Today, House Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (R-NC) released the following statement after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a final rule to increase transparency and facilitate quicker resolutions of complaints filed by employees:
“Today’s final rule will ensure that when employees file a complaint of an unlawful employment practice and EEOC has found reasonable cause to believe a violation has occurred, the required conciliation process will be clear, effective, and timely in providing resolutions for workers seeking justice. I commend EEOC Chair Dhillon for her commitment to providing employees with the timely resolutions of claims they deserve by increasing transparency in the EEOC conciliation process.”
BACKGROUND: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires EEOC—if an investigation determines an unlawful employment practice has occurred—to engage in conciliation efforts with the employer before filing a lawsuit against the employer. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Mach Mining, LLC v. EEOC that these conciliation efforts must meet certain standards, such as communicating to the employer the content of the claim and providing an opportunity for the employer to discuss the matter with the agency. On November 9, 2020, Reps. Foxx and Cline sent a comment letter to EEOC Chair Janet Dhillon praising the proposed rule to increase transparency in the conciliation process.
