COMMISSION WILL HEAR PANEL DISCUSS EMPLOYMENT BIAS AGAINST AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES AT NEXT MEETING

WASHINGTON -- In the fourth of a series of Commission meetings focusing on specific types of unlawful employment discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hear presentations by invited experts on discrimination issues affecting Americans with disabilities in the workplace.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 12, at 2 p.m. in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Conference Room (9th floor), 1801 L Street, N.W. The public is urged to attend the meeting to hear the following speakers make presentations on the topic of employment issues affecting individuals with disabilities:

• Rebecca Ogle, Chairperson, Justice for All; Co-Chair, Rights Task Force, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
• Cary LaCheen, Senior Staff Attorney, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
• Claudia Center, Attorney and Felix Velarde-Muñoz Fellow, Employment Law Center, San Francisco
• Claiborne Douglass Haughton Jr., Principal Director and Director, Civilian Equal Employment Opportunity, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Equal Opportunity)

In fiscal year 1995, discrimination charges filed under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) constituted 22.6 percent of all EEOC charge receipts. This ranks disability-based charges as the third highest among all types of charges filed under EEOC-enforced statutes. They are preceded only by charges alleging race (34.3%) and sex (29.9%) discrimination.

In March of last year, Chairman Casellas announced his intent to hold a series of special Commission meetings examining the specific bases of discrimination for which the EEOC has statutory responsibility. Previous meetings focused on national origin and race-based discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and wage-based discrimination under the Equal Pay Act. Other types of discrimination to be addressed at future meetings include gender, religion, and age discrimination.

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.

NOTE TO MEDIA: The Commission agenda is subject to revision. You may call (202) 663-7100 (voice) or (202) 663-4074 (TDD) on March 12 to confirm the above schedule.