EEOC CHAIR CARI DOMINGUEZ TO VISIT PUERTO RICO TO CONDUCT OUTREACH ON EMPLOYMENT LAWS

Trip Includes Meetings with High School Students and Keynote Speech at Seminar

WASHINGTON  - Cari M. Dominguez, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will be in Puerto Rico on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 7th and 8th to discuss the enforcement of the nation's employment anti-discrimination laws.  During the rare visit, she will make presentations to students at three local high schools, deliver a keynote speech to the Puerto Rico Corporate Liaison Group, and meet with staff of the agency's San Juan Area Office.

On Tuesday, December 7, Chair Dominguez will make presentations on the EEOC's recently launched "Youth@Work" initiative to students at the following high schools: Escuela Vocacional Rafael Cordero (Hoare Street, Parada 15, Santurce), Colegio Rosa-Bell (Calle Oviedo #42 Torrimar, Guaynabo), and Antilles High School (Fort Buchanan military base).  Youth@Work is an unprecedented year-long initiative to provide information and education to teenagers about their employment rights and responsibilities under the laws enforced by the EEOC.  As part of the initiative, EEOC has developed a new youth web site at www.youth.eeoc.gov.

In addition to the youth web site, the other components of Youth@Work are a series of national outreach events by EEOC Commissioners and field office staff for high school students, youth organizations, and small businesses who employ young workers; and partnerships with business leaders, human resource groups, and industry trade organizations  including the National Restaurant Association.  Prior Youth@Work events have been held across the country in Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

On Wednesday, December 8, Chair Dominguez will deliver a keynote speech to a technical assistance seminar sponsored by the Puerto Rico Corporate Liaison Group, the EEOC, and the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.  The speech will take place at 9:30 a.m., Tropimar Beach Club & Convention Center, Balneario de Isla Verde.

The one-day seminar, entitled The Challenges of Emerging Service Needs in a Changing Society, will cover a range of employment and labor issues, including sexual harassment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, compensation, and employer responsibilities.  The purpose of the seminar is to provide federal contractors, private employers, local government agencies, and community groups with proper guidance on the latest developments in employment and labor laws.

Cari M. Dominguez is the nation's 12th Chair of the EEOC.  She was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  Her five-year term expires on July 1, 2006.  Ms. Dominguez serves as the chief executive officer of the five-member Commission, which is responsible for enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  In conjunction with fellow Commissioners, she also guides the development and establishment of EEO policy and approves high impact and novel litigation actions. 

Additional information about the Commission, including the Youth@Work initiative, is available on the agency's web site at www.eeoc.gov.