Introduction
This paper explores the United States (US) Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) as the main federal agency that enforces TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. In detail, this paper presents an overview of the agency, its successes, criticisms, tasks, and its usefulness to the workplace environment.
To have a balanced analysis, this paper also evaluates employer responsibilities in the enforcement of TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. A careful assessment of these analyses shows that although EEOC has its challenges, it is highly beneficial to prospective and existing employees in the American workplace.
The Agency
The EEOC reserves the right to enforce TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. Among other federal laws, this agency reserves the mandate to enforce other federal laws touching on employment in America. Since 1980, the agency has experienced significant fluctuations in the number of employees. Understandably, the workforce has been shrinking from a high of 3,390 employees in 1980 to 2,346 in 2012 (because of budget cuts) (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013).
As of 2013, the agency’s budget was $370,000,000. This is the highest budget allocation for the agency (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013). The diagram below shows the budgetary and staffing statistics for the last four years.
The annual increments in the number of employees and budget allocation have largely stemmed from the increased workload and cost of operations of the agency. The EEOC’s headquarter is in Washington D.C, but the agency also has more than 53 field offices around the country (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013).
List of Major Legislations Enforced by EEOC
As a federal agency, EEOC enforces several legislations including TITLE VII OF THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, the PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION ACT, and the 1963 EQUAL PAY ACT (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013). The AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT, TITLE I OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, SECTION 102 AND 103 OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1991, SECTION 501 AND 505 OF THE 1973 REHABILITATION ACT, AND THE 2008 GENETIC INFORMATION NON-DISCRIMINATION ACTS are also other laws enforced by the agency (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013). Most of these acts aim to uphold antidiscrimination laws in America.
Monetary Awards and Concluded Cases
EEOC has helped thousands of employees to receive fair compensation for unlawful employment practices. Regarding complaints raised against the improper administration of TITLE VII OF THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, the EEOC has helped aggrieved employees to secure monetary benefits of 258, 600,000 (2012), 247,800,000 (2011), and 229,800,000 (2010) over the last three years (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013).
Employees have realized these benefits through the settlement of 79,310cases in 2012, 82,980cases in 2011, 77,644 cases in 2010 (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013). The diagram below shows these statistics.
Besides the enforcement of cases involving the infringement of Title VII of the 1964 civil rights act, EEOC has also won other cases involving other infringements of employment law. For example, in 2012, the agency settled 977 cases involving sexual harassment charges (amounting to $43,000,000 in benefits).
In 2011, the agency settled 1039 cases involving sexual harassment cases (as well) and secured $45,000,000 in damages for aggrieved employees. In 2010, the agency secured $41,200,000 for aggrieved employees through the settlement of 995 sexual harassment cases.
Monetary benefits involving age discrimination have been slightly higher than those of sexual harassment have because in 2012, EEOC secured $91,600,000 in damages for aggrieved employees (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013). This figure was slightly higher for 2011 and 2010 because the agency secured $95,200,000 and $93,600,000 in damages for age discrimination cases. These figures accumulated from the resolution of 27,335 cases in 2012, 26,080 cases in 2011, and 24,800 cases in 2010.
There have been equally high monetary rewards secured by the agency for race-based cases. In 2012, EEOC secured $100,900,000 for aggrieved employees through the resolution of 38,426 cases. In 2011, the reward was equally high because the EEOC secured $83,300,000 after it resolved 40,534 cases. In 2010, the EEOC resolved 37,559 cases and secured $84,400,000 in damages (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2013). These statistics show that the agency has been relatively effective in undertaking its mandate.
Discussion of Additional Responsibility to Employers
Employers have different responsibilities in their organizations to ensure the full compliance with TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. Most of these responsibilities come at an additional cost to the employers. A notable cost is training. Employers have to ensure their staff and administrators are knowledgeable about the provisions of the act to ensure they do not infringe on them (Solotoff & Kramer, 1994).
Such training may include an understanding of gender, race, and identity disability laws (among other provisions covered by the act). It is also an additional cost to employers to keep records of their employees (and their possible demographics) (Solotoff & Kramer, 1994). Such additional documentation may act as evidence to show how an employer complies with the provisions of the act, whenever there is a need to do so.
In extreme cases (when employers are found culpable of employment discrimination), they may have to pay litigation costs to the aggrieved parties. It may also come as an additional cost to employers if they have to investigate discrimination cases in their organizations (if they have an in-service dispute resolution mechanism before the issue escalates to the EEOC or any other external body). Generally, these costs outline additional obligations to employers under the enforcement of TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.
Challenges Experienced by the Agency
Like other government agencies that experience the kind of work that EEOC does, a huge backlog of cases is an ordinary problem. This problem is a historical one that has plagued the agency for decades. For example, Keeney (2012) says in 1972, the backlog of cases reached 100,000. These cases forced former president Gerald Ford to request for additional funding for the agency to clear this backlog. The backlog has been a persistent problem since then.
The 2007/2008 financial crisis further deepened the agency’s problems because it led to budget cuts and staffing cuts. Consequently, observers say the Federal government is rendering EEOC to be inefficient because the agency has to outsource the services of third parties to help it clear its case backlog, while such parties may lack the training and standards of quality upheld by EEOC (Keeney, 2012).
The year 2006 is a perfect example of how the federal government almost incapacitated the agency when a partial budget freeze made it impossible for the agency to seek new recruits to fill vacant positions in the organization (Lee, 2006).
This problem arose when the agency had realized a 20% reduction in staff size in the last decade (the Bush Administration justified the budget cuts to increased defense spending). Since 2008, the agency has experienced significant challenges in investigating and concluding its cases, especially because its staff size had reduced by almost 25% and it was unable to pay most of its experienced investigators (Lee, 2006).
Consequently, the backlog of cases grew by 26% from 2006 to 2008 (the current case backlog is about 80,000) (Lee, 2006). This analysis therefore shows that most of the challenges facing the agency have been cyclic (bordering inadequate budgeting, low staffing, poor investigations, and increased case backlogs).
Conclusion
After weighing the findings of this study, it is important to acknowledge that, like other government agencies, EEOC has its unique challenges. However, so far, EEOC has eliminated systemic patterns of discrimination by creating a punitive environment for employers who may want to perpetrate discriminatory practices in their organizations.
Based on the analysis of the number of solved cases, the EEOC has provided relief to thousands of employees. Indeed, through its administrative enforcement activities, more than 23,400 employees have received compensation through mediation, settlement, and conciliations.
The downside to the existence of EEOC regulations is the need for lengthy and costly investigations to investigate baseless accusations. These lengthy and costly investigations affect employers and the EEOC alike because both parties automatically become part of the investigations.
Particularly if the investigations affirm that an employer is innocent, they would amount to unnecessary wastage of time and resources for businesses. The existence of malicious employees who want to defame employers highlights the need to have a high threshold for cases brought before the EEOC. This situation could however lead to the inclusion of new standards for recruitment in the job market. Nonetheless, such an improvement should discourage employees who claim damages when they have no basis for doing so.
References
Keeney, J. (2012). Enforcing the Civil Rights Act: Fighting Racism, Sexism and the Ku Klux Klan. The Story of the Miami EEOC’s First Class Action Trial. Sarasota, FL: Civil Rights Publishing.
Lee, C. (2006). EEOC Is Hobbled, Groups Contend: Case Backlog Grows as Its Staff Is Slashed, Critics Say. Web.
Solotoff, L., & Kramer, H. (1994). Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. New York, NY: Law Journal Press.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2013). Laws Enforced by EEOC. Web.