EEOC Informal Discussion Letter

EEEOC Office of Legal Counsel staff members wrote the following informal discussion letter in response to an inquiry from a member of the public. This letter is intended to provide an informal discussion of the noted issue and does not constitute an official opinion of the Commission.

ADA, Title VII, & ADEA: Work Opportunity Tax Credit, IRS Form 8850 & ETA Form 9061

September 9, 2013

Delivered via electronic mail

Dear:

This letter responds to your recent inquiry about the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 8850 (Form 8850) and the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Form 9061 (Form 9061), used in the Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) programs. You asked whether our position regarding the use of Form 8850 and Form 9061 has changed since our last correspondence with you. Our position has not changed and we continue to advise that proper employer use of the Forms would not violate the federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws, most prominently Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Our most recent correspondence with you about this matter is dated September 15, 2010. See http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/foia/letters/2010/ada-titlevii-adea_work_tax_irs_eta_form.html. The 2010 letter analyzes the August 2009 versions of the Forms and explains that proper employer use of the Forms, in compliance with IRS and ETA requirements, does not violate the ADA, Title VII, or the ADEA. The letter also emphasizes that employers who misuse the information provided on the Forms by, for example, using disability-related information to make discriminatory employment decisions, will not be protected from liability under the EEO laws. Although Form 8850 was modified in January 2013 and Form 9061 was modified in July 2013, the revisions made do not raise any new EEO issues and do not alter our earlier analysis. We therefore direct you to the September 15, 2010 letter for a full description of our position.

We hope this information is helpful to you. Please note that this letter is an informal discussion of the issues you raised and not an official opinion of the EEOC. If you have any questions, you may reach me at 202-663-4759 or Senior Attorney Kerry Leibig at 202-663-4516.

Sincerely,

Corbett Anderson
Assistant Legal Counsel

This page was last modified on November 1, 2013.