WASHINGTON - In a move to intensify and upgrade analysis of possible age bias ramifications of increasingly popular employer conversions to cash-balance pension plans, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chairwoman Ida L. Castro today announced the creation of a national EEOC team of experts to focus on the legality of the plans to older workers.

"Whether or not cash-balance pension plans discriminate against employees covered by the Age Discrimination in

WASHINGTON -- Ida L. Castro, Chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), met today with a delegation of Congress led by Representative Bernard Sanders of Vermont to discuss concerns that employer conversions to cash-balance pensions plans may violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA).

"EEOC will continue to assess the difficult

CHICAGO  -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has reached a major settlement with the Ford Motor Company providing nearly $8 million in damages to be paid to female employees alleged to have been victimized by sexual harassment, racial harassment, harassment on the basis of sex, and retaliation for complaining to management about

INDIANAPOLIS  --  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a $7.1 million settlement of a class action lawsuit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) against Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Union Local Nos. 1424 and 1048 (IBEW).  The settlement will benefit hundreds of older Thomson employees whose jobs were moved to Mexico when the company

*** VOLUNTARY SETTLEMENT TOTALS $1.9 MILLION ***

MINNEAPOLIS -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Long Prairie Packing Company, Inc. (LPP) announced today that they have reached a voluntary $1.9 million settlement that resolves all claims in an EEOC lawsuit filed on behalf of a class of current and former LPP male employees who were alleged to have been subjected to a

WASHINGTON  Ida L. Castro, Chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today announced her initiative to transform EEOC's federal sector program as part of her Comprehensive Enforcement Program (CEP) to improve overall agency operations.

The Chairwoman's CEP for the federal sector will provide a strategic approach to federal sector reform by linking improved data analyses, prevention activities aimed at the root causes of discrimination

Largest EEOC Monetary  Settlement for Age Discrimination in New York State

New York -- In a consent judgment obtained by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),  Johnson and Higgins, Inc. agreed to pay $28 million to conclude a lawsuit which alleged that it violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) through its policy of forcing employees who were members of its board of directors to retire at

WASHINGTON  -- Ida L. Castro, Chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today reiterated the agency's commitment to vigorously enforcing the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The Commission is observing the ninth anniversary of the groundbreaking civil rights law.

"Since passage of the ADA by Congress in 1990, the Commission has worked diligently to educate employers about their obligations

WASHINGTON -- As part of a broader effort to improve the effectiveness of its operations, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today changes to its regulations governing the procedures for federal employee discrimination complaints.  The changes, published today in the Federal Register, apply to federal employees and applicants for employment in the federal government as well as to the agencies that employ and hire them.

"Finalizing the changes to the federal

***  New Home Page More User-Friendly ***

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has redesigned its home page on the World Wide Web to make information more accessible to the public in a user-friendly format.  The action is part of EEOC's continuing effort to enhance outreach and education in order to better meet the needs of those it serves.

"Bringing informative and educational information to