COMMISSION WILL HEAR PANEL DISCUSS EMPLOYMENT BIAS AGAINST AFRICAN AMERICANS AT NEXT MEETING

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              CONTACT:   Claire Gonzales February 23, 1996                             Reginald Welch                                               (202) 663-4900                                               TDD:   (202) 663-4494 

PRESS RELEASE
2-23-96

WASHINGTON -- In the third of a series of Commission meetings focusing on specific types of unlawful employment discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hear presentations by invited experts on discrimination issues affecting African Americans in the workplace.

The meeting, originally scheduled for November 14, 1995, but postponed due to the shutdown of the federal government from Nov. 14-19, will now be held on Tuesday, February 27, at 2 p.m. in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Conference Room (9th floor), 1801 L Street, N.W. The public is urged to attend the meeting to hear the following speakers make presentations on the topic of employment issues affecting African American workers:

• Opening statement by EEOC Chairman Gilbert F. Casellas.
• Wade Henderson, Director, NAACP, Washington, D.C. Bureau.
• Penda Hair, Director, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Washington, D.C. Regional Office.
• Oscar Eason, National President, Blacks in Government.
• Robert McAlpine, Director of Policy and Government Relations, National Urban League, Washington, D.C. Office.
• Barbara Arnwine, Executive Director, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Race-based charges continue to comprise the highest percentage of charges filed annually with the EEOC -- making up 34% of all charge receipts in Fiscal Year 1995. African American men and women accounted for 86% of the more than 30,000 race-based discrimination charges filed with the EEOC in FY 1995, a trend that has held steady for the past decade.

In March 1995, Chairman Casellas announced his intent to hold a series of special Commission meetings examining the specific bases of discrimination for which the EEOC has statutory responsibility. Previous meetings focused on national origin discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and wage-based discrimination under the Equal Pay Act. Other types of discrimination to be addressed at future meetings include gender, religion, age, and discrimination against persons with disabilities.

EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act; the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments; prohibitions against discrimination affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal government; and sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

NOTE TO MEDIA: The Commission agenda is subject to revision. You may call (202) 663-7100 (voice) or (202) 663-4074 (TDD) on February 27 to confirm the above schedule.

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