EEOC Transparency and Accountability Act

Summary: EEOC Transparency and Accountability Act Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to provide information on its public website regarding each case brought in court by the EEOC after a judgment is made with respect to any cause of action. Requires such information to include: (1) instances in which the EEOC was ordered to pay fees and costs; (2) cases in which a sanction was imposed on the EEOC; (3) the total number of charges of an alleged unlawful employment practice filed under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; and (4) cases of systemic discrimination, including pattern or practice discrimination. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit the EEOC from bringing a suit unless it exhausts its obligation to engage in an informal conciliation and certifies that conciliation is at impasse. Makes the determination as to whether the EEOC has engaged in a bona fide conciliation subject to judicial review. Directs the EEOC Inspector General to notify Congress of any sanctions, fees, or costs imposed on the EEOC by a court. Requires the Inspector General to investigate such cases and the EEOC to report to Congress regarding the steps being taken to reduce such instances. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``EEOC Transparency and Accountability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION ABOUT CASES ON THE EEOC WEBSITE.

    (a) In General.--Beginning not later than 30 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 
shall maintain the following up-to-date information on its public 
website:
            (1) A description of each case brought in court by the 
        Commission, not later than 30 days after a judgment is made 
        with respect to any cause of action in the case, without regard 
        to whether the judgment is final. Such description shall 
        identify--
                    (A) the court in which the case was brought;
                    (B) the name and case number of the case, the 
                nature of the allegation, the causes of action brought, 
                and the outcome of each cause of action in the case;
                    (C) each instance in which the Commission was 
                ordered to pay fees and costs, including the amount of 
                such fees and costs ordered to be paid and, when 
                applicable, the amount of fees and costs actually paid 
                by the Commission and the reason for the fee or cost 
                award;
                    (D) whether the case was authorized by a majority 
                vote of the Commission or was brought pursuant to the 
                Commission's delegation of authority to the General 
                Counsel of the Commission, including the basis on which 
                the General Counsel determined that submission to the 
                Commission for authorization was not necessary and a 
                justification of that decision;
                    (E) any case in which a sanction was imposed on the 
                Commission, including the amount of such sanction and 
                the reason for the sanction; and
                    (F) any appeal and the outcome of the appeal.
            (2) The total number of charges of an alleged unlawful 
        employment practice filed during the preceding fiscal year by a 
        member of the Commission, as authorized by the Commissioner 
        charge authority under section 706(b) of the Civil Rights Act 
        of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(b)) and section 107(a) of the 
        Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)), 
        and the total number of resolutions of such charges 
        disaggregated by type of resolution.
            (3) The total number of charges of an alleged unlawful 
        employment practice filed during the preceding fiscal year as a 
        result of the Commission's use of its directed investigation 
        authority under section 7(a) of the Age Discrimination in 
        Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 626(a)) and section 11(a) of 
        the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a)), and 
        the total number of resolutions of such charges disaggregated 
        by type of resolution.
            (4) Each case of systemic discrimination (including pattern 
        or practice discrimination) brought in court by the Commission 
        under section 706 or 707 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
        U.S.C. 2000e-5, 2000e-6) within the preceding 30 days, the 
        court in which the case was brought, the name and case number 
        of the case, the industry involved, the employment practice or 
        practices at issue, the nature of the alleged discrimination, 
        and the circumstances of the systemic discrimination alleged in 
        the case.
    (b) Disaggregation.--With respect to the total number of charges of 
alleged unlawful employment practices provided under paragraphs (2) and 
(3) of subsection (a), the Commission shall, on its public website, 
disaggregate each such total number by the number of such charges filed 
in each Commission District, and within each Commission District, by 
the number of such charges alleging discrimination on the basis of, or 
filed under, each of the following:
            (1) Race.
            (2) Sex.
            (3) National Origin.
            (4) Religion.
            (5) Color.
            (6) Retaliation.
            (7) Age.
            (8) Disability.
            (9) Section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
        (29 U.S.C. 206(d)).
    (c) Annual Performance Report.--Beginning fiscal year 2016, the 
Commission shall include in its annual performance report under section 
1116 of title 31, United States Code, the information described in 
paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a) for the preceding fiscal 
year, except that such information shall not be disaggregated in 
accordance with subsection (b).

SEC. 3. GOOD FAITH CONFERENCE, CONCILIATION, AND PERSUASION.

    Section 706(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-
5(b)) is amended--
            (1) in the sixth sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``shall endeavor'' and inserting 
                ``shall use good faith efforts to endeavor''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``bona fide'' after 
                ``conference,'';
            (2) in the seventh sentence--
                    (A) by inserting ``, good faith'' after ``such 
                informal''; and
                    (B) by striking ``persons concerned'' and inserting 
                ``employer, employment agency, or labor organization, 
                except for the sole purpose of allowing a party to any 
                pending litigation to present to the reviewing court 
                evidence to ensure the Commission's compliance with its 
                obligations under this section prior to filing suit''; 
                and
            (3) by adding at the end the following: ``No action or suit 
        may be brought by the Commission under this title unless the 
        Commission has in good faith exhausted its conciliation 
        obligations as set forth in this subsection. No action or suit 
        shall be brought by the Commission unless it has certified that 
        conciliation is at impasse. The determination as to whether the 
        Commission engaged in bone fide conciliation efforts shall be 
        subject to judicial review. The Commission's good faith 
        obligation to engage in bona fide conciliation shall include 
        providing the employer, employment agency, or labor 
        organization believed to have engaged in an unlawful employment 
        practice with all information regarding the legal and factual 
        bases for the Commission's determination that reasonable causes 
        exist as well as all information that supports the Commission's 
        requested monetary and other relief (including a detailed 
        description of the specific individuals or employees comprising 
        the class of persons for whom the Commission is seeking relief 
        and any additional information requested that is reasonably 
        related to the underlying cause determination or necessary to 
        conciliate in good faith).''.

SEC. 4. REPORTING TO CONGRESS REGARDING CASES IN WHICH THE EEOC IS 
              ORDERED TO PAY FEES AND COSTS OR SANCTIONS.

    (a) Investigation and Report of Inspector General.--In any case 
brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in which a court 
orders the Commission to pay fees and costs or imposes a sanction on 
the Commission, the Inspector General of the Commission shall--
            (1) notify the Committee on Education and the Workforce of 
        the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 
        Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate of the order or 
        sanction within 14 days of the court's decision, including the 
        name of the case, the nature of the court's determination, and 
        the amount of fees and costs ordered or the amount of the 
        sanction imposed by the court; and
            (2) conduct an investigation to determine why an order for 
        sanction, fees, or costs was imposed by the court, and, not 
        later than 90 days after the court's decision, submit a report 
        to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor 
        and Pensions of the Senate that includes--
                    (A) information obtained from interviews and 
                affidavits of each member and staff person of the 
                Commission involved in the case;
                    (B) the amount of resources allocated to the case, 
                including in terms of full-time equivalents;
                    (C) a comparison of the case to other cases in 
                which a court ordered fees and costs or imposed 
                sanctions against the Commission;
                    (D) if the determination to bring the case was not 
                by a vote of the full Commission, the reasons such a 
                vote was not held; and
                    (E) any other relevant information.
    (b) Report of the Commission.--For any case described in subsection 
(a), the Commission, in consultation with the General Counsel of the 
Commission, shall--
            (1) not later than 60 days after the court's decision, 
        submit a report to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
        of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 
        Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate detailing the steps 
        the Commission is taking to reduce instances in which a court 
        orders the Commission to pay fees and costs or imposes a 
        sanction on the Commission; and
            (2) not later than 30 days after the report is submitted to 
        the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor 
        and Pensions of the Senate under paragraph (1), post such 
        report on its public website.