EEOC Reform Act

Bill: 114-s-2693
Sponsor: Sen. Alexander, Lamar [R-TN]
Introduced: 2016-03-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Age discrimination
Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Disability and health-based discrimination
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Government information and archives
Government liability
Government studies and investigations
Judicial review and appeals
Legal fees and court costs
Performance measurement
Personnel records
Racial and ethnic relations
Religion
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Summary:
action_date: 2016-03-16
text: 

EEOC Reform Act

This bill prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from implementing the proposed revision of the private sector employer information report EEO-1 published on February 1, 2016, until: 
 
the EEOC collects annually from federal agencies the same employment data as a private sector employer with 100 or more employees would be required to collect under the revised report; 
 
the EEOC develops software for processing and creates a comprehensive plan for using such information, including examples of how the EEOC will use the information in its enforcement efforts, protect the information from theft or public dissemination, and share the data with other agencies; 
 
the Office of Management and Budget approves the EEOC's data collection procedures and comprehensive plan under a review process that provides for public notice and comments to evaluate the need for, and the burden of, the collection; and 
 
the EEOC reduces its inventory of pending charges to not more than 3,660. 

 
The EEOC must publish annual calculations of the cost of such data collection activities, including the number of employees and employee hours required to: (1) collect, verify, and protect the confidentiality of such data; and (2) be transferred away from duties that would reduce the number of pending charges of discrimination before the EEOC.
 
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended to require the EEOC to approve or disapprove by majority vote a decision on whether the EEOC shall commence or intervene in litigation involving: (1) multiple plaintiffs, or (2) an allegation of systemic discrimination or a pattern or practice of discrimination. An EEOC member shall have the power to require the EEOC to approve or disapprove by majority vote a decision on whether the EEOC commences or intervenes in any litigation. 
 
The EEOC must publish on its website information regarding each case brought in court by the EEOC after a judgment is made with respect to any cause of action. Such information must 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 or discrimination filed under specified civil rights, disability, employment, and labor laws; and (4) cases of systemic discrimination, including pattern or practice discrimination. 
 
The EEOC is prohibited from bringing a suit unless it: (1) exhausts its obligation to use bona fide informal good faith endeavors of conciliation, and (2) certifies that conciliation is at impasse. The determination as to whether the EEOC has engaged in bona fide informal good faith endeavors is subject to judicial review. 
 
The EEOC Inspector General must notify Congress of any sanctions, fees, or costs imposed on the EEOC by a court. The EEOC must report to Congress regarding the steps being taken to reduce such instances.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-03-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2016-03-16
text: Introduced in Senate