PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES CLIFFORD GREGORY STEWART AS EEOC GENERAL COUNSEL

President Clinton today announced his intent to nominate Clifford Gregory Stewart as General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Mr. Stewart currently serves as the Director of the Division on Civil Rights in the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, an appointed position he has held since 1990.

EEOC Chairman Gilbert F. Casellas said, "President Clinton has made an outstanding choice for this critically important position. Greg Stewart will bring a wealth of experience and a solid commitment to equal employment opportunity. I look forward to his speedy confirmation by the Senate."

Mr. Stewart's career record illustrates his commitment to civil rights and equal opportunity. Prior to his present position, Mr. Stewart was an Assistant Deputy Public Advocate in the Division of Public Interest Advocacy of the Department of Public Advocate for New Jersey. There he both supervised and conducted complex litigation involving employment, education, and housing issues. Mr. Stewart started his career in civil rights as a staff attorney at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D.C., from 1982 through 1984.

He has held a variety of teaching positions, including Adjunct Professor of Law and Instructor at the Rutgers School of Law, specializing in constitutional and civil rights law, federal procedure, and trial and appellate techniques.

Long active in his community, Mr. Stewart has received numerous honors for his work, including the New Jersey Conference of NAACP Branches' Community Service Award, the Legal Service of New Jersey's Equal Justice Medal, and the NIA Award for Distinguished Leadership in Education from the New Jersey Association of Black Educators.

Mr. Stewart is an active member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

A 1971 graduate of Rutgers College, Mr. Stewart also received his Masters degree (1975) from the Rutgers University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and his law degree (1981) from the Rutgers School of Law.

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.