Fiscal Year 2020 Agency Financial Report U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

How This Report Is Organized

This Fiscal Year 2020 Agency Financial Report (AFR) presents the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (the EEOC or agency) financial management and high-level performance information, including management challenges.  We organize our AFR into the following major sections:

• Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A):  The MD&A provides an overview of the EEOC’s performance and financial information, as well as the EEOC’s operational highlights for fiscal year 2020.  The MD&A highlights our strategic objectives and our accomplishments in achieving our mission.  This section also highlights the agency’s financial results and provides management’s assurances on the agency’s internal controls.
• Financial Section:  This section outlines our efforts to be good stewards over the funds the agency receives to carry out its mission.  Included is an independent auditor’s opinion on the agency’s financial statements.
• Other Information:  This section includes the Inspector General’s Statement on key management challenges, the agenc y’s progress and plans to address them, and summary of Financial Statement Audit and Management Assurances tables. 
• Appendices:  Contains a glossary of the acronyms and definitions of terms used in the report.

Table of Contents

How This Report Is Organized

A Message from the Chair

Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Mission, Major Programs, and Organizational Structure

Agency Overview

Statutory Structure

Organization 

Performance Goals, Objectives, and Results

Fiscal Year 2020 Performance Highlights

EEOC’s Performance Measurement Process

Overview of the Strategic Plan Objectives, Goals, and Performance Measures

Overview of the Chair’s Priorities for 2020

Verification and Validation of Data

Program Evaluations 

Strategic Goals and Performance Results Summary

Looking forward

Financial Highlights

Management Assurances

Legal Compliance

Financial Section

Letter from the Inspector General Transmitting Audit

Independent Auditor’s Report

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Consolidated Balance Sheets

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Consolidated Statements of Net Cost

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Consolidated Statement of Changes in Net Position

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Combined Statements of Budgetary Resources

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statement

Other Information

Inspector General’s Statement

Management Response to the Inspector General’s Statement

Summary of Financial Statement Audit and Management Assurances

Payment Integrity

Fraud Reduction Report

Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustments for Inflation

Appendices

Appendix A: Organization and Jurisdiction

Appendix B: Biographies of the Chair, Commissioners and General Counsel

Appendix C: EEOC Glossary of Acronyms

Appendix D: Internet Links

Appendix E: EEOC Field Offices

Acknowledgments

We Welcome Your Comments

Message from the Chair

I am pleased to present the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Agency Financial Report (AFR) for fiscal year (FY) 2020.  The EEOC is dedicated to effective enforcement of the nation's federal equal employment opportunity laws.  This report highlights the agency's achievements in advancing our mission to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and to advance equal employment opportunity in the workplace as well as our stewardship of resources in pursuit of that goal.

In fiscal year 2020 the agency continued to make the critical investments needed to focus on fulfilling our statutory responsibilities and addressing the Commission’s needs and challenges.  To maximize its effectiveness, the EEOC deployed its resources toward those efforts that promote broad compliance with federal workplace anti-discrimination laws and enhance the agency's service to the public. 

In January, I presented “The Chair’s Priorities for 2020.”  The five priorities are rooted in the EEOC’s core mission, which guide our efforts to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and advance equal opportunity for all in the workplace.  None of us knew, however, the unique challenges we would face soon after the introduction of these priorities.  The impact of the pandemic on the work of the Commission was significant.  The EEOC closed physical offices to the public and implemented agency-wide telework.  I am proud to say that the agency met and overcame those challenges.  The agency adapted quickly to telework and utilized new technologies to continue providing vital services for those who rely on our work.  The efforts of our employees allowed us to make significant progress toward reaching our strategic objectives and implementing the 2020 priorities – maximizing our impact on advancing equal opportunity in the workplace.

In the year ahead, we will focus on the work made possible through the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF).  The changes to our core technology systems will encompass nearly every aspect of the work of the agency and every employee will play a role in this transformation.  The Commission exists to serve the public and all our efforts in the coming fiscal year will be focused on providing the best service we can through timely, high-quality work.  

Finally, I am pleased to share that the Commission received, for the 16th consecutive year, an unmodified opinion from independent auditors.

It was an honor to work with EEOC’s dedicated employees through the unique challenges of FY 2020.  As we enter FY 2021 we can look back and draw inspiration from all we have accomplished as we advance equal opportunity for all in the workplace and work to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination.   

Janet Dhillon
Chair
November 16, 2020

MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (the EEOC or agency) Agency Financial Report (AFR) provides financial information and an overview of programs, accomplishments, and challenges that enable the President, Congress, and American people to assess the EEOC’s performance and accountability for the resources entrusted to it for the fiscal year (October 1 through September 30).  The report is prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements.

In lieu of a combined Performance and Accountability Report, the EEOC provides an AFR with a primary focus on financial results and a high-level discussion of performance results, along with an Annual Performance Report (APR), which details strategic goals and performance results.  The EEOC will publish the APR in coordination with its Congressional Budget Justification in February 2021.  Both reports will be available at https://www.eeoc.gov/budget-and-performance.

Mission, Major Programs, and Organizational Structure

Agency Overview

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) created the EEOC to enforce protections against employment discrimination on the bases of race, color, national origin, religion, and sex.  Congress subsequently vested the EEOC with responsibility to enforce the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA).  In addition, in 1972, Congress further expanded the agency’s responsibilities by providing federal government employees the protections of Title VII and providing the EEOC with independent litigation authority against private employers under Title VII.

Statutory Structure

The EEOC is led by six presidential appointees – five Commissioners (including the Chair and Vice Chair) who serve staggered five-year terms and the General Counsel.  No more than three Commissioners (including the Chair and Vice Chair) may be from the same political party.  The Chair is responsible for the administration and implementation of policy and the enforcement program, financial management, and day-to-day operations of the Commission.  The Commissioners participate in the development and approval of Commission policies, issue charges of discrimination where appropriate, and authorize the filing of lawsuits.  The General Counsel supports the Commission and provides direction, coordination, and supervision to the EEOC's litigation program.

*Keith E. Sonderling was sworn in on September 30, 2020, to the term ending in 2024.  Andrea R. Lucas was confirmed to the term (occupied by Commissioner Victoria Lipnic in fiscal year 2020) ending in 2025 on September 22, 2020 but not sworn in before the end of the fiscal year.  Jocelyn Samuels was confirmed to the term ending in 2021 on September 23, 2020, but not sworn in before the end of the fiscal year.

Organization

The EEOC accomplishes its mission through component offices that administer various programs.  For more information about specific EEOC offices, please see Appendix A.

These programs are carried out through a network of 53 district, field, area, and local offices.  For more information about the EEOC Field Offices across the nation please see Appendix E.

PERFORMANCE GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND RESULTS

Fiscal Year 2020 Performance Highlights

Equal opportunity is one of our nation's most cherished values, giving all of us a fair shot to achieve our dreams and aspirations.  The EEOC’s Strategic Plan establishes a framework for achieving the EEOC’s mission to "Prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and advance equal opportunity for all in the workplace," so that the nation may achieve the Commission’s vision of "Respectful and inclusive workplaces, with equal employment opportunity for all." Chair Dhillon’s 2020 Priorities are rooted in the Commission’s mission and vision and share the common theme of excellence, strategic innovation, and collaboration.  Through implementation of the Strategic Plan and the Chair’s 2020 Priorities, the EEOC advances opportunity and ensures freedom from discrimination in the American workplace.  Below are some of our performance highlights in achieving the agency’s strategic objectives and the Chair’s Priorities for fiscal year 2020.

The EEOC continued to provide excellent customer service, successfully combat and prevent employment discrimination through the strategic application of EEOC’s law enforcement authorities, and strategically allocate commission resources by:

• Ensuring that federal and private sector complaints and charges are handled promptly and efficiently by:
  • Reducing the inventory of pending private sector charges by 3.7 percent – to 41,951 charges – the lowest in 14 years.
  • Reducing the federal sector hearings pending inventory for the third consecutive year – achieving a reduction of 15.7 percent in fiscal year 2020.
  • Reducing the number of federal sector appeals that were more than 500 days old by 32 percent, ending the year with 66 appeals that were more than 500 days old. 
  • Continuing to develop and deliver digital services in order to make it easier and more efficient for employees, applicants, and employers to access the EEOC's services.  The online system has increased the public’s access to the EEOC. 
• Utilizing administrative and litigation authorities to promote broad compliance with federal workplace anti-discrimination laws, including:
  • Continuing to build on our successful mediation program, including:
    • Conducting 6,272 successful mediations resulting in $156.6 million in benefits to charging parties.
    • Conducting 766 federal sector mediations, which contributed to the reduction of the federal sector inventory.
    • Implementing an ADR Pilot program that expands the categories of charges available for mediation and offers mediation throughout EEOC’s administrative process.  
  • Securing more than $535.4 million, a record amount, for victims of discrimination, including:             
    • Approximately $333.2 million for victims of employment discrimination in private sector and state and local government workplaces through mediation, conciliation, and settlements.
    • $106 million for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals through litigation.  The highest in 16 years; and
    • $96.2 million for federal employees and applicants.
  • Resolving 9,897 federal sector hearings requests and securing $84 million in relief for federal employees.
  • Resolving 4,308 federal sector appeals, 5 percent more resolutions than in fiscal year 2019.   
    • EEOC continued its significant resolution of appeals addressing the merits of employees’ discrimination claims, including 90 findings of discrimination in fiscal year 2020.
    • Securing over $12.2 million in monetary relief as ordered in EEOC’s federal appellate decisions. 
    • Among the decisions issued by EEOC in fiscal year 2020, 68 were identified as implicating one or more Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) priorities. 
  • Resolving 165 lawsuits and achieving favorable results in approximately 96 percent of all district court resolutions.  A total of 25,925 individuals received approximately $106 million in monetary relief as a direct result of litigation resolutions.  This is the highest litigation recovery amount since 2004.
  • Filing 93 lawsuits including 68 suits on behalf of individuals, 12 non-systemic suits with multiple victims, and 13 systemic suits involving multiple victims or discriminatory policies.
• Upgrading the Commission’s data collection, analysis, and reporting capabilities, which will enable the agency to use modern data analytics to facilitate data-driven decision making, including:
  •  Creating new data visualizations to illustrate employment discrimination data in a simple, comprehensible, and visually appealing way.
  •  Launching EEOC Explore, a web-enabled, state-of-the-art, user-friendly, data query and mapping tool, to promote transparency, facilitate access, and encourage greater use of EEOC’s publicly available data.

The EEOC prevented employment discrimination and promoted inclusive workplaces through education and outreach by continuing to provide robust compliance assistance and enhancing our efforts to reach vulnerable workers in the following ways:

• Prioritizing education and outreach in the private and federal sectors, including:
  • Prioritizing outreach and education to address the intersection of COVID-19 and federal employment discrimination laws, including conducting more than 365 outreach events related to COVID-19 that reached 51,419 individuals.
  • Conducting more than 2,690 outreach events and providing more than 299,100 individuals nationwide with information about employment discrimination and their rights and responsibilities in the workplace, including:
    • Nearly 200 federal sector outreach, education, and training events, and providing more than 14,000 federal sector employees and EEO professionals with information about employment discrimination and their rights and responsibilities in the workplace.
  • Prioritizing outreach to vulnerable workers and developing and enhancing partnerships with organizations that work with vulnerable workers, including:
    • Conducting over 905 outreach events for vulnerable workers and reaching over 94,100 individuals.
    • Establishing 26 new partnerships with organizations that work with vulnerable workers.
    • Creating EEOC District Office specific infographics, using publicly available data, as a tool to identify the needs of and appropriately align resources for groups of potentially vulnerable workers.
  • Prioritizing outreach to the small business community, including:
    • Conducting over 422 outreach events for small businesses.
    • Promoting the online Small Business Resource Center to provide a one-stop shop to help small businesses easily access information about employer responsibilities.
    • The Small Business Administration Ombudsman's most recent report gave the EEOC an "A" rating for responsiveness to small business concerns.  The EEOC expects to again receive an “A” rating when the Report for fiscal year 2019 is published. 
  • Focusing on significant partnerships with advocacy and business groups, adding 26 new significant partners, bringing the combined total to 357 significant partnerships. 
    • Hosting 7 joint events with employer and advocacy groups. 
    • Conducting 295 significant partner activities, reaching 22,347 attendees.

The EEOC worked to achieve organizational excellence, be a model workplace and improve management functions with a focus on information technology, infrastructure enhancement, and accountable financial stewardship by: 

• Modernizing agency data collections and data dissemination activity to align with the Federal Data Lifecycle Framework and ensure compliance with the provisions of Title VII, Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Information Quality Act (IQA), Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Evidence Act), Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA), and Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA).
• Streamlining the recruitment process to improve time-to-hire rates.  As of September 30, 2020, the agency hired 260 new employees; all of the hires were made within the 78-day deadline.              
• Negotiating and reaching agreement on all 47 Articles of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the EEOC and the National Council of EEOC Locals, No. 216.
• Negotiating a Re-Entry Guidelines Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Re-Entry Plan MOU for Headquarters and Field Offices with Local No. 216 concerning re-opening of offices during the COVID-19 pandemic and procedures for involving Local No. 216 once re-entry plans are developed.
• Continuing to recruit, employ, retain, and advance disabled veterans, with an added emphasis on veterans with a 30 percent or more disability, in adherence to 5 CFR § 720.304(a)(1) and OPM guidance.

EEOC’s Performance Measurement Process

The Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 (5 U.S.C. 306, as amended) requires executive departments, government corporations, and independent agencies to develop and post a Strategic Plan on their public websites every four fiscal years.  The implementing guidance in Circular A-11 from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) instructs agencies on the necessary elements required in an agency’s plan and the requirements to publish a new plan with the beginning of each new term of an administration.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Strategic Plan for FYs 2018-2022 (“the Strategic Plan”) establishes a framework for achieving the EEOC’s mission to “Prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and advance equal opportunity for all in the workplace,” so that the nation may realize the Commission’s vision of “Respectful and inclusive workplaces, with equal employment opportunity for all.”  The Commission approved the EEOC’s Strategic Plan on February 12, 2018.  It is located at https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/plan/strategic_plan_18-22.cfm. 

The Strategic Plan established three overarching strategic objectives, and twelve performance measures to gauge the agency’s progress in meeting these objectives.  Goal leaders, assigned by program office representatives in headquarters, lead the efforts on each of the agency’s performance measures.  The EEOC conducts periodic performance measure reviews.  During these reviews, program office representatives report on the progress made achieving the agency’s performance measures.  In coordination with congressional budget preparation, the reports on performance measure progress are shared with the Office of the Chair for their review.   

In addition to the Commission’s Strategic Plan, in early 2020 the Chair issued “The Chair’s Priorities for 2020.”  The Chair’s Priorities build on the EEOC's proud legacy of civil rights accomplishments, share the common theme of excellence, strategic innovation, and collaboration, and have allowed the Commission to implement “real time” solutions that uphold the Commission’s mission and vision.

In the agency’s Annual Performance Plan (APP), issued as part of the OMB’s budget request, the EEOC identifies the level of planned performance to achieve in the fiscal year, along with performance goals and key milestones that align with the EEOC’s Strategic Plan and agency priorities.  In the agency’s Annual Performance Report, issued in coordination with the agency’s Congressional Budget Justification in February each year, the EEOC will report on progress achieving the goals and objectives in the agency’s Strategic Plan and APP, along with performance and program results achieved for the previous fiscal year. 

Overview of the Strategic Plan Objectives, Goals, and Performance Measures

In accordance with the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010, the Commission approved the EEOC’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2018-2022 (Strategic Plan or Plan) on February 12, 2018.  To do so, the agency engaged in a comprehensive assessment of its programs and priorities.  Under this Plan, the EEOC focuses on three strategic objectives to achieve its critical mission to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and advance equal opportunity for all in the workplace, and to pursue its vision of respectful and inclusive workplaces with equal employment opportunity.

Strategic Objective I is to combat and prevent employment discrimination through the strategic application of the EEOC’s law enforcement authorities.  This Objective reflects the EEOC’s primary mission of preventing unlawful employment discrimination through: 1) the administrative (investigation and conciliation) and litigation mechanisms Congress has entrusted to the agency with regard to private employers, labor organizations, employment agencies, and state and local government employers; and 2) the adjudicatory and oversight mechanisms Congress has entrusted to the agency with regard to federal employers. 

There are two outcome goals and five performance measures for Strategic Objective I:

Strategic Objective II, to prevent employment discrimination and promote inclusive workplaces through education and outreach, reflects the EEOC’s obligation to deter employment discrimination before it occurs.  Investigations, conciliations, and litigation are only some of the means that the EEOC uses to fulfill its mission and vision.  Educational and outreach programs, projects, and events are also cost-effective law enforcement tools because they promote understanding of the law and voluntary compliance with the law.  All parties benefit when the workplace is free from discrimination and everyone has access to equal employment opportunity.

There are two outcome goals and three performance measures for Strategic Objective II:

The Management Objective, achieving organizational excellence, seeks to improve management functions with a focus on information technology, infrastructure enhancement, and accountable financial stewardship.  This requires integration and coordination across the agency to foster organizational excellence from both internal and external perspectives.

The Commission has developed two outcome goals and four performance measures for its Management Objective:

The agency’s progress on the strategic objectives, outcome goals, and related performance measures is discussed below.

Overview of the Chair’s Priorities for 2020

At the beginning of 2020, Chair Dhillon announced her 2020 Priorities for the Commission.  The Chair’s Priorities are rooted in the Commission's Mission to “Prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and advance equal opportunity for all in the workplace” and its Vision of “Respectful and inclusive workplaces with equal employment opportunity for all.”  The Chair’s Priorities build on the EEOC's proud legacy of civil rights accomplishments and share the common themes of excellence, strategic innovation, and collaboration.  The Chair’s Priorities were integral to the Commission’s accomplishments under the agency’s Strategic Objectives.

Verification and Validation of Data

The agency’s private sector, federal sector, and litigation programs require accurate enforcement data, as well as reliable financial and human resources information, to assess the EEOC’s operations and performance results and make sound management decisions.  We will continue efforts to ensure the accuracy of program information and any analysis of the information.

The EEOC continually reviews the information we collect in our databases for accuracy by using software editing programs and program reviews of a sample of records during field office technical assistance visits.  In addition, headquarters offices regularly conduct analyses to review the information collected in order to identify erroneous entries requiring correction to collection procedures.

Recent implementation of the Federal Sector EEO Portal that enables all federal agencies to electronically submit annual equal employment opportunity statistics (EEOC Form 462 and MD-715) continues to improve the quality and timeliness of the information received electronically.  We continue to improve the collection and validation of information for our Integrated Mission System (IMS), which consolidates our mission data on charge intake, investigation, mediation, litigation, and outreach functions into a single shared information system.  IMS includes many automated edit checks and rules to enhance data integrity.  Because several performance measures require data to assess our achievements, it is significant that we can now obtain this data much more quickly and with greater data accuracy.

The EEOC’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) continues to review the agency’s data validity and verification procedures, information systems, and databases and offers recommendations for improvement.  We use the OIG’s information and recommendations to continually improve our systems and data.

Program Evaluations

Program evaluation is an important component of the EEOC's effort to assure that its programs are operating as intended and achieving results.  Program evaluation is a thorough examination of program design and operational effectiveness that uses rigorous methodologies and statistical and analytical tools.  These evaluations also utilize expertise internal and external to the agency and the program under review to enhance the analytical perspectives and lend credence to the methodologies employed, the evaluation processes and findings, and any subsequent recommendations.

Independent program evaluations played an important role in formulating the strategic objectives and performance goals detailed in the EEOC’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2018 – 2022 and helped shape some of the program issues and key focus areas for improvement.  They are an invaluable management tool to guide the agency’s strategic efforts in attaining overall productivity and program efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability.

Consistent with the agency’s focus on improving the effectiveness of government through rigorous evaluation and evidence-based policy initiatives, the EEOC will continue to consider appropriate program areas for evaluation each year.  This will ensure that the agency's efforts align with the EEOC’s budget and other programmatic priorities.

In fiscal year 2020, the agency continued its work on the Conciliation Project and initiated three new evaluation projects:  The Impact of COVID-19 on the EEOC’s Mission Project; the Interagency Agreement (IAA) between the EEOC and The Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for a Panel to Evaluate the Quality and Utility of Compensation and Hours Worked Data Collected from U.S. Employers by the EEOC through the EEO-1 Project; and the Mediation Survey Modernization Project.

The Conciliation Project is designed to address Congressional and stakeholder interest and to provide the agency with valuable information about one of its most important statutory functions – the conciliation of charges of discrimination in which cause has been found.  The long-term evaluation project is being undertaken by a cross-section of agency staff with expertise in a number of areas and will provide a review of the conciliation process with comparative results across districts.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the EEOC’s Mission Project is a research study being conducted by the Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics (OEDA) to determine whether there may be a correlation or causal relationship between unemployment during economic downturns and EEOC charge filings, and how EEOC charge filings may be affected by the economic downturn related to COVID-19.  The study is divided into two phases.  Phase I included literature review and data and descriptive analytics.  Phase II is focused on model development and charge projections.

The Interagency Agreement (IAA) between the EEOC and The Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for a Panel to Evaluate the Quality and Utility of Compensation and Hours Worked Data Collected from U.S. Employers by the EEOC through the EEO-1 Project will review the EEOC’s methodology for collecting compensation data through the EEO-1 data collection process.  The EEOC’s large scale collection of pay information between July 15, 2019 and February 14, 2020 affords an opportunity to review the methods used and the circumstances of the collection, document lessons learned, and identify ways to improve potential future collections.  The panel will consider existing data quality and data utility frameworks to assess the data collected and will issue a report with conclusions and recommendations to inform the EEOC’s assessment of fitness for use of the data as required by the Information Quality Act and approach to future data collections.

Mediation Survey Modernization Project.  Beginning in fiscal year 2020, EEOC mediation participants will be able to share their perceptions by completing a survey electronically, in English or Spanish.  The project’s benefits include fewer steps in the process of distributing the survey to participants, faster receipt of survey responses, reduced data entry, and elimination of postage.  Due to the pandemic, the mediation program has conducted only telephone or video mediations since March 2020.

Strategic Goals and Performance Results Summary

As discussed above, the EEOC’s Strategic Plan established a national framework to achieve the agency’s mission by pursuing three strategic objectives and their underlying goals.  The Plan also identified strategies for achieving each outcome goal and identified 12 performance measures for gauging the EEOC’s progress for fiscal year 2020.  The below chart summarizes the agency’s progress in meeting these measures.

In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC’s ability to make progress on our Strategic Objectives depended on the agency adapting to the challenges presented by COVID-19 while continuing to effectively combat and prevent employment discrimination.  Through the adoption of agency-wide telework in March, the agency was able to continue enforcing the nation’s employment anti-discrimination laws while taking measures to keep the public and employees safe.  Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the EEOC was able to effectively manage the private and federal sector workloads, continue to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination, and advance equal opportunity in the workplace.

I. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE I: COMBAT AND PREVENT EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION THROUGH THE STRATEGIC APPLICATION OF EEOC’S LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES

To maximize the EEOC’s effectiveness at preventing and remedying unlawful employment discrimination, the agency focuses its resources on efforts that promote broad compliance with federal workplace anti-discrimination laws and enhance the agency’s service to the public.  Critical elements of this effort depend on the EEOC providing excellent customer service to employees, employers, and those involved in a charge of discrimination and strategically allocating Commission resources to tasks that will have the maximum impact on fulfilling the agency’s mission.  As discussed earlier, in order for the EEOC to make progress under this Strategic Objective, it was essential for the agency to adapt our services to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A.     Chair’s Priority No. 1: Continuing to Provide Excellent Customer Service

Providing excellent customer service to all members of the public who seek assistance from the EEOC has been a focus of the agency in fiscal year 2020 and the agency continued to build upon our work to reduce backlogs across all program offices.  To ensure quality service, it is critical that federal and private sector complaints and charges are handled promptly and fairly.  By effectively managing the private sector and federal sector workloads despite the challenges of the pandemic, the EEOC was able to continue to successfully provide excellent customer service to the public.

i.                 Continued Success in Reducing the Private Sector Charge Workload

In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC continued to prioritize reaching a manageable and sustainable private sector inventory so as to focus on charges with merit and provide improved customer service.  As in previous years, the EEOC successfully addressed hundreds of thousands of calls, inquiries, and charges from workers in the private and public sector seeking assistance with potential complaints of discrimination.  For example, in fiscal year 2020, the EEOC received almost 470,000 calls to the toll-free number, more than 37,300 emails, and over 187,000 inquiries in field offices, including 122,775 inquiries through the online intake and appointment scheduling system.  Overall, this resulted in 67,448 charges being filed.  With a focus on inventory reduction strategies and priority charge handling procedures, technological enhancements, and front-line staff hired in fiscal years 2018 through 2020, the agency was able to make significant progress managing our pending workload of charges.  As a result, in fiscal year 2020 the EEOC reduced the charge workload by 3.7 percent to 41,951, which builds on the 12.1 percent decline in inventory realized in fiscal year 2019.  Additionally, the merit factor rate increased to 17.4 percent and over $333.2 million in monetary benefits was secured for victims of discrimination. 

Overall, the EEOC’s technological advances – including the Public Portal, Respondent Portal, and the entire Digital Charge System (DCS) – have greatly improved private sector efficiency and customer service, while requiring fewer resources.  The DCS allows potential charging parties to answer a series of questions leading to a self-screen (to determine if the EEOC is the proper agency to address their concern), as well as obtain referrals to other agencies, as appropriate, and to allow them to schedule an initial interview prior to filing a charge.  The DCS provides an accessible and customer-friendly approach and reflects the value of providing greater access for the public to speak with a member of our enforcement staff prior to filing a charge of discrimination.  As a result, 122,775 Potential Charging Parties (PCPs) initiated inquiries through the system.  Of these portal inquiries, 30,294 were formalized into charges of discrimination (very similar to the 30,759 portal inquiries in fiscal year 2019).

These technological advances also allowed the agency to further emphasize the EEOC’s priority charge handling procedures to manage the pending inventory, including pre-charge counseling and pre-determination interviews.  Effective pre-charge counseling ensures that individuals make informed decisions about whether to file a charge of discrimination and the pre-determination interview allows the EEOC to communicate the basis for our decisions to the parties.  Both are essential for good customer service and effective charge processing.  Coupling pre-charge counseling with the online system’s elimination of a paper intake questionnaire contributed to a 7.2 percent reduction in charge receipts in fiscal year 2020.  There was also a 6.7 percent reduction in the number of inquiries filed, 13,388 less than the prior year.  Additionally, increased focus on the reassessment of charges as soon as new evidence is obtained enables staff to make the critical decision as to whether additional investigation is likely to result in a cause finding. 

ii.                Continued Success in Reducing the Federal Sector Inventories

In addition to our private sector enforcement activities, the Commission has adjudicatory responsibilities in the federal EEO complaints process.  This involves hearings before administrative judges on complaints of discrimination by federal employees or applicants, as well as adjudication of appeals from federal agency final decisions on employment discrimination complaints.  Charges of discrimination in our federal workplaces are no less important than in the private sector and reducing the pending inventory in the federal sector was also a priority for the agency during fiscal year 2020. 

In fiscal year 2020, the federal sector hearings program continued making major strides in managing its inventory of hearing requests.  The EEOC successfully decreased the pending inventory of hearing receipts for the third consecutive year – a reduction of 15.7 percent, from 12,933 in fiscal year 2019 to 10,905 in fiscal year 2020.  By developing and implementing strategies to increase efficiency, the hearings program resolved 9,897 hearing requests in fiscal year 2020.  The hearings program focused on resolving older cases in the inventory and utilized case management strategies to balance field inventories through the resolution of older cases and the closure of incoming cases.  As a result, aged inventory was reduced by 11.6 percent. 

In order to maintain quality while also addressing the inventory management of federal hearings, the agency continued to use metrics to assess and measure quality, which were originally implemented in fiscal year 2019.  Additionally, the online portal deployed nationwide in fiscal year 2019 continued to yield efficiencies in case processing in the federal sector because complainants can use the portal to submit their hearing requests, upload documents, view the status of their complaints, and file appeals.  The EEOC Public Portal also allows federal sector complainants to indicate their interest in alternative dispute resolution to resolve their complaint. 

In fiscal year 2020, EEOC was also focused on resolving the oldest federal sector appeals as well as those that vindicate employees’ legal rights or preserve their access to the EEO complaint process.  The EEOC resolved 4,308 appeals in fiscal year 2020.  While federal sector receipts increased by 9 percent, appellate resolutions increased by 5 percent, and the EEOC ended the fiscal year with an inventory of 3,381 pending appeals, which was slightly higher than the inventory of 3,073 pending appeals at the end of fiscal year 2019.  Resolutions resulted in an 89 percent reduction in the pending cases that were more than 500 days old, from 601 appeals at the start of fiscal year 2019 to 66 by the end of fiscal year 2020.  Cases over 500 days old now comprise less than 2 percent of the total pending inventory.  Another result of the focus on aged cases was the reduction in the average age of the overall pending appellate inventory by 6 percent over last year to 220 days by the end of the fiscal year. 

At the same time, over 1,000 of the total appeal resolutions were issued within 180 days of their receipt.  These resolutions included 779 initial appeals from procedural dismissals that terminated complainants’ participation in the EEO process, reversing nearly 33 percent of those dismissals with an order to the agency to continue processing the EEO complaint.  Quickly addressing appeals involving procedural dismissals of complaints has been critical to effectively preserving access to the EEO complaint process.

The federal sector program also vigorously implemented case management strategies to more effectively allocate resources.  These strategies allowed for the screening and categorization of cases early in the appellate process, including cases determined to have significant impact.  This early screening process was greatly aided by the full implementation of the FedSEP digital portal, in which agencies can upload the documentation necessary to process an appeal, as well as the public portal that was initially deployed during fiscal year 2019 and enabled complainants to request appeals, upload selected documents, and manage their personal and representative’s contact information.  In addition, through training and educational outreach, the EEOC has partnered with federal agencies to speed record submissions, perfect defective records, and reduce wasted efforts spent on records not ripe for adjudication.  These technological innovations make the appellate process more transparent for all parties and will reduce EEOC’s reliance on and costs for support staff to prepare and scan paper documentation received from the parties.

iii.              Continued Use of Technology to Improve Services to the Public

The EEOC’s commitment to building a digital workplace to increase its efficiency and providing timely service to the public became even more critical to the agency’s ability to provide excellent customer service during fiscal year 2020.  The EEOC’s Public Portal proved to be a critical factor in the agency’s ability to provide services to both private and public sector parties during the COVID-19 pandemic.  To further improve telework capabilities and ensure the agency was able to efficiently serve the public, the EEOC aggressively deployed Microsoft Teams enterprise-wide.  Deploying and utilizing Teams rapidly helped transform the way the EEOC communicates and collaborates, both internally and externally.  The EEOC also procured a limited set of Zoom for Government licenses for specific purposes, including providing “break-out” room capabilities during remote mediations, conciliations, settlements, and hearings.

Within the private sector component of the Public Portal, the agency served 59,663 charges electronically in fiscal year 2020 (up from 48,876 the prior year).  As a conservative estimate, this saved the agency over $37,000 in printing, postage, and related costs.  Electronic service also resulted in savings for the field offices’ clerical staff, freeing each enforcement office automation assistant from more than eight days of work to perform other tasks.  Also, in fiscal year 2020, 122,775 potential charging parties initiated inquiries through the Public Portal.  Of these, 30,294 were formalized into charges of discrimination (relatively steady with the 30,759 formalized in fiscal year 2019).  In each of these instances, agency personnel were relieved of the task of data entry.  Conservatively, the EEOC estimates that this saved over 41,000 hours of investigator time (almost two weeks per investigator) in fiscal year 2020, doubling our initial savings estimate. 

In the Strategic Plan, the EEOC also committed to “complete a shared vision and develop high-level plans with resource requirements for modernizing [our] charge/case management systems.”  To meet this goal the agency engaged in a year-long effort with the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), an innovative funding vehicle that uses a competitive vetting process to make limited funds available to federal agencies for technology improvements consistent with the President’s Management Agenda.  In late fiscal year 2019, the TMF Board awarded the agency $4 million dollars, providing the EEOC with the resources to modernize the legacy technology and data structure of its 18-year old Integrated Mission System (IMS) over a two-year period.  The TMF funds were received in January 2020 and initial development is well underway with the milestone of delivering a new Private Sector Charge Management application to both the EEOC and its Fair Employment Practice Agency (FEPAs) partners in mid-2021.

B.     Chair’s Priority No. 4: Strategically Allocating Commission Resources

In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC continued prioritizing the allocation of resources to tasks that will have the maximum impact on fulfilling our mission.  Under this priority, the EEOC has continued to build on our successful mediation program in the private and federal sectors and made a renewed commitment to meaningful and effective conciliation efforts in all private sector matters (both are discussed in more detail below).  The EEOC continued this important work during fiscal year 2020, despite the challenges of the pandemic.

Under this priority, the agency also engaged in efforts to control administrative costs whenever possible in order to reinvest those resources to activities that are most impactful in fulfilling the agency’s mission.  For example, in fiscal year 2020, by prioritizing transition to the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) Contract, the EEOC is expected to reduce the agency’s annual data communications costs by nearly 40 percent.  The savings achieved are being re-invested in increased bandwidth, better enabling agency personnel to communicate with voice, video, and data from all locations.  In recent Congressional testimony before the Government Operations Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, GSA highlighted the EEOC as one of three agencies that made the most measurable progress in transitioning to the EIS.  Further, the agency’s early transition to EIS allowed the EEOC to support fulltime telework during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EEOC began fiscal year 2020 with plans to continue its implementation of unified communications to replace and consolidate telephone systems in use by the EEOC headquarters and field offices.  As the pandemic forced the agency into full-time telework, the EEOC responded by deploying Microsoft Teams Phone Services to all offices that had no other agency-provided means with which to communicate with the public.  By the end of fiscal year 2020, the EEOC successfully deployed Microsoft Teams Phone Services to 42 Field Offices.  Phone Deployments, including delivering physical phones as offices reopen, will be completed in fiscal year 2021.  Completing the migration to Teams Phone Services will save the agency nearly $1.2 million annually, which will be reinvested in other needed IT services that will improve the agency’s service to the public.

i.                 Continued Focus on Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is an effective and efficient tool to resolve charges of discrimination.  The EEOC’s ADR program provides an opportunity for complainants and employers to convene and discuss their respective positions with a neutral mediator.  Successful mediations resolve charges early in the process, benefiting both workers and employers.  In fiscal year 2020, the agency successfully resolved 6,272 of the 9,036 mediations conducted, resulting in over $156.6 million in benefits to charging parties.  Notably, mediators in the EEOC’s ADR program also conducted 766 federal sector mediations, which contributed to efforts to reduce the federal sector inventory.  Moreover, the program continues to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants. 

EEOC continued to provide mediation services during the pandemic.  Prior to the health crisis, mediation sessions were conducted in-person.  However, this was inconsistent with safety guidelines implemented during the pandemic.  In mid-March, offices began conducting mediation sessions by telephone and by video, when available, to continue providing this necessary service in resolving employment discrimination charges.  By early April, the EEOC integrated its internal Microsoft Teams platform externally within its ADR program so that parties could participate in mediations via an on-line, secure environment.  In late-August 2020, the Commission began to integrate and employ Zoom for Government as its primary platform for conducting mediation sessions to allow mediators to use private virtual rooms with parties.    

On July 6, 2020, the EEOC launched a mediation pilot program to build on our successful ADR program.  The ACT (Access, Categories, Time) Pilot expanded the categories of charges available for mediation and increased opportunities for resolutions by offering ADR processes as charges progress through EEOC’s administrative processes.  The Pilot is in effect for six months and applies to all charges filed on or after the July launch date. 

Additionally, during fiscal year 2020, efforts to maintain an increased employer participation rate in mediations were successful.  Results show that the respondent participation rate was 31.7 percent in fiscal year 2020, achieving a 3.3 percent increase in the rate of participation in fiscal year 2019, which was 30.7 percent. 

During fiscal year 2020, offices continued their focus on delivering outreach to respondents to highlight the benefits of the ADR program.  Offices conducted a total of 267 ADR employer events, which far-exceeded the announced goal of 83 events. 

ii.                Continued Focus on Conciliation

The EEOC’s conciliation efforts are another vital means to promote voluntary compliance with federal employment discrimination laws.  If the EEOC determines there is reasonable cause to believe discrimination has occurred, the agency invites the parties to join the EEOC in seeking to settle the charge through an informal and confidential process known as conciliation.  Conciliation is a voluntary process and the parties must agree to the resolution.  The EEOC has a statutory obligation to attempt to resolve findings of discrimination on charges through conciliation before the agency considers the matter for litigation.

In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC launched a six-month conciliation pilot that seeks to drive greater internal accountability and improve the EEOC’s implementation of existing practices.  It is also part of our broader effort to emphasize the importance of conciliation as a tool for remedying complaints of discrimination.  The pilot recommits EEOC to resolving charges through conciliation as one of the most effective means for bringing employers into compliance with the statutes the agency enforces.  The pilot builds on a renewed commitment for full communication between the EEOC and the parties, which has been the agency’s expectation for many years, and adds a requirement that conciliation offers be approved by the appropriate level of management before they are shared with respondents.

Under this priority, the agency continued its efforts to conciliate a greater percentage of cases – with successful conciliations rising from 27 percent in fiscal year 2010 to 43.6 percent in fiscal year 2020.  The success rate for conciliation of systemic charges was 64 percent in fiscal year 2020, up from 56 percent in fiscal year 2019.

II. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE II: PREVENT EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION AND PROMOTE INCLUSIVE WORKPLACES THROUGH EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

Another essential way in which the EEOC is focusing its resources on efforts that promote compliance with federal workplace anti-discrimination laws and enhance the agency’s service to the public is through continued emphasis on outreach and education.  The EEOC has strengthened our efforts, many in collaboration with our enforcement partners in federal, state, and local government as well as with employer, employee, and academic communities, to maximize the impact of our collective knowledge and resources. 

A.     Chair’s Priority No. 2: Continuing to Provide Robust Compliance Assistance

The first word in the EEOC's mission statement is “prevent,” and all agency staff contribute to the goal of preventing discrimination in the workplace.  In fiscal year 2020, the Commission continued to focus on: providing high-quality, easy to understand education and outreach in the private, public, and federal sectors; prioritizing outreach to the small business community; continuing to build strong partnerships with employer and advocacy groups; updating our guidance and technical assistance documents (where appropriate) to ensure that they represent a clear explanation of the law, and rescinding those documents that are out-of-date, raise the potential for confusion among our stakeholders, or exceed the Commission's statutory authority.

In fiscal year 2020, the agency also modernized its ten-year old external website, eeoc.gov.  The new website is based on secure open-source technologies and improves our constituents’ experience, better promotes the agency’s message, integrates more effectively with our social media activities, supports multi-language capabilities, provides a mobile responsive platform for easier viewing on phones and tablets, and fully supports modern accessibility standards.  Additionally, this effort partially resolved an open OIG finding regarding “out-of-date infrastructure supporting legacy EEOC systems and services.”

i.                 Continued Emphasis on Outreach and Education in the Private Sector

Outreach and education are a major component of the Chair’s priority to provide robust compliance assistance to the public.  In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC’s ability to provide outreach and education to members of the public depended on the agency successfully adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Prior to the pandemic, the majority of outreach events were conducted in person; however, after mid-March 2020, all outreach sessions were conducted remotely.  Staff who conducted outreach utilized the Microsoft Teams platform and Zoom for Government to hold meetings, conferences, and webinars.  From mid-March through the end of the fiscal year — a time during which the majority of staff teleworked — EEOC remotely conducted 1,085 outreach events, reaching 127,769 individuals. 

Due to the need to provide the public with crucial information on the interplay between COVID-19 issues and employment discrimination laws, EEOC prioritized COVID-19 related outreach.  During this period, there were 365 outreach events related to COVID-19, reaching 51,419 individuals. 

EEOC also prioritized outreach, education, and technical assistance to underserved segments of the employer community, including small and new businesses.  Given their size and limited resources, these businesses are often less able to take advantage of commercial training programs and less likely to have in-house human resources professionals to assist them with compliance.  The EEOC’s education and outreach programs to small and new businesses teach and promote prevention by emphasizing the importance of deterring employment discrimination before it occurs.  Approximately 16 percent of outreach conducted is to small employers.  In fiscal year 2020, agency offices conducted 422 outreach events directed toward small businesses, reaching 18,393 small business representatives.

Under this priority, the EEOC promoted its public website containing the online Small Business Resource Center, a one-stop source of information created to give small businesses the tools to understand the federal anti-discrimination laws and to prevent employment discrimination in their workplaces.  It also provides quick access to the names and contact information of the EEOC’s Small Business Liaisons in our field offices.  These liaisons answer questions from small business owners as they institute policies and practices to comply with the law. 

The online material in the Small Business Resource Center is geared toward small businesses who need answers fast.  In addition to giving clear, general information on the EEOC's laws and on ways the EEOC can assist small businesses, the site features answers to frequently asked questions, guidance for making employment decisions in common scenarios, and pointers for developing good workplace policies.  It also has tips for small businesses on a variety of potential workplace discrimination issues to aid businesses avert problems before they arise. 

The Small Business Association Office of the National Ombudsman’s Annual Report to Congress grades all federal agencies on their responsiveness to small business concerns and their compliance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.  The Ombudsman’s most recent report to Congress gave the EEOC an “A” rating across-the-board, the highest rating possible, reflecting the SBA’s recognition of the EEOC’s strong commitment to assist this important sector of the economy.  The EEOC expects to again receive an “A” rating when the Report for fiscal year 2019 is published.  

In addition to developing and maintaining national and significant partnerships, we prioritized outreach related to the White House and Commission’s focus areas as well as areas particular to the specific jurisdictions and demographics of each District.  Working with other enforcement agencies and stakeholder communities is a vital strategy that enhances EEOC’s mission to stop and remedy employment discrimination.  It allows the EEOC to incorporate diverse perspectives, achieve savings efficiencies, eliminate duplication of efforts, and pursue shared enforcement objectives.

In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC also supported the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (WHIHBCU), the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAPPI), and the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.  There were 107 outreach events with 5,175 attendees involving the WHIHBCU initiative, there were 80 outreach events with 12,026 attendees supporting the WHIAPPI initiative, and 120 outreach events with 12,020 attendees that addressed human trafficking issues.

In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC also focused outreach and education on priorities identified in the agency’s Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) for fiscal years 2017-2021. 

ii.                Continued Emphasis on Outreach and Education in the Federal Sector

Continued emphasis on outreach and education in the federal sector is equally important to the EEOC’s efforts to promote broad compliance with federal workplace anti-discrimination laws and enhance the agency’s service to the public.  In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC built upon its robust education and outreach program that focuses on both free and fee-based education and training opportunities in the federal sector and leveraged the use of technology to strengthen and expand the impact of its education and outreach activities. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, EEOC’s federal sector staff revised 10 fee-based training courses that were previously available for delivery only in a traditional, in-person format for virtual delivery.  As a result of the expedited course revisions, EEOC staff delivered and produced 42 virtual trainings reaching over 2,000 federal partners.  Furthermore, the transition of our full catalog of federal sector courses for online delivery was in direct response to increased customer demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and resulted in a 47 percent increase in course enrollment.  In addition, EEOC staff prepared and delivered 53 customer specific virtual trainings to federal agencies across the country, reaching approximately 2,120 attendees. 

During fiscal year 2020, EEOC federal sector staff coordinated, attended, or hosted 83 no-cost outreach events, reaching 6,225 federal partners.  EEOC staff also participated in several key federal partner conferences and events, including an EEOC Townhall at the Federal Dispute Resolution (FDR) Conference and delivering several EEO workshops at conferences for the League of United Latin American Citizens, Federally Employed Women, and Blacks In Government. 

The EEOC also produced a weeklong virtual event in support of the White House Initiative on HBCU’s including the complete buildout of the Commission’s presence on the host platform, the production of videos to be shared during the event, the creation of promotional media, and the creation and daily production of a standalone platform to be linked to the event’s host platform. 

Additionally, the EEOC continued to leverage the new technology approaches to strengthen and expand the impact of its training and outreach activities.  EEOC federal sector staff delivered 8 webinars on strategic priorities.  These webinars saw an average increase in participation by 10 percent.  In addition, EEOC staff hosted seven “First Friday’s with OFO” which is its popular online information session attracting an average of 150 attendees per event.

The EEOC also successfully migrated its national conference for stakeholders – Examining Conflicts in Employment Law (EXCEL) – to a virtual platform.  The EXCEL conference offered 28 workshops and 4 discussion forums.  The three days of workshops served to enhance attendees’ knowledge, skills, and abilities, and the EEO “Hot Topic” forums heightened interaction and communication amongst attendees.  Also, in the evenings and for 30 days after the conference, attendees had the opportunity to view sessions they may have missed, eliminating the restriction of having to select between courses of interest. 

In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC engaged in a new outreach effort to reach federal employees located in Puerto Rico.  EEOC staff worked closely with the Puerto Rico Chapter of the Federal Executive Association to host a well-attended two-day virtual training event for federal employees.  The event was bilingual, offered in English and Spanish, and open to federal leaders and employees.  Attendees received instruction and guidance on the intersection of the Rehabilitation Act and COVID 19 as well as other EEO training.

In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC also continued liaising with other agencies and stakeholders to form strategic partnerships and engage in outreach activities.  For example:

• The EEOC manages an interagency consortium with the Department of Labor and Office of Personnel Management, Federal Exchange of Employment and Disability (FEED).  Through FEED, the EEOC and partner agencies conducted quarterly events for federal sector disability practitioners, including an event celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
• EEOC staff actively participated as Advisory Board members for the FDR Conference.  In this role, the EEOC provided strategic guidance and direction in the creation of the EEO track at FDR’s annual conference. 
• The EEOC hosted a newly established Annual Meeting with Agency General Counsel across the federal government.  This meeting was attended by approximately 200 individuals and served as a gateway to strengthen outreach and communication between EEOC and agency counsels who regularly represent the federal government during the EEO process.
• The EEOC hosted its first membership drive through its EEO Education Consortium (EdCon), introducing federal agencies to the benefits of membership.  The event attracted approximately 80 federal employees and resulted in 28 federal agency representatives seeking EdCon membership.  Moreover, the EdCon committees published an EEO Director’s tool-kit online and identified parameters for an EdCon sponsored Speakers Bureau. 
• Recognizing that smaller agencies have limited resources and different challenges from larger agencies, EEOC continued its efforts to meet with the Small Agency Council to address the unique needs of small federal agencies.

iii.              Emphasis on Clear and Accurate Guidance

Outreach and education are critical tools to prevent discrimination, and the EEOC works with hundreds of thousands of employees and employers every year to educate them on their legal rights and responsibilities.  As part of these efforts, the EEOC is committed to providing guidance and information to our stakeholders that is current, accurate, and clear.     

EEOC provided high-quality, easy to understand education and outreach in the private, state and local, and federal sectors in response to the pandemic.  This included: 

• A question and answer document, What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, last updated on September 8, 2020.
• Updated guidance entitled Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans With Disabilities Act [PDF version] that can help employers implement strategies to navigate the impact of COVID-19 in the workplace.  This pandemic publication, written during the prior H1N1 outbreak, is still relevant today and identifies established ADA and Rehabilitation Act principles to answer questions frequently asked about the workplace during a pandemic.  It has been updated to address examples and information regarding COVID-19; the new information appears in bold.
• A pre-recorded webinar addressing questions arising under any of the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws and the COVID-19 pandemic.  The video can be seen on YouTube.  A transcript of the webinar is also available.
• The EEOC's Office of Federal Operations (OFO) issued instructions on April 6, 2020, regarding the processing of federal sector EEO complaints covered by 29 CFR Part 1614.  Those instructions were revised on July 27, 2020, to allow the issuance of agency final actions.  We do not intend this guidance to require any task that would increase risks to the health or safety of federal employees.

The EEOC began issuing guidance documents in the 1980s and, since then, there have been many changes in the laws we enforce.  Some of EEOC’s guidance and technical assistance documents have been superseded by legislation, court decisions, or newer and more complete guidance.  Other guidance documents have become outdated because they were limited to narrow fact patterns that now rarely arise.  An internal work group reviewed the EEOC’s guidance and technical assistance documents with these criteria in mind and identified candidates for updating or rescission.  The Commission then rescinded select guidance documents and, for others, the EEOC is working on updating several guidance documents for consistency with current statutory requirements and court decisions.  These efforts will continue in fiscal year 2021.  Also, the EEOC modernized the guidance page on the website, adding a search mechanism and information about whether each item was approved by Commission vote. 

The EEOC took the following significant regulatory and survey actions in fiscal year 2020:

B.     Chair’s Priority No. 3: Enhancing Our Efforts to Reach Vulnerable Workers

The EEOC is focusing its efforts to reach and serve vulnerable workers throughout the nation.  In fiscal year 2020, the Chair established the Vulnerable Workers Task Force to re-examine the agency’s practices and make recommendations to ensure that the agency effectively identifies, reaches, and serves vulnerable workers throughout the nation.  The Task Force, consisting of several work groups, is analyzing issues involving outreach and education, strategic partnerships, research and data, accessibility, and internal collaboration and support. 

The EEOC also continued to prioritize outreach to vulnerable populations and build strong partnerships with employer and advocacy groups that work with vulnerable workers.  Overall, during fiscal year 2020, there were over 905 outreach events involving vulnerable workers reaching 94,180 individuals.  This included outreach to immigrant, migrant, and farm worker communities, as well as communities where individuals are reluctant to come forward to complain about employment discrimination. 

III.              MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVE: ACHIEVE ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE

To lead the country in advancing equal opportunity in the workplace, the EEOC is committed to achieving organizational excellence by improving management functions with a focus on information technology, infrastructure enhancement, and accountable financial stewardship.  In fiscal year 2020, this required the EEOC to adopt personnel, technology, and infrastructure enhancements that would allow agency employees to continue preventing and remedying unlawful employment discrimination and advancing equal opportunity in the workplace.

A.     Chair’s Priority No. 5: Continuing EEOC’s Efforts to be a Model Workplace

The EEOC can best accomplish our mission with a productive, inclusive, and diverse workforce.  In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC continued to fully embrace the principles of equal employment in our own workplace, recognizing that doing so creates an environment that enhances the EEOC's overall effectiveness; fosters a culture of inclusion and respect, and supports collaboration and strategic innovation among all employees; and supports agency employees by providing them with the tools and resources they need to be successful in their jobs.

The EEOC fostered a culture of inclusion and respect, and supported collaboration and strategic innovation among all employees by:

• Providing guidance on how best to have inclusive remote webinars and meetings.  For example, the agency provided two documents to employees with information and best practices for hosting inclusive remote meetings and webinars for Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants.
• Ensured that materials circulated internally, and shared externally, were Section 508 compliant.  This included working with Microsoft to produce an accessible Quick Start guide for Microsoft Teams.  Issues identified by EEOC’s accessibility coordinator were reported to Microsoft’s Disability Answer Desk and, as a result, Microsoft produced a revised guide that is fully accessible and now available to the federal community.

The Commission also continued hiring a diverse workforce throughout the pandemic.  The Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, the Office of Information Technology, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, and the District Resource Managers in Field Offices worked with hiring managers to bring on new staff and ensure they have human resources information, technology, and credentials to do their jobs.  The agency has filled 161 permanent positions, with 156 of those 161 positions already onboarded virtually with the EEOC.

In fiscal year 2020, the EEOC also continued to provide employees with the tools and resources they need to be successful in their jobs, including:

• Flexible and alternative schedules during the pandemic for employees who needed them.
• A Maxi-Flex COVID-19 Emergency Pilot Program to provide employees who voluntarily participated in the program additional flexibilities to complete basic work requirements.
• Consistent and transparent communication with staff concerning the pandemic through the establishment of the COVID-19 SharePoint Site and regular email updates.

One of the management challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic was providing laptops and support to the 250-plus interns that were preparing to on-board during the summer.  Understanding the importance of the program to the agency and the interns, and the time constraints related to their service, the EEOC developed and provisioned a secure Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) environment for interns’ use in less than one month.  WVD allowed interns to securely connect to EEOC systems and services from their personal laptop at their remote location.  While primarily implemented in response to the pandemic, this solution is expected to continue to provide EEOC interns and Continuity of Operations staff with reliable, secure, and cost-effective remote access.  Using the EEOC’s Azure cloud infrastructure, WVD services can be ramped up or down to more efficiently and cost effectively meet these needs.

LOOKING FORWARD

It is essential for the EEOC to continue to embrace and leverage technology to improve our services and upgrade the Commission’s data capabilities to promote greater access to the data, enhance transparency, and augment agency use of modern data analytics to drive decision making.  Although the pandemic and work-at-home restrictions brought hardships and new challenges, it also brought many lasting benefits associated with fast-track deployment and use of communication and collaboration technologies, and flexible infrastructures – such as Windows Virtual Desktop – which will increase cross-collaboration and related efficiencies into the future.  Looking forward, our agency will continue to focus on efforts to modernize our digital systems to build upon our ability to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination, as well as other technological enhancements necessary to improve the quality of services to the public. 

The agency’s strategic plan requires that we “complete a shared vision and develop high-level plans with resource requirements for modernizing [our] charge/case management systems.”  As discussed above, to meet this goal, the agency engaged with the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), and in late fiscal year 2019, the TMF Board awarded the agency $4 million dollars.  These funds are providing the EEOC with the resources needed to modernize the legacy technology and data structure of its 18-year old Integrated Mission System (IMS) over a two-year period.  Initial development for this project is well underway with the milestone of delivering a new Private Sector Charge Management application to both the EEOC and its Fair Employment Practice Agency (FEPAs) partners in mid-2021.

In fiscal year 2020, the agency contracted for new, user-friendly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) software that will receive FOIA requests, be compatible with the agency’s other digital systems, and enable staff to respond to FOIA requests with increased efficiency.  The new software will be implemented in early fiscal year 2021. 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular Number A-136 Revised dated August 27, 2020 was used as guidance for the preparation of the accompanying financial statements.  EEOC prepares four financial statements: Consolidated Balance Sheets, Consolidated Statements of Net Cost, Consolidated Statements of Changes in Net Position, and the Combined Statements of Budgetary Resources.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

The Consolidated Balance Sheets present amounts that are owned or managed by EEOC (assets), amounts owed (liabilities), and the net position of the agency divided between the cumulative results of operations and unexpended appropriations.

EEOC’s balance sheets show total assets of $93 million at the end of fiscal year 2020 and $92 million at the end of fiscal year 2019.

EEOC’s balance sheet also show total liabilities of $74 million at the end of fiscal year 2020 and $68 million at the end of fiscal year 2019.

The Net Position is the sum of Unexpended Appropriations and the Cumulative Results of Operations.  EEOC’s Net Position on its Balance Sheets and the Statement of Changes in Net Position show $19 million at the end of fiscal year 2020 and $24 million at the end of fiscal year 2019.

Consolidated Statements of Net Cost

The Consolidated Statements of Net Cost presents the gross cost incurred by all programs less any revenue earned.  Overall, in fiscal year 2020, EEOC’s Consolidated Statements of Net Cost of Operations increased by $10 million or 3 percent.  The increase for the allocation of costs for fiscal year 2020 for the net cost for the private sector and outreach increased by $6 million or 2 percent, while the net cost for Federal Sector Programs has increased by $4 million or 6 percent.

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Net Position

The Consolidated Statement of Changes in Net Position represent the change in the net position for fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2019 from the cost of operations, appropriations received and used, and the financing of some costs by other government agencies.  The Consolidated Statement of Changes in Net Position decreased by $5 million for fiscal year 2020 when compared to fiscal year 2019.

Combined Statements of Budgetary Resources

The Combined Statements of Budgetary Resources show how budgetary resources were made available and the status of those resources at the end of the fiscal year.  In fiscal year 2020, EEOC received $391.5 million in budget authority.  This amount includes appropriations received from OMB of $389.5 million and a $2 million non-expenditure transfer from GSA’s Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) with required apportionment from OMB.  EEOC ended fiscal year 2020 with an increase by $12 million in total budgetary resources.  Resources not available for new obligations at the end of the year totaled $3 million and $4 million in fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2019, respectively.  The unobligated balance not available represents expired budget authority from prior years that are no longer available for new obligations.

Use of Resources

The pie chart below illustrates EEOC’s fiscal year 2020 use of resources by major object class.  The chart shows costs actually incurred by EEOC.  It does not include costs incurred by others on behalf of EEOC.  The chart shows that Pay and Benefits, State & Local Programs, Rent to GSA and Other Contractual Services consumed 97 percent of EEOC’s resources, and other expenses (e.g., communication, utilities and miscellaneous charges, travel & transportation, supplies & materials, etc.) consumed 3 percent of EEOC’s resources for fiscal year 2020.

The dual axis chart below depicts EEOC’s compensation and benefits versus full-time equivalents (FTE) over the past six years.  EEOC ended fiscal year 2020 with 1,939 FTEs, a net decrease of 122, or 6 percent, below fiscal year 2019.

Limitations of the Financial Statements

The principal financial statements are prepared to report the financial position and results of operations of the reporting entity, pursuant to the requirements of 31 U.S.C. § 3515(b).  The statements are prepared from the books and records of the entity in accordance with Federal GAAP and the formats prescribed by OMB.  Reports used to monitor and control budgetary resources are prepared from the same books and records.  The financial statements should be read with the realization that they are for a component of the U.S. Government.

MANAGEMENT ASSURANCES

The EEOC's internal controls and financial management systems were sound during fiscal year 2020.  There were three financial non-conformances that were not fully corrected during the fiscal year, but the agency implemented corrective action plans to resolve these uncorrected financial non-conformances.  These financial non-conformances were identified in audit reports prepared by the Office of Inspector General (OIG): EEOC’s Commercial Charge Card Program Audit (OIG Report No. 2018-007-AOIG), May 31, 2019; EEOC’s FY 2019 Financial Statement Audit, through Harper, Rains, Knight & Company (HRK), Notice of Findings and Recommendations (UDO-201901) Undelivered Orders Audit Report, November 19, 2019; and FY 2019 Digital Accountability and Transparency Act Finding (OIG Report No 2019-003-AOIG), November 8, 2019. 

Based on the actions taken, and considering the agency’s controls environment as a whole, the agency concludes that during fiscal year 2020, its financial and internal controls systems were in compliance with the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA).  The controls systems were effective; agency resources were used consistent with the agency’s mission; the resources were used in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; and, there was minimal potential for waste, fraud, and mismanagement of resources.

The EEOC’s management is also responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, which includes safeguarding of assets and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.  The EEOC conducted its assessment of the effectiveness of the agency’s internal control over financial reporting in accordance with OMB Circular A-123, Management's Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control.  Based on the results of this evaluation, the EEOC can provide reasonable assurance that internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2020 was operating effectively and no material weaknesses were found in the design or operation of the agency’s internal controls over financial reporting.

___________________
Janet Dhillon
Chair

November 9, 2020

LEGAL COMPLIANCE

EEOC maintained controls for and compliance with the Anti-Deficiency Act, the Debt Collection Act of 1996, as amended, the Prompt Payment Act, Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014, Pay and Allowance System for Civilian Employees, the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012, Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended, the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act), and the Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act of 2015. 

FINANCIAL SECTION

Letter from the Inspector General Transmitting Audit

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.  20507

Office of Inspector General

November 12, 2020

MEMORANDUM

TO:	Janet Dhillon Chair
FROM:	Milton A. Mayo, Jr. Inspector General
SUBJECT:	Audit of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Statements (OIG Report No. 2020-001-AOIG)

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) contracted with the independent certified public accounting firm of Harper, Rains, Knight & Company, P.A. (HRK) to audit the financial statements of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for fiscal years ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, and to report on EEOC's internal controls over financial reporting, and compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, grant agreements, and other matters. The contract required that HRK conduct the audit in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS) contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) audit guidance, and U.S. Government Accountability Office/Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency Financial Audit Manual.

In its audit of EEOC, HRK reported:

• EEOC's financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, EEOC's financial position as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, and its net cost of operations, changes in net position, and budgetary resources for the fiscal years then ended, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America;
• they did not identify any deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting that they consider to be material weaknesses. However, material weaknesses may exist that have not been identified; and
• their tests for compliance with selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements disclosed no instances of noncompliance for fiscal year 2020 that would be reportable under GAGAS or OMB Bulletin 19-03, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements.

HRK is responsible for the attached auditor’s report dated November 12, 2020, and the conclusions expressed in the report. We do not express opinions on EEOC’s financial statements or internal control over financial reporting, or conclusions on compliance and other matters. EEOC management was given the opportunity to review the draft report and to provide comments.

OMB issued Circular Number A-50, Audit Follow-up, to ensure that corrective action on audit findings and recommendations proceed as rapidly as possible. EEOC Order 192.002, Audit Follow-Up Program, implements Circular Number A-50 and requires that for resolved recommendations, a corrective action work plan should be submitted within 30 days of the final audit report date describing specific tasks and completion dates necessary to implement audit recommendations. Circular Number A-50 requires prompt resolution and corrective action on audit recommendations. Resolutions should be made within six months of final report issuance.

Attachment

cc:         

Brett Brenner
Bryan Burnett
Martin Ebel
Carlton Hadden
Chris Haffer
Andrew Maunz
Malcolm Medley
Mona Papillon
Kevin Richardson
Haley Wojdowski

Independent Auditors' Report

Independent Auditors' Report

Inspector General
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Report on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying financial statements of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). EEOC 's financial statements comprise the balance sheets as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, and the related statements of net cost and changes in net position, and combined statements of budgetary resources, for the fiscal years then ended; and the related notes to the financial statements.

Management's Responsibility

EEOC's management is responsible for (1) the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; (2) preparing, measuring, and presenting the Required Supplementary Information (RSI) in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; (3) preparing and presenting other information included in documents containing the audited financial statements and auditors' report, and ensuring the consistency of that information with the audited financial statements and the RSI; and (4) maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, including the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditors' Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America; the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States; and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Bulletin 19-03, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements. Those standards and OMB require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement. We are also responsible for applying certain limited procedures to RSI and other information included with the financial statements.

An audit of financial statements involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditors' judgment, including the auditors' assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditors consider internal control relevant to the entity's preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity's internal control. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit of financial statements also involves evaluating the appropriateness of the accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

In our opinion, EEOC's financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, EEOC's financial position as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, and its net cost of operations, changes in net position, and budgetary resources for the fiscal years then ended, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Other Matters

Required Supplementary Information

Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America issued by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) require that the information in the Management's Discussion and Analysis be presented to supplement the financial statements. Such information, although not a part of the financial statements, is required by FASAB who considers this information to be an essential part of financial reporting for placing the financial statements in appropriate operational, economic, or historical context. We have applied certain limited procedures to the RSI in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, which consisted of inquiries of management about the methods of preparing the RSI and comparing the information for consistency with management's responses to the auditors' inquiries, the financial statements, and other knowledge we obtained during the audit of the financial statements, in order to report omissions or material departures from FASAB guidelines, if any, identified by these limited procedures. We did not audit and we do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on the RSI because the limited procedures we applied do not provide sufficient evidence to express an opinion or provide any assurance.

Other Information

Our audit was conducted for the purpose of forming an opinion on EEOC's financial statements. The information in the Message from the Chair and Other Information section contains a wide range of information, some of which is not directly related to the financial statements. This information is presented for purposes of additional analysis and is not a required part of the financial statements or the RSI. We read the other information included with the financial statements in order to identify material inconsistencies, if any, with the audited financial statements.

The Message from the Chair and Other Information section has not been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the financial statements, and accordingly, we do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on it.

Other Reporting Required by Government Auditing Standards

Internal Control over Financial Reporting

In planning and performing our audit of EEOC's financial statements as of and for the year ended September 30, 2020, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards and OMB Bulletin 19-03, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements, we considered the entity's internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances for the purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial statements, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion on the entity's internal control over financial reporting. We did not consider all internal controls relevant to operating objectives as broadly established by the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982, such as those controls relevant to preparing performance information and ensuring efficient operations. We are required to report all deficiencies that are considered to be significant deficiencies or material weaknesses.

A deficiency in internal control exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, misstatements on a timely basis. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity's financial statements will not be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis. A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance.

Our consideration of internal control over financial reporting was for the limited purpose described in the preceding paragraph and was not designed to identify all deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting that might be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies, and therefore, material weaknesses or significant deficiencies may exist that were not identified. Given these limitations, during our audit, we did not identify any deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting that we consider to be material weaknesses. However, material weaknesses may exist that have not been identified.

Compliance and Other Matters

As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether EEOC's financial statements are free from material misstatement, we performed tests of its compliance with selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements, noncompliance with which would have a direct and material effect on the financial statements. We performed our tests of compliance in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards and OMB Bulletin 19-03, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements. We caution that noncompliance may occur and not be detected by these tests.

Management is responsible for complying with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements applicable to the entity.

Our responsibility is to test compliance with selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements applicable to the entity that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the entity's financial statements and perform certain other limited procedures. Accordingly, we did not test compliance with all laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements applicable to EEOC.

Our tests for compliance with selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements disclosed no instances of noncompliance for fiscal year 2020 that would be reportable under U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards or OMB Bulletin 19-03, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements. However, the objective of our tests was not to provide an opinion on compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements applicable to EEOC. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion.

Purpose of the Other Reporting Required by Government Auditing Standards

The purpose of the communication described in the Other Reporting Required by Government Auditing Standards section is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal control and compliance and the result of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of EEOC's internal control or compliance. These reports are an integral part of an audit performed in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards in considering the entity's internal control and compliance. Accordingly, this communication is not suitable for any other purpose.

November 12, 2020

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS