EEO enforcement activity in 2007: A sign of things to come?

Abstract

This column reviews equal employment opportunity (EEO) enforcement activity from fiscal year (FY) 2007. The agencies most relevant to the I-O psychologist are the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). Both of these agencies made headlines due to their enforcement efforts and the corresponding financial consequences of those efforts in FY 2007. Both agencies make general enforcement information publicly available on their Web sites, although the level of detail differs by agency.1 The EEOC made headlines on two fronts. First, the number of discrimination charges made to the EEOC increased dramatically in FY 2007 as compared with charges made in FY 2006. The charge increase occurred across most statutes. Second, in FY 2007 the EEOC recovered $345 million in litigation and nonlitigious merit resolution for victims of employment discrimination. The EEOC continued to eliminate frivolous cases and focus on strong cases, as evidenced by an impressive percentage (23%) of cases resulting in what the EEOC considers to be “merit” resolutions.2 For its part, the OFCCP also had an active year of enforcement in FY 2007, garnering just under $52 million for victims of discrimination. This number also included a combination of litigation and nonlitigious merit resolutions. The EEOC enforces Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Equal Pay Act (EPA), with the majority of activity under Title VII. The OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, with the majority of the activity under the Executive Order. Intuitively, it makes sense that Title VII is the most used statute that the EEOC enforces given that it protects the largest number of groups and covers the broadest set of employment actions. The FY 2007 statistics support this notion. Executive Order 11246 mirrors Title