The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has given final approval to a new four-year Strategic Plan (Plan) covering Fiscal Years (FY) 2018 through 2022. The final version is nearly identical to the draft plan on which the agency solicited public comments, with one notable (and disturbing) exception.
In written comments that NT Lakis attorneys filed on the draft plan, we stressed the importance of restoring more balance to the EEOC’s enforcement efforts by movement away from encouraging aggressive litigation tactics, dominated by class-based cases. In a notable change from the draft plan, and in direct contradiction of concerns we expressed in our comments, the final plan deletes the statement, “Effective strategic enforcement includes a balance of individual and systemic cases.”
In a press release accompanying the Strategic Plan, EEOC Acting Chair Victoria A. Lipnic stated that adoption of the Plan would move the agency much closer to “realizing our vision of respectful and inclusive workplaces with equal opportunity for all,” and she thanked all the external stakeholders that provided “helpful comments” during the comment period.
Ms. Lipnic was joined by the other two sitting Commissioners, Chai Feldblum and Charlotte Burrows, in approving the Plan. The three of them elected to move forward even though there are two current vacancies on the five-member Commission, with President Trump’s nominees for the two open slots – Janet Dhillon (the Chair Designate) and Daniel Gade – pending U.S. Senate confirmation.
A copy of the EEOC’s new four-year Strategic Plan is available here.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.