AMERICAN FEDERATION OF
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
Affiliated with the AFL-CIO
80 F St NW, Washington, DC
20001-1583
MEMORANDUM: 4a\132128 September 29, 2003
TO: National Executive Council
FROM: Andrea E. Brooks, National Vice President
Women’s and Fair Practices Departments
SUBJECT: Alert on Planned EEOC “Reform”
I wish to bring to your attention several alarming proposals under serious consideration by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that will
1. hinder the effectiveness of EEOC to process discrimination complaints by closing local offices and downsizing of staff;
2. alter the nature of citizen civil rights complaint inquires and filings by replacing career EEO specialists with a privatized national call center; and
3. further roll-back the rights of federal workers by eliminating administrative trial rights.
Federal Sector
Changes
The EEOC is considering making drastic changes to the manner in which federal
sector discrimination complaints are processed. Beginning in the spring of 2002, EEOC Chair Cari Dominguez repeatedly detailed her plans to make-over the federal sector program to “mirror” the private sector model in several meetings with EEOC staff (including AJ’s and investigators in the field offices). In June of 2002, a memo describing her plans was leaked from the EEOC headquarters office. After a public rally in front of EEOC held on July 12, 2002 to protest the proposed changes, Chair Dominguez met separately with a variety of interested stakeholders (including AFGE leading one meeting and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights leading another) where she defended her concept of a private sector model for federal workers.
Chair Dominguez’s plan would completely (or substantially) eliminate the right to an administrative trial before an EEOC Judge. The Chair believes this change would produce a private sector model since EEOC does not provide Judges and trials to resolve complaints for the non-federal workfoce. That’s the job of state human rights agencies. However, federal workers cannot go to state human rights agencies. Further, the EEOC in the private sector will prosecute employers on behalf of civil rights victims, but she is not proposing that EEOC sue other federal agencies on behalf of federal workers. Thus, only federal employees would be left without administrative trial rights and a government prosecutor.
While the federal government is mandated to be a "model" employer, these EEOC proposals would place federal employees at a severe disadvantage with fewer civil rights than non-federal employees. The EEOC's proposed changes would strip federal employees of valuable protections against discrimination. In particular, the EEOC's changes would:
· discourage federal employees from bringing complaints of discrimination;
· eviscerate the letter and spirit of the recently enacted "No FEAR" Act;
· roll back the improvements obtained in the comprehensive reforms to Part 1614 just now materializing from rulemaking in late 1999;
· discourage agencies from settling complaints;
· deprive both agencies and complainants of information necessary to properly and fully evaluate discrimination complaints; and
· encourage employees to file suit in federal court.
In a public hearing held November 12, 2002, various parties testified on the proposed over-haul that would result in the dumping of federal sector complaints into the federal courts. Again, and since then, the Chair defended her position. Although no final proposed rules have yet been released, the Chair continues to advance her “privatization” position. We expect publication of the proposal this fall. Indeed, most recently, on August 26, 2003, the EEOC issued new federal sector affirmative action guidance, and accompanied the announcement with the following press release:
“Management Directive 715 is part of a bigger EEO reform initiative underway, which is designed to better address the organizational shifts and evolving trends in the federal workplace," said Chair Dominguez. "The Directive provides a substantive, practical road map for federal agencies to ensure access and inclusion for all human talent at all levels of employment."
For
the past year, Chair Dominguez has led a priority initiative to engage all
federal sector stakeholders in an open and constructive dialogue about the need
for EEO performance improvements.
Private Sector Changes
At a public EEOC meeting held September 8, 2003, Chair Dominguez detailed her plans to drastically shrink the number of EEOC field offices, potentially closing all but 10 of the current 53 offices nation-wide. She also proposes to lay-off hundreds of EEOC investigators (in addition to the EEOC Administrative Judges who are already slated for RIF) and replace them with a National Call Center contracted out to the lowest bidder. While she has carefully solicited the input of various affected groups, she continues to advance the proposal to down-size and privatize a new EEOC.
Along with numerous and diverse members of the civil rights community, we are concerned that these imminent plans will roll back the civil rights of federal workers and weaken the access of the EEOC to the rest of the 327 million workers covered by the nation’s civil rights laws. We are reminded of the 2001 campaign by Women’s Bureau Director Elaine Chao to close its regional offices, and we are encouraged by our successful response to that threat. As part of a larger mobilization effort where we will be asking for your assistance and support, we have prepared the attached flyer to alert federal workers to yet another threat of contracting out and the loss of civil rights for all Americans, and especially for federal workers.
cc: Directors
HRC
Attachment