EEOC Informal Discussion Letter

EEOC Office of Legal Counsel staff members wrote the following informal discussion letter in response to an inquiry from a member of the public. This letter is intended to provide an informal discussion of the noted issue and does not constitute an official opinion of the Commission.

Non-EEOC Issue

Dear :

This is in response to your letter of November 4, 2003. You express concern that your organization may be discriminating against your office personnel who are not part of your field crew because your Board did not implement a recommendation by your CPA to record for tax purposes the personal mileage of your field crew who are assigned company vehicles.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC or Commission) authority is limited to enforcing federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §2000e et seq.), age (the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. §621 et seq., and disability (the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §12101 et seq.). Your letter does not indicate that your Board's decision to provide a benefit to its field crew which it does not provide to its office personnel was based on protected status such as race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability. Because the Commission cannot address matters of public policy outside the scope of its authority, we are unable to assist you in this matter. For assistance with this matter, you may wish to contact the Internal Revenue Service at www.irs.gov, or at their toll free number for businesses, 800-829-4933.

Sincerely,

Dianna B. Johnston
Assistant Legal Counsel

This page was last modified on April 27, 2007.