigned as Chairman at the end of

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chairwoman Ida L. Castro told a panel of employer representatives yesterday that the agency is implementing a major outreach initiative to increase communication, education, and technical assistance to the small and medium-sized business community. The objectives of the initiative are to bolster their access to information about the anti- discrimination laws and promote voluntary compliance.

The initiative was launched by Chairwoman Castro at the first

WASHINGTON -- Ida L. Castro was sworn-in today as the Chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the first Hispanic female to serve in this capacity. Ms. Castro was nominated by President Clinton on April 2 and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 21. She fills the vacancy left by Gilbert F. Casellas, who resigned as Chairman at the end of 1997.

"I am extremely honored to serve the

MIAMI -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that a federal judge has ordered Joe's Stone Crab, Inc. (Joe's) to institute mandatory recruiting and hiring procedures to remedy past discrimination against women who applied for jobs as food servers, and to ensure fair hiring practices in the future. Yesterday's ruling by Federal District Court Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley concludes the damages phase of EEOC's sex discrimination lawsuit against the

* * * Enforcement Statistics to be Posted on Web Site * * *

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that the agency's pending inventory of discrimination charges has been sliced nearly in half, down from approximately 111,000 charges in fiscal year (FY) 1995 to 57,871 at the close of the third quarter (June 30) of FY 1998. The latest enforcement statistics also show the number of charges

NORMAL AND CHICAGO, ILL. -- Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America, Inc. (MMMA) and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that they have reached a $34 million settlement, subject to court approval, that resolves all claims in the lawsuit filed on April 9, 1996, by the EEOC on behalf of a class of current and former MMMA employees who were subjected to an alleged pattern and practice of sexual

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it is publishing a final legislative regulation governing waivers of rights and claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). The regulations will appear in the Federal Register on Friday, June 5, 1998, and will be effective 30 days after publication.

Under section 7 (f) of the ADEA, added by the Older Workers Benefit Protection

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today the release of comprehensive guidance on the prohibition against retaliation aimed at individuals who file charges of employment discrimination or who participate in the investigation of an EEO charge.

The Supreme Court addressed the issue of retaliation last year, in Robinson v. Shell Oil Company. The Court made it clear that employers are prohibited from retaliating against former employees as well as

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today released a task force report assessing the progress of charge processing and litigation reforms which the agency began in 1995. The agency also announced a joint training pilot initiative with the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Labor and Employment Law, Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. These developments were presented at the ABA Committee's mid-winter meeting in Silverado, Calif. The task force

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today proposed changes to its regulations governing the procedures for federal employee discrimination complaints as part of the Commission's broader efforts to improve the effectiveness of its operations. The proposed changes, published in the Federal Register as a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), are the result of a nearly two-year process.

In signing the Notice, EEOC Chairman Paul M. Igasaki

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today a ground breaking settlement of agency litigation against Israel Discount Bank (IDB) of New York under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The lawsuit charged IDB with engaging in disability-based discrimination by offering a long term disability (LTD) policy, insured by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, that limits benefits for individuals with mental conditions

* * * Largest in Agency History * * *

BOSTON -- Astra USA Inc., a pharmaceutical firm headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, with offices throughout the United States, will pay $9,850,000 plus interest to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The Complaint and a Consent Decree signed by the parties were filed today with The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts