The Guardian - July 2 is the 60th anniversary of
the first day of business for a brand-new federal agency, the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, which had been created by the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. Today it is on its deathbed.
Over the last six decades, EEOC
was the primary enforcer of federal laws that prohibit
employment-related discrimination, including sex discrimination, racial
discrimination, and age discrimination. Just last year, EEOC was able to
compel hundreds of employers to pay a total of more than $700 million
in damages to some 21,000 individuals who had been the victims of
illegal employment discrimination.
For 60 years, EEOC has been
responsible for attempting to ensure that employers determine wages,
benefits and working conditions without regard to race, national origin,
religion, sex, sexual preference, or age. Yet despite the law and
EEOC’s efforts, it is indisputable that Blacks and women in the U.S. are
the victims of employment discrimination that is little different than
it was in the 1980s.
It was EEOC that determined that
newspapers were violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when they
published “help-wanted” advertising in separate sections for women and
for men.
It was EEOC that determined it was illegal for employers to fire female employees when they marry.
It was EEOC that required employers to desegregate restrooms, shower and locker rooms and cafeterias.
In its first full year of
operations, EEOC handled 8854 cases of employment discrimination. In
2011, it handled 99,947 cases. In 2025, it handled 237,251 cases.
On January 28, 2025, President
Trump fired two of the three EEOC Commissioners. The Commission cannot
meet or conduct business without a quorum present. It will remain out of
business until and unless a second Commissioner is nominated by the
President and confirmed by the Senate. Don’t hold your breath.