Duane Morris Class Action Review - 2023 - Report - Page 145
may engage in a coordinated, strategic, and effective approach to systemic
enforcement. This signals that the Commission will continue to emphasize and prioritize
the use of pattern or practice lawsuits to enforce the statutes over which Congress gave
it authority. Finally, the EEOC will endeavor to increase its monitoring of conciliation
agreements, thereby leading to a more robust compliance program. The Commission’s
focus here is to implement streamlined and standardized procedures, improved tracking
and internal reporting mechanisms, and related training for EEOC field staff to ensure
that conciliation agreements are enforced to the letter of the law.
B.
The Commission’s Strategic Enforcement Plan
The Commission’s strategic plan is distinct from its Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP).
The SEP is a statement of the EEOC’s priorities while the strategic plan is an
explanation of how those priorities will be effectuated.
When the EEOC first unveiled its SEP in December 2012, it stated that the plan
established substantive priorities and set forth strategies to integrate all components of
the EEOC’s private, public, and federal sector enforcement to have a sustainable
impact in advancing equal opportunity and freedom from discrimination in the
workplace.
C.
The EEOC’s Six Litigation Enforcement Priorities
The declared purpose of the EEOC’s strategic enforcement priorities is to focus the
Commission’s programs on reducing and deterring discriminatory practices in the
workplace.
As in years past, the SEP established the EEOC’s six substantive priorities for 2022.
#1 - Eliminating Barriers In Recruitment and Hiring - The EEOC’s focus relative to this
priority is to address discriminatory recruiting and hiring practices that target racial,
ethnic, and religious groups, older workers, women, and people with disabilities.
According to the EEOC, addressing this priority typically involves strategic litigation with
systemic, pattern or practice cases.
#2 - Protecting Vulnerable Workers - The EEOC’s focus here is to combat policies and
practices directed against “vulnerable workers,” such as immigrants and migrant
workers.
#3 - Addressing Selected Emerging And Developing Issues – The priority focuses on
pushing the legal envelope on the contours of employment discrimination laws.
#4 - Ensuring Equal Pay Protections For All Workers - While the EEOC’s primary focus
has been combating pay discrimination based on sex, the Commission also addresses
pay discrimination based on any protected status, including race, ethnicity, age, and
disability.
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Duane Morris Class Action Review – 2023
