The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        CONTACT:  Reginald Welch
Thursday, August 17, 2000                              David Grinberg
                                                       (202) 663-4900
                                                  TTY: (202) 663-4494

EEOC PARTNERS WITH BLACKS IN GOVERNMENT; WILL PLAY ACTIVE ROLE IN NATIONAL TRAINING CONFERENCE

Activities to Include Speech by Chairwoman Castro, Town Hall Meeting, In-Depth Workshops

WASHINGTON - Ida L. Castro, Chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will address the 22nd Annual National Training Conference of Blacks In Government (BIG) on Wednesday, August 23, at 10:00 a.m. at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, N.W. The Commission's participation in the conference is part of its continuing outreach efforts to agency stakeholders aimed at improving the federal government's discrimination complaint process.

"We look forward to closely collaborating with BIG and working in partnership to address the EEO concerns of minority employees at federal agencies," said Chairwoman Castro. "Reforming the federal sector complaint process and creating a model federal workplace has been, and will continue to be, one of the EEOC's highest priorities."

During her speech, the Chairwoman will discuss her vision for federal sector reform and agency initiatives to streamline the discrimination complaint process. Following her remarks, the EEOC will host a town hall meeting which will include representatives of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). During the meeting, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (noon), staff of the EEOC, OPM, and MSPB will answer frequently asked questions and engage participants in a discussion of the federal sector complaint process and agency personnel practices. The meeting will be moderated by Carlton Hadden, Director of EEOC's Office of Federal Operations.

Following the town hall meeting and lunch, EEOC will offer technical assistance to conference participants through several in-depth workshops. The sessions, running from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., will cover the recently revised 1614 regulations (which govern the federal EEO complaint process), highlights of significant cases, agency on-site reviews, and class complaints. EEOC staff will be on hand throughout the day with lap top computers linked to agency headquarters in order to provide conference participants with up-to-date status information on hearings and appeals, as well as assisting in basic research requests.

"By providing key information, education, and technical assistance, we will help conference participants to better understand and exercise their rights under the new 1614 regulations," said Mr. Hadden. "In addition, EEOC staff will foster an open dialogue by directly addressing the major concerns of minority federal workers."

During the conference, EEOC will also preview an initial version of the newly developed Federal Sector EEO Computer Based Training CD, which explains the 1614 process from start to finish in plain language. The state-of-the-art CD will be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities by featuring audio narration, scalable text, and mouse-alternative techniques for accessing the course.

EEOC's participation in the BIG conference is part of the Commission's ongoing efforts to reach out to agency stakeholders in order to improve the federal sector complaint process. Since assuming leadership of the Commission, Chairwoman Castro has led an unprecedented effort to reform the federal EEO complaint process by increasing its fairness, effectiveness, and efficiency, while consulting broadly with stakeholders. Among the innovative initiatives recently undertaken by EEOC are the following:

Issuing new 1614 regulations to streamline the EEO complaint process. The changes, which became effective November 9, 1999, advance the Administration's goals of cutting red tape, removing unnecessary layers of review, and delegating decision-making to front-line workers.
Launching a joint Interagency Task Force on the Federal Sector with Vice President Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR). The task force is examining how to enhance the federal EEO process and stimulate change that will prevent discrimination in the first instance. Members of the task force include representatives of the EEOC, NPR, Cabinet departments and agencies, stakeholder groups, federal employee unions, and other organizations. A task force report is scheduled for issuance in early fall.
Implementing a comprehensive enforcement initiative for the federal sector program. The initiative provides a strategic approach to federal sector reform by linking improved data analysis, prevention activities aimed at the root causes of discrimination, and a streamlined process for addressing EEO complaints.
Issuing a new chapter to Management Directive 110 setting forth the authority for settlement of federal sector discrimination disputes. The guidance contained in the chapter is intended to facilitate settlement of federal sector EEO cases at all stages of the complaint process.
Holding a dynamic national training program and series of national town hall meetings on the revised 1614 regulations entitled The New Federal EEO Complaint Process and You. The sold- out training seminars and town hall meetings were held at over a dozen locations nationwide.

EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act; Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments; prohibitions against discrimination affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal government; and sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Further information about the Commission is available on the agency's web site at www.eeoc.gov.

This page was last modified on August 18, 2000.

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