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WASHINGTON – Reed L. Russell has been sworn in as Legal Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), overseeing internal and external policy guidance for the nation's premier civil rights agency.  Russell, most recently counsel with the Washington office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, was appointed last month by President Bush.

"We are delighted to welcome Reed Russell as EEOC's Legal Counsel," Chair Naomi C. Earp said.  "Reed's professional background, which

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hold its next open meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 12, at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), at agency headquarters, 1801 L Street, N.W.  In accordance with the Sunshine Act, the meeting is open for public observation of the Commission’s deliberations.  During the meeting, the following matters are scheduled for consideration:

• Announcement of Notation Votes.
• Non-competitive modification extending the contract for temporary hosting services

EEOC Consent Decree Against Retail Giant Ends Suit for Hiring Bias Against Blacks

MILWAUKEE – U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa today signed a  consent decree ending a lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity  Commission (EEOC) against Target Corporation for violating Title VII of the  Civil Rights Act of 1964 by not hiring African Americans in the retail giant’s  District 110 (Milwaukee and Madison, Wisc.) based on their race, and by

Agency Highlights 'Best Practices' for Employers to Prevent Job Discrimination

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today issued an extensive fact sheet on the application of federal anti-discrimination laws to employer tests and other selection procedures to screen applicants for hire and employees for promotion.  The new technical assistance document is available on the agency's web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/factemployment_procedures.html

The fact sheet describes common types of employer administered tests and selection procedures

EEOC Race Bias Suit On Behalf of African Americans Can Proceed Without Intimidation, Judge Rules

CHICAGO – U.S. Magistrate Judge P. Michael Mahoney of the Federal District Court in Rockford, Ill., issued an order this week largely denying an employer's motion to compel discovery regarding medical and psychological records, arrest records and litigation history of claimants in a discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency

Blackwood Becomes Second EEOC Attorney to Receive ABA Honor

WASHINGTON -- Vincent Blackwood, Assistant General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will receive the "Federal Labor and Employment Attorney of the Year" award from the American Bar Association (ABA).

Blackwood was selected for the award by the ABA's Labor and Employment Law Section.  This distinguished award recognizes a federal attorney whose professional achievements exemplify excellence of legal work in

Commission Vote Against Extending National Contact Center Likely to Disrupt Service

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) called on the public to be patient when contacting the federal agency during its continuing transition to an in-house customer response system staffed by federal workers, in the wake of today's 2-2 vote nixing a three-month extension of the National Contact Center (NCC) contract.

"Unfortunately, today's

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hold its next open meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time), at agency headquarters, 1801 L Street, N.W.  In accordance with the Sunshine Act, the meeting is open for public observation of the Commission's deliberations.  During the meeting, the following matters are scheduled for consideration:

• Announcement of Notation Votes.
• Obligation of funds for a three-month extension of the

SAN JUAN, PR – La Comisión de Igualdad de Oportunidades en el Empleo  de los Estados Unidos (EEOC), junto a la Unidad Anti-Discrimen del Departamento  del Trabajo del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, la Comisión de Derechos  Civiles de Puerto Rico, y el Concilio Puertorriqueño contra el Racismo,  convocará una discusión pública sobre el tema del Racismo y el discrimen por  color en el empleo existentes en Puerto Rico.

El

EEOC Says Helmerich & Payne Subjected Black Workers to Racist Behavior on Oil Rig

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.  -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the  settlement of a discrimination lawsuit for $290,000 and significant injunctive  relief against Helmerich  & Payne International Drilling Co. (H & P) on behalf of African American men who were  subjected to a racially hostile work environment on an oil rig. H & P is an energy oriented

EEOC Wins Jury Verdict for Two Fired Customer Service Technicians

JONESBORO, Ark.  – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a  favorable jury verdict of $756,000 in a religious discrimination lawsuit  brought against AT&T Inc. on behalf of two male customer service  technicians who were suspended and fired for attending a Jehovah’s Witnesses  Convention.

The jury of nine women and three  men awarded the two former employees, Jose Gonzalez and Glenn Owen 

Federal Agency Identifies Internet Fraud Being Perpetrated Against Employers

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) late today notified the business community and general public to a "phishing" e-mail circulating to companies that purports to be from the federal agency regarding a harassment complaint. The bogus e-mail contains a Trojan Horse Virus that is likely to harm a recipient's computer if the user clicks on the referenced web link and/or downloads the attached

Hispanic Employees Paid Less Than Non-Hispanics, Denied Promotion and Health Benefits, Federal Agency Says

NEW YORK – The U.S. Equal  Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed a complaint and entered  into a consent decree in federal district court with B & H Foto and  Electronics Corp., resolving a national origin discrimination case on behalf of  Hispanic workers at one of the largest retail sellers of photographic, computer  and electronic equipment in the metropolitan area.

WASHINGTON – Naomi C. Earp, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today announced the formation of an Asian American and Pacific Islander Work Group that will examine this community's concerns about federal sector employment, special emphasis programs and the complaints process.

"The work group will be tackling these urgent and vexing problems which the Commission plans to address at a meeting to be held in 2008," Chair Earp said. 

Law Firm Partners Brought Within Protection of Federal Law Against Employment Discrimination

CHICAGO – The international law firm of Sidley Austin LLP will pay $27.5 million to 32 former partners who the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged were forced out of the partnership because of their age, under a consent decree approved by a federal judge. (EEOC v. Sidley Austin LLP, N.D. Illinois No. 05 C 0208.)

The EEOC brought the suit in

EEOC Settles Suit Charging Male Former Regional Vice President With Victimizing Male Former Senior Accounts Executive

MIAMI  – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that United  HealthCare of Florida, Inc. will pay $1.8 million to settle a same-sex harassment  and retaliation lawsuit charging that the male former regional vice president  of key accounts subjected a male former top senior account executive to  repeated verbal sexual harassment in Sunrise, Fla.

EEOC Says Financial Services Giant Demoted Class of Pregnant Women, Reduced Their Pay

NEW YORK, N.Y.– Bloomberg L.P., the news and financial services company, violated federal law by discriminating against a class of female employees who became pregnant and took maternity leave, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges in a lawsuit filed today under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

In its suit, the EEOC

Five Employers Honored for Programs Promoting Access and Inclusion

WASHINGTON – Naomi C. Earp, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today presented the agency's third annual "Freedom to Compete Award" to five employers from the private and public sectors for best practices that promote access and inclusion.

The award recipients include a leading internationally recognized hospital center, a non-profit health care provider, a major bureau of a Cabinet-level agency, a

WASHINGTON – Naomi C. Earp, Chair of the  U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will present the third  annual “Freedom to Compete Award” recognizing employers and organizations for  initiatives that promote fair and open competition in the workplace. Five awards will be presented during a ceremony  on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 10:30 a.m.,  EEOC Headquarters, 1801 L Street,    N.W.

The  awards presentation is part of the EEOC’s Freedom to Compete Initiative