MEDIA ADVISORY

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EEOC CHAIRWOMAN TO MEET WITH COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS LEADERS IN CAROLINAS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Ida L. Castro, Chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will be in Charlotte April 27-28 to meet with community and business leaders to discuss strategies for creating discrimination-free workplaces and to encourage voluntary compliance with the laws enforced by the EEOC.

On April 28, she will address the American Bar Association at a noon luncheon at the Hilton Charlotte University Place, 8626 J. M. Keynes Drive. Ms. Castro will be available to meet with the news media following her speech.

It will be Chairwoman Castro's first visit to North and South Carolina as head of the agency. She has a rigorous schedule of sessions with various groups and individuals who, she said, "have a stake in the EEOC's work. I want to learn what we can do collaboratively to ensure that employers and workers throughout the Carolinas understand their rights and responsibilities under the agency's anti-discrimination laws."

Ms. Castro further indicated that EEOC is observing its thirty-fifth year of operation in the year 2000. "Although the EEOC's mission -- to rid the nation of employment discrimination -- has remained constant since the agency opened its doors a year after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," she said, "our nation has yet to close the chapter on discrimination at the workplace. This dialogue with our stakeholders is critical to our accomplishing this important mission."

Prior to arriving in Charlotte, Ms. Castro will be in Columbia, S.C., on April 25, 26, and the morning of April 27. She will attend meetings with civil rights, union, and advocacy groups, as well as plaintiff and employer attorneys, and business representatives. At these sessions she will exchange ideas on strengthening local enforcement actions, increasing education, and providing improved customer service on equal employment opportunity matters.

The EEOC's Charlotte District Office, which has an extensive outreach and education program that reaches workers and businesses in outlying communities, has jurisdiction over federally filed employment discrimination charges in both North and South Carolina. In addition to the Charlotte office, EEOC has offices in Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C., and in Greenville, S.C. A total of approximately 2,200 charges were filed with these offices in the first six months of EEOC's current fiscal year, which began October 1, 1999.

Since her tenure began in October 1998, Ms. Castro has focused on expanded outreach, education, and technical assistance to a broad range of agency stakeholders and has solicited their feedback on EEOC enforcement operations. For example, she has placed special emphasis on direct communication with small businesses and under-served minority communities to maximize collective efforts to prevent discrimination and enhance efficiency and fairness in addressing discrimination when found.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability in the private sector and state and local government. Further information about the agency is available at www.eeoc.gov.

This page was last modified on April 26, 2000.