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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8^th 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

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

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 (9^th 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

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 (9^th 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

Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, we have seen compassion and respect for people of all faiths, races, and national and ethnic origins in workplaces throughout our country. One month after the attacks, President Bush noted with gratitude this "outpouring of compassion for people within our own country," recognizing that individuals of many religions stand side-by-side in America.

Nonetheless, we continue to receive reports of incidents of harassment, discrimination, and violence in the workplace against

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Departments of Justice and Labor today issued a joint statement reaffirming the federal government's commitment to upholding the federal anti-discrimination laws in the aftermath of the events of September 11.  The statement, posted on the Commission's Web site (www.eeoc.gov), focuses on preventing and redressing

WASHINGTON - Cari M. Dominguez, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), has announced the appointment of Ann Colgrove as Director of the Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs (OCLA) at agency headquarters.

As OCLA Director, Ms. Colgrove advises the Chair and represents the Commission to members of the U.S. Congress

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today posted on its web site questions and answers to assist employers who are developing or re- evaluating emergency evacuation procedures. The full text of the document is available at www.eeoc.gov.

"In light of recent events, many employers are particularly concerned about being able to evacuate individuals who might require assistance because of a medical condition or disability," said EEOC Chair Cari

TUCSON and PHOENIX - Beginning this week, and for the next two weeks, ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates in Arizona will air a 60-second commercial in Phoenix and Tucson featuring two young men who are deaf telling about their experience filing a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and later working for Wal-Mart.  Jeremy Fass and William Darnell will talk about their experience using American

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today re-opened for business at a temporary Manhattan location, restoring essential agency services to residents of the New York area. New contact information is available to the public.

The EEOC's New York District Office had been located on the 18th floor of Building 7 of the World Trade Center and was destroyed, along with case files and other materials stored there, during the terrorist attacks that

Voluntary Agreement Resolves Allegations of Discrimination

HOUSTON  -- The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Eagle Global Logistics f/k/a Eagle U.S.A. Airfreight, Inc., announced today that they have reached a $9,000,000 voluntary settlement which has been submitted for approval by U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Hughes in Houston, Texas.  The settlement through a Consent Decree avoids protracted litigation by the EEOC on behalf of a class of  African-Americans, Hispanics, and female employees and applicants

WASHINGTON - Chair Cari M. Dominguez announced today that the New York District Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will resume limited operations next Wednesday, October 3, from temporary office space at the agency's Newark Area Office.  EEOC's New York office, which had been located on the 18th floor in Building 7 of the World Trade Center, was destroyed during the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11.  All