Milestones: 2000

In Kimel v. State of Florida Board of Regents, the Supreme Court rules that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) provision granting state employees or applicants the right to file a lawsuit against state employers is unconstitutional. State employees can file an ADEA charge against their employer, EEOC can investigate, but the private individual has no federal suit rights. Only EEOC can sue state employers for ADEA violations.

In Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., the Supreme Court rules that the plaintiffs can win in an employment discrimination case if they show that the employer's reason for a challenged action is pretextual (not true). The plaintiff does not have to prove that discrimination was the real reason -- it can be inferred from the facts. The unanimous Court states, "It is permissible for the trier of fact to infer the ultimate fact of discrimination from the falsity of the employer's explanation."

EEOC contracts with 93 state and local Fair Employment Practice Agencies (FEPAs) that resolve approximately 53,000 dual filed Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act charges. EEOC also contracts with 63 Tribal Employment Rights Offices (TEROs) to secure Indian preference agreements with employers operating on or near reservations and for the TEROs to process charges filed against employers operating on reservations.

President Clinton signs Executive Order 13145

In February, President Bill Clinton signs Executive Order 13145 prohibiting federal departments and agencies from making employment decisions based on protected genetic information. In issuing the first Executive Order of the 21^st Century, the President states that he hoped the action would "set an example and pose a challenge for every employer in America" to adopt a policy not to discriminate on the basis of protected genetic information "because . . . no employer should ever review your genetic records along with your resume." The Executive Order assigns to EEOC the responsibility for coordinating the policy with federal departments and agencies.

In the spring, EEOC conducts a series of town hall styled meetings in selected cities nationwide for federal sector employees as well as attorneys and advocacy groups who represent the interests of individual complainants. The town hall meetings provide information to the public about current and anticipated improvements to the federal sector EEO process and allows participants the opportunity to share their comments and concerns about the federal sector EEO process with the Director of the Office of Federal Operations and members of the Vice President's National Performance Review Task Force for improving the federal sector EEO process.

As a result of Priority Charge Processing Procedures, EEOC has slightly more than 40,000 charges in its backlog (or inventory), down from over 100,000 charges four years earlier.

EEOC and the National Labor Relations Board announce a joint Honors Program for law graduates interested in employment and civil rights law. Under the program, attorneys will have the opportunity to work at both agencies and be exposed to the full range of EEO and labor law.