EEOC CHAIRMAN COMMENDS HOUSE FOR PASSING REAUTHORIZATION OF ADR LEGISLATION

WASHINGTON -- Chairman Gilbert F. Casellas of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) praised yesterday's House passage of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (ADRA). The bill, H.R. 2977, which reauthorizes the use of alternative means of resolving disputes in the federal administrative process and for other purposes, awaits consideration on the Senate floor.

Chairman Casellas said, "I am delighted that the House has passed this important piece of legislation that is so critical to our being able to implement our mediation program -- an initiative unprecedented for a law enforcement agency. We anxiously await Senate action on the bill."

EEOC formally acknowledged its commitment to the use of ADR in its administrative process with the adoption of an Alternative Dispute Policy Statement in July 1995. The policy was part of a set of major reforms adopted by the Commission last year to revamp its charge processing system and to more strategically direct its litigation enforcement efforts.

Charged by Congress to enforce federal statutes prohibiting discrimination in employment, the EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act; Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against workers 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.