Charlotte Burrows Sworn In as EEOC Commissioner

Bipartisan Federal Agency Restored to Full Capacity

WASHINGTON - Charlotte A. Burrows was sworn in today as Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced this morning.  Burrows was nominated by President Obama on Sept. 12, 2014, and was confirmed on Dec. 3, 2014 by a Senate vote of 93-2 to serve as Commissioner, for a term expiring July 1, 2019.

Burrows fills the slot created when former Chair Jacqueline Berrien's term and holdover period expired in August 2015, and restores the Commission to its full complement.  Burrows joins Chair Jenny R. Yang and Commissioners Constance Barker, Chai Feldblum and Victoria Lipnic to complete the five-member presidentially appointed bipartisan Commission. 

"I am pleased to welcome Charlotte Burrows to this vitally important agency," said EEOC Chair Jenny Yang.  "Her combined experience in civil and constitutional rights, coupled with her service as a trial attorney, will be great assets to the agency, and I look forward to working with her and my other colleagues on the commission to promote equal opportunity for all."

Prior to her appointment at the EEOC, Burrows served as associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice (DOJ), where she worked on a broad range of legal and policy issues, including employment litigation, tribal justice, voting rights, and implementation of the Violence Against Women Act, among others.

Burrows previously served as general counsel for Civil and Constitutional Rights to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in 2009, and on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2007 to 2008, after having served as legal counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2003 to 2007.

Before working on Capitol Hill, Burrows served in the Civil Rights Division's Employment Litigation Section at DOJ first as a trial attorney, and later as special litigation counsel and then as deputy chief. She served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Timothy K. Lewis of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton.

Burrows received an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

"I am honored to serve as a Commissioner of the EEOC," said Burrows.  "I'm eager to begin working with my talented and dedicated colleagues in fulfilling the agency's mission of ensuring workplace equality for all."

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