EEOC NEW YORK OFFICE DESTROYED IN TERRORIST ATTACK ON WORLD TRADE CENTER

PRESS RELEASE
9-12-01

WASHINGTON - Among the tragic events of yesterday was the destruction of the New York District Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), located on the 18th floor of the World Trade Center, Building 7. Gratefully, all district office personnel, along with other residents of the building, were safely evacuated before the structure collapsed late yesterday afternoon.

EEOC Chair Cari M. Dominguez and agency Commissioners and officials have been in frequent contact with New York office director Spencer Lewis, who reports that all agency staff are accounted for and physically safe. He further reports that the "emotional toll is unimaginable," as many of the EEOC workers witnessed the unfolding drama.

Commission Chair Dominguez had this to say: "On Monday, I was in New York City, in Building 7 of the World Trade Center, visiting the staff and announcing the filing of a major lawsuit against Morgan Stanley. Today, that building no longer exists. The announcement that took me to New York simply pales compared to the enormity of human losses that Morgan Stanley and other firms are facing. Our hearts and our thoughts go out to them. Our sympathies and our prayers are with them and their loved ones."

She added, "The EEOC family is donating blood and doing everything we can to help our fellow federal employees at the Pentagon."

A number of steps are being taken to address the impact of this tragedy on staff of the New York office as well as all EEOC personnel, said Chair Dominguez:

• A task force has been established to coordinate and provide services from EEOC's Washington headquarters to New York.
• EEOC and the General Services Administration are working closely together to find alternative work sites for the agency's New York employees so that EEOC can continue to provide services in that area.
• EEOC is working closely with the Office of Personnel Management to establish counseling services for employees in need throughout the country, and additional information about accessing these services will be provided shortly.

Agency officials indicate that the goal of the EEOC is to get the New York employees back in a workplace and fully operational as soon as possible.

EEOC is the federal agency which enforces laws prohibiting workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. Further information about the agency is available on the EEOC's Web site at: www.eeoc.gov.

This page was last modified on September 12, 2001.