Editor’s Note: In testimony before the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, the US Chamber of Commerce highlighted the importance of one of the lesser known “good government” laws, OMB’s Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices. As the Center for Effective Government explains, “OMB issued the Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices (with authority under the Data Quality Act) which required OIRA’s review of significant guidance documents as well as public notice-and-comment on guidance documents deemed “economically significant.”
From: US Chamber of Commerce Congressional Testimony
Good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee. On behalf of the United States Chamber of Commerce, I am pleased to provide testimony of stakeholder concerns regarding recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) actions relating to its statutory mandate to: (1) properly investigate charges and reach a determination as promptly as possible, (2) endeavor to eliminate any alleged unlawful practice through informal methods including conciliation and persuasion, and (3) ensure compliance with federal equal employment opportunity laws through meritorious direct party litigation and amicus participation in federal courts as well as the promulgation of enforcement guidance containing legitimate interpretations of federal employment discrimination laws. n1
Congress empowered the EEOC “to prevent unlawful employment practices by employers.” n2 The EEOC administers Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (“Title VII”), the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”), the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), among other federal employment discrimination laws. The Chamber is a long-standing supporter of reasonable and necessary steps designed to achieve the goal of equal employment opportunity for all. n3 However, the Chamber has serious concerns as to how these laws are currently being administered and enforced by the EEOC. Loosely-defined and overly broad grants of authority to agency officers have created an administrative climate at the EEOC which prioritizes expansive enforcement, aggressive litigation and punishment over education, cooperation and conciliation.