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Welcome to the EEOC's Virtual Newsroom, which offers a wide range of information and materials on the Commission's history, functions, procedures, programs, actions and staff, on the statutes we enforce, and on related research, data and statistics. We encourage everyone to browse and search through our continually updated Press Kit, which provides extensive background and context for virtually any question.

To contact The Office of Communications, please phone 202-921-3191 or send an e-mail to newsroom@eeoc.gov. Please note, this e-mailbox is intended for reporters, news producers, those writing for news publication and broadcasts, and other people working on news programs or stories.

If you are seeking information about the EEOC, please call 1-800-669-4000 or e-mail info@eeoc.gov.

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Press release

EEOC CHAIR INSPIRES EXECUTIVE SEARCH CONSULTANTS TO ACT AS "AGENTS OF CHANGE"

Conference Designed to Promote Teamwork and Diversity

                               

WASHINGTON- Cari M. Dominguez, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), urged Witt/Kieffer executive recruiters to heighten efforts to broaden their network of candidates as diversity becomes a compelling business case for employers.  She also inspired the audience to act as agents of positive change - one key placement at

May 16, 2002

Press release

EEOC PROVIDES ANSWERS ABOUT WORKPLACE RIGHTS OF MUSLIMS, ARABS, SOUTH ASIANS AND SIKHS

New Fact Sheets Part of Agency's Ongoing Efforts to Prevent Backlash Discrimination

WASHINGTON --  U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Cari M. Dominguez today announced the availability of two new fact sheets, for employers and employees respectively, addressing frequently asked questions about the employment of Muslims, Arabs, South Asians and Sikhs.  These materials represent EEOC's latest in a series of efforts to proactively prevent September 11-related workplace backlash against people who are, or are

May 15, 2002

Press release

EEOC AND BNSF SETTLE GENETIC TESTING CASE UNDER AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) today announced a mediated settlement for $2.2 million of EEOC's lawsuit which alleged that BNSF violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) by genetically testing or seeking to test 36 of its employees without their knowledge or consent.  The genetic test was part of a comprehensive diagnostic medical examination that BNSF required of certain

May 8, 2002

Press release

EEOC CHAIR TO ADDRESS CANADIAN PARLIAMENT

                       

Testimony to Focus on Women, Minorities and People with Disabilities in the Workforce

WASHINGTON - Cari M. Dominguez, Chair of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will testify before the Canadian House of Commons's Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities on Thursday, April 25, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.  She

April 24, 2002

Press release

EEOC POSTS FEDERAL SECTOR ADR WEB PAGE

                         

New Online Resource to Assist Agencies in Implementing and Improving Mediation Programs

                                 

  WASHINGTON - Cari M. Dominguez, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today announced the posting of a new federal sector Web page containing the most comprehensive information available on

April 18, 2002

Press release

EEOC INITIATES TALKS WITH SMALL BUSINESSES ON EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

Nationwide workshops launched under New Freedom Initiative

                                   

WASHINGTON - As part of President George W. Bush's New Freedom Initiative, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Cari M. Dominguez today announced a series of workshops designed to share information on the employment of individuals with disabilities with small businesses nationwide.  This free, flexible outreach program will target

April 1, 2002

Press release

FEDERAL AGENCIES LAUNCH JOINT MEDIATION INITIATIVE

EEOC and Postal Service Enter First-Ever Partnership on Alternative Dispute Resolution

                                     

WASHINGTON - Cari M. Dominguez, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today announced the implementation of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to improve the processing of discrimination complaints by Postal workers nationwide.  Under the initiative

March 28, 2002

Press release

EEOC SETTLES RACIAL HARASSMENT SUIT FOR $1.8 MILLION AGAINST APOLLO COLORS OF ILLINOIS

African-American Workers Subjected to Hangman's Nooses, Racist Slurs and Graffiti

                                                                                   

CHICAGO - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a $1,825,000 settlement of a racial harassment lawsuit on behalf of 32

March 27, 2002

Press release

EEOC ANNOUNCES $47 MILLION AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE TO SETTLE CLAIMS OF CLASS-WIDE SEX BIAS AGAINST RENT-A-CENTER

   

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that the agency and attorneys for a class of over 5,000 women have reached an agreement in principle with Rent- A-Center, Inc. to settle two lawsuits alleging class-wide sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The company has agreed to pay a cash settlement of $47,000,000 and to begin making wide-ranging institutional changes.  Rent-A-Center, based in

March 8, 2002

Press release

LESLIE E. SILVERMAN TAKES OATH AS EEOC COMMISSIONER

   

WASHINGTON - Leslie E. Silverman was sworn in today as a Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to serve the remainder of a term expiring July 1, 2003. Ms. Silverman was nominated by President George W. Bush on February 11, 2002, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a voice vote last week on March 1.

   

"The EEOC is fortunate to add Leslie Silverman to its team

March 7, 2002

Press release

COURT APPROVES $1.2 MILLION SETTLEMENT BETWEEN EEOC AND MCKESSON FOR RACE DISCRIMINATION

   

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that a federal court has approved a $1,245,000 settlement of a class action race discrimination lawsuit brought by EEOC and private counsel against McKesson Water Products Company and Groupe Danone (which acquired McKesson in 2000).  The suit was filed under Title VII OF the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

   

Judge Florence Marie Cooper of the U.S. District Court for

March 6, 2002

Press release

EEOC AND VERIZON SETTLE PREGNANCY BIAS SUIT; THOUSANDS OF WOMEN TO RECEIVE BENEFITS

                                 

NEW YORK -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the settlement of a major class action lawsuit alleging pregnancy discrimination against Verizon predecessor companies NYNEX and Bell Atlantic. Under the settlement, thousands of current and former female employees in 13 states and the District of Columbia will receive benefits estimated in the millions of dollars

February 26, 2002

Press release

EEOC ISSUES FISCAL 2001 ENFORCEMENT DATA

Statistics Show Age Bias and Disability Discrimination Charges on the Rise

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has released comprehensive enforcement and litigation statistics for Fiscal Year 2001 (October 1, 2000, through September 30, 2001).  According to the new data, posted online at www.eeoc.gov, total discrimination charges filed against private employers increased one percent from the previous year to 80,840 - the highest level since the mid-1990s.

The

February 22, 2002

Press release

EEOC SETTLES RACE AND SEX BIAS SUIT FOR $1 MILLION AGAINST OPTICAL CABLE CORP.

                                   

ROANOKE, Va. -  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a $1 million settlement of a class action race and gender discrimination lawsuit against Optical Cable Corporation, a high-tech employer and publicly held company that manufactures fiber-optic cables.  EEOC's suit alleged that Optical Cable violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by

February 21, 2002

Press release

EEOC COMMENTS ON SUPREME COURT RULING IN WAFFLE HOUSE CASE

                                 

WASHINGTON - By a 6-3 vote, the United States Supreme Court today ruled in EEOC v. Waffle House, Inc. (No. 99-1823) that a private arbitration agreement between an individual and that individual's employer does not prevent the EEOC from filing a court action in its own name and recovering monetary damages for the individual.  The Supreme Court reversed

January 15, 2002

Press release

COMPREHENSIVE EEOC, WAL-MART SETTLEMENT RESOLVES DISABILITY LAWSUIT

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that a $6.8 million consent decree with retail giant Wal-Mart Stores was signed today by Federal District Court Judge Garland Burrell in Sacramento, Calif. The decree resolves the EEOC's lawsuit, Case No. S-99-0414-GEB DAD, which alleged that Wal-Mart's pre-employment questionnaire, "Matrix of Essential Job Functions," violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Parties to the decree also have agreed to settle 12 other ADA lawsuits

December 17, 2001

Press release

EEOC OPPOSES SETTLEMENT OF RENT-A-CENTER LAWSUIT

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit opposing a tentative settlement for $12.2 million in a sex discrimination case against Rent-A-Center, Inc. in a suit pending in Kansas City, Missouri. The EEOC says the tentative settlement has obvious and significant deficiencies, and there are serious unresolved questions about whether the women who settled the case can fairly

December 13, 2001

Press release

EEOC CONFERS WITH MINORITY GROUPS ON COMBATING SEPTEMBER 11 BACKLASH DISCRIMINATION

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) yesterday heard testimony and recommendations from a variety of Arab, Muslim, Sikh, Middle Eastern, and South Asian groups on combating backlash discrimination against members of those communities in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The EEOC chose this growing issue as the topic of the Commission's first meeting of the Bush administration and the first meeting presided over by new Chair Cari M. Dominguez

December 12, 2001

Press release

MEDIA ADVISORY

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hold a public Commission Meeting at its headquarters building on Tuesday, December 11, at 1:30 p.m. in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Conference Room (9th Floor), 1801 L Street, N.W. The meeting will focus on employment discrimination issues in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Following opening remarks from Commission members, three panels consisting of affected communities, employers, and EEOC officials will

December 10, 2001

Press release

EEOC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON WORKPLACE BIAS IN THE AFTERMATH OF SEPTEMBER 11

WASHINGTON - The next meeting of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will be Tuesday, December 11, at 1:30 p.m. in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Conference Room (9th Floor), 1801 L Street, N.W. The public meeting, the first held under the leadership of EEOC Chair Cari M. Dominguez, will focus on employment discrimination in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"This meeting will serve the public interest by engaging the

December 6, 2001