COMMISSION TO ASSESS EFFECTS OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ON AGENCY ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS AT NEXT MEETING

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it will convene its first Commission meeting of 1996 on

January 25 to examine the effects of the recent three-week federal government shutdown on civil rights enforcement and the agency's workload.

EEOC officials responsible for the agency's main enforcement programs will make presentations to the Commission on the effects of the prolonged furlough. Reports from the EEOC's Offices of Program Operations and General Counsel will focus on private sector enforcement activities during the shutdown, including charge processing and litigation. The Office of Federal Operations will report on the status of federal sector complaint processing.

In a separate presentation, EEOC General Counsel Clifford Gregory Stewart will give his initial report to the Commission on the status of and strategy for the agency's litigation activities.

The public is invited to attend the open session of the meeting to be held on Thursday, January 25, at 2 p.m. in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Conference Room (9th Floor), 1801 L Street, N.W.

NOTE TO MEDIA: The Commission agenda is subject to revision. You may call (202) 663-7100 (voice) or (202) 663-4074 (TDD) on January 25 to confirm the above schedule.

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.