Enhancing OutREACH to Vulnerable Workers and Underserved Communities

Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal’s REACH initiative is focused on enhancing the EEOC’s outreach to vulnerable workers and underserved communities. In January 2024, the EEOC launched the multi-year initiative to build on existing efforts to ensure that the EEOC’s outreach and education efforts are reaching workers who often are the least likely to seek the agency’s assistance, despite their great need.  

The REACH initiative strives to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination by ensuring that workers have access to the EEOC’s services and know their rights. By making the Commission more accessible to those historically underserved, the initiative advances fair and inclusive workplaces with equal opportunity for all.

REACH will: 

• Hold in-person and virtual listening sessions with a broad range of stakeholders in different areas around the country to examine how the EEOC can bolster its efforts to reach vulnerable and underserved communities by identifying existing barriers to reporting discrimination and soliciting recommendations on how to serve these populations better.
• Review and evaluate existing research and recommendations on effective outreach strategies, tools, and methods to inform the work of the initiative.
• Identify best practices for reaching vulnerable and underserved communities and consider how to develop an increased presence in rural areas and areas far from physical EEOC office locations.
• Develop recommendations to present to the EEOC Chair for enhancing outreach efforts.