STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN GILBERT F. CASELLAS ON THE DEATH OF FORMER EEOC CHAIRMAN EVAN J. KEMP, JR.

The EEOC family was saddened to learn today of the death of Evan J. Kemp, Jr. I have been honored to carry on some of the important work that he initiated during his six-year tenure -- the last three as Chairman -- at the Commission. His legacy is sure to include his leading role in the development and passage of what has been called the most important civil rights legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. It was during his chairmanship that EEOC began enforcement of Title I of the Act, which prohibits discrimination in employment against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments. It is a credit to him and all Americans that, as a person with a disability himself, he not only supported the rights of individuals in that community, but the rights of all people to share an equal opportunity in all aspects of employment.