EEOC TO BE HONORED BY AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION AT ANNUAL MEETING IN NEW ORLEANS

PRESS RELEASE
6-13-03

WASHINGTON - For the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Chair Cari M. Dominguez today will accept the Charles H. Best Medal for Distinguished Service in the Cause of Diabetes at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association. Presentation of the award will take place during a luncheon at the Sheraton Hotel, Grand Ballroom, 500 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. CDT. Press are welcome to cover Chair Dominguez's acceptance speech on site at the meeting. For more information, contact the American Diabetes Association's newsroom at (504) 670-7133.

The American Diabetes Association is honoring the EEOC, which enforces the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, for the agency's persistent and successful efforts on behalf of people with diabetes who have experienced workplace discrimination. This occasion marks the first time in the 30-year history of the prestigious annual award named for physician Charles Best that a federal agency has been selected by the association's Executive Committee. Previous recipients include Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, Senator Lowell Weicker and Lee Iacocca.

"I cannot express how proud I feel to accept the Charles H. Best Medal on behalf of this agency," said Chair Dominguez. "Since Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act, EEOC has worked tirelessly to ensure that the promise of equal employment opportunity becomes a reality for all of our nation's people with disabilities. Unfortunately, existing attitudes about diabetes have not kept pace with medical and scientific progress. Too many workplace policies continue to exclude people with insulin-treated diabetes from certain jobs, even though the laws require that a separate assessment be conducted for each individual based on his or her unique situation. We still have a lot of work to do."

In addition to Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments, the 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; prohibitions against disability discrimination in the federal government; and sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Further information about the Commission is available on the agency's web site at www.eeoc.gov.

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