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.
No comments:
Post a Comment