The EEOC Handling of Complaints of Racial Discrimination

As an African American who has repeatedly been subjected to disparate treatment in employment situations because of my race, I have grave concerns regarding the handling of complaints of racial discrimination by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), and I would like to see their processes improved. The areas of employment that are allegedly protected by the EEOC from racial discrimination (as well as other types of discrimination identified in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) are delineated at the EEOC website at http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-race.html. They include recruitment, hiring, advancement, compensation, terms and conditions of employment, privileges, harassment, retaliation, segregation of employees, and pre-employment inquiries and requirements. Although the Commission appears to have far-reaching regulatory authority, their investigative and enforcement practices have done little or nothing to deter employment discrimination. Unfortunately, the process they delineated on their website for handling complaints brought to them by individuals (which can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employees/process.cfm) is not the reality of what typically happens with EEOC. Here they allege that “How [they] investigate a charge depends on the facts of the case and the kinds of information [they] need to gather. In some cases, [they] visit the employer to hold interviews and gather documents. In other cases, [they] interview witnesses over the phone and ask for documents by mail.” What they fail to mention is that the majority of their investigations appear to take the following course: they have the complainant come to their office to file a written complaint; the complainant tells an EEOC staff person their entire horrible story of racial discrimination on the job and presents them with written documentation to support some, if not all, of their assertions against the employer; the EEOC staff person prepares a shorthand version of the complaint (usually leaving out critical details that provide a legal basis for a complaint of discrimination), convinces the complainant that all of the details are not important at that juncture, and then gets the complainant to sign the ridiculously abbreviated version of their complaint; an EEOC staff person contacts the employer to inform him that a complaint has been filed against him and requests that he respond; they frequently give him numerous extensions of time in which to respond, because the employer indicates that he is too busy to respond within the original timeframe allowed; when the employer finally responds and indicates he did nothing wrong, the EEOC staff person makes a determination that they cannot prove discrimination, the case is closed, and the complainant is issued a Right to Sue Letter, giving him/her permission to hire an attorney and handle it on their own. What a joke! I am not the only person to whom this has happened. Practically everyone I have spoken with has indicated that they received the same shoddy treatment. There is never any evidence that EEOC actually conducted an investigation unless, of course, you happen to be part of a high profile case over which they think they can garner some media attention and a few “atta boys” for doing their job. Although there are no accurate statistics to prove how many legitimate complaints of racial discrimination are taken to the EEOC every year and subsequently dismissed at the employer’s request and/or insistence without an actual investigation, there are statistics that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the number is high. According to the law blog at http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/01/12/good-news-for-employment-lawyers-bias-claims-way-up/, Melanie Trottman, from The Wall Street Journal, reported for fiscal year 2010 that “The number of charges filed with the EEOC rose to nearly 100,000, up 7% from the year-earlier period and 21% from fiscal 2007.” That same site indicates that “Michael Burkhardt, a partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia, noted that the percentage of charges determined to have a reasonable cause has hovered around 5% for the past several years." That same site also quotes EEOC spokeswoman, Justine Lisser as saying that “retaliation is easier to prove” than discrimination. Although all of the discrimination cases filed were probably not racial discrimination complaints, I think it would be reasonable to conclude that most of them were. If EEOC is only there to take on the easy cases, then most racial minorities who are the object of employment discrimination will simply be on their own. I would like to see that scenario change, and I would like to see EEOC provide equal representation to all employees who come to them with legitimate complaints. That can be accomplished through actual investigations as opposed to cursory reviews. Further, their website (http://www.eeoc.gov/employees/process.cfm) appears to have actually been designed to give them "wiggle room" to do nothing about these complaints. They have a section entitled “Possible Action After Investigation Completed” in which they indicate that if they don’t find a violation, they will send the complainant a Notice-of-Right-to-Sue. Then, they claim that if they find a violation, they will attempt to get the employer to agree to a settlement. However, if they cannot reach a settlement, they might still decide not to file a lawsuit and put the burden of pursuing the employer right back in the hands of the complainant. To me, that appears to be dereliction of duty. Since it is the duty of EEOC to regulate and enforce Title VII, why do they even have the option of declining to prosecute a case in which they find a violation of the law? There will always be members of the racial majority that dismiss claims of racial discrimination by Blacks by contending that Blacks are simply “playing the race card.” and that there is no legitimate basis for a complaint. To that, I respectfully respond that each complaint needs to be judged on its own merits as opposed to generalizing. After all, it is precisely that type of “generalizing” by the majority that actually leads to discrimination in the first place. EEOC’s lack of consistency in enforcement of the laws against racial discrimination has created an atmosphere of fear, frustration and defeatism among the African American community. It has also created an atmosphere of arrogance and entitlement by employers, where they feel empowered to discriminate against racial minorities to the point of repeat instances of different terms and conditions, disparity in pay based on race, unlawful terminations and even constructive discharge (making the working situation so intolerable that the employee actually resigns). If this country is ever to reach a level of true equality, it is clear that organizations such as the EEOC need to lead the way by demonstrating through enforcement that disparate treatment and anything less than equality is unacceptable.