The EEOC was established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and began operating on July 2, 1965. At that time, the agency's primary responsibility was to receive and investigate charges of unlawful employment practices and, for those charges found to be of "reasonable cause," to try to conciliate the disputes. In 1972, the Commission was granted enforcement power. The agency's roles and responsibilities have grown over the years with the enactment of new or amended legislation. Currently, the EEOC enforces the following federal statutes:

· Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
· The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967, as amended, prohibiting employment discrimination against individuals 40 years of age and older
· The Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender in compensation for substantially similar work under similar conditions
· Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of disability in the private sector and in state and local governments
· Section 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, prohibiting employment discrimination against federal employees with disabilities
· The Civil Rights Act of 1991, providing monetary damages in case of intentional discrimination and clarifying provisions regarding disparate impact actions

In carrying out its mission, the EEOC interprets employment discrimination laws, monitors the federal sector discrimination program, provides funding and support to state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies, and sponsors outreach and technical assistance programs. The agency plays an important role in shaping and influencing decisional case law through its litigation and filing of amicus curiae (friend of the courts) briefs.

EEOC's goals as set forth in its strategic plan are to strive to deliver fair, effective, and efficient service to the public by:

· Reducing the private sector charge inventory and average charge processing time by strategically managing the existing workload and by emphasizing the early use of voluntary mediation

· Strengthening collaboration between enforcement and legal staff to focus resources on the most significant issues, as identified in the National Enforcement Plan (NEP), for administrative resolution and, where necessary, for litigation

· Streamlining the federal sector complaint process through implementation of regulations revised in November 1999, by strategically managing the hearings and appeals workload and strengthening oversight of federal agency EEO practices, through improved data collection and analysis and focused attention on the most serious issues

· Partnering with state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) and Tribal Employment Rights Organizations (TEROs) to: increase the nation's capacity for addressing employment discrimination; conduct joint enforcement activities that address significant issues; and expand outreach, education and technical assistance, particularly to underserved populations, such as individuals with limited English-speaking ability

· Encouraging and facilitating voluntary compliance through tailored programs to meet the needs of employers, including small business and federal sector employers; and through programs to educate the public on EEO laws, including translation of informational materials into languages and formats accessible to underserved populations, such as sight or hearing-impaired individuals

· Providing executive direction and support that will result in policies that are readily understood by the public; results-based management of EEOC's human and other resources; a well-trained and motivated workforce; and technological, data collection, and analysis capacity that supports effective and efficient agency operations.

Information on measures associated with the goals expressed in the Strategic Plan is found in Chapter Six.

ORGANIZATION OF THE EEOC

The EEOC has five Commissioners and a General Counsel appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Commissioners are appointed for five-year staggered terms. The term of the General Counsel is four years. The President designates a Chair and a Vice-Chair when making Commissioner appointments.

The EEOC Organization Chart is shown at Figure 1-1.

The agency has a headquarters and a nationwide field structure. The field structure is currently comprised of 24 District Offices, the Washington Field Office, 18 Area Offices and 8 Local Offices. A district director manages each district office, with the assistance of a deputy director. Each district office also houses a regional attorney and provides the full range of EEOC services to the citizens in the geographic area including private sector intake, charge processing, mediation, enforcement, litigation, outreach, and the federal hearings. The regional attorney, who reports to the General Counsel, is responsible for overseeing the litigation staff (trial attorneys, paralegals, legal technicians and/or support) and recommending cases for Commission litigation. The district directors supervise the administrative judges (AJs), who conduct federal sector hearings in the field.

EEOC's field locations are the front lines for agency service delivery and perform the core mission functions for the agency. The local and area offices report to the district offices and provide primarily intake, charge processing and enforcement services with some having staff who perform mediation, outreach, federal hearings and litigation. All field offices share some role in enforcement and litigation. Because field locations are the point of contact for discrimination complaints, nearly all individuals alleging acts of discrimination by their employers contact, visit, call, or write to these field locations to determine their rights, obtain information, initiate a charge, or follow up on a pending action.

EEOC has offices in 32 states. Ten states have multiple offices, a mix of district, local, and area offices: California (6), Texas (4), North Carolina (3), Florida (2), Georgia (2), New York (2), Ohio (2), Pennsylvania (2), Tennessee (2), and Virginia (2). States with no offices include all of the Upper Plains states (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska), most New England states (Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Maine), three in the west (Nevada, Utah, Oregon), as well as Delaware, West Virginia and Alaska. Figure 1-2 shows a map of the United States that depicts the district office jurisdictions.

Figure 1.1: EEOC Organizational Chart, 2002

For a text description of Figure 1.1, please click here

Figure 1-2: EEOC District Offices Jurisdiction Map

For a text description of Figure 1-2, please click here

Following are brief descriptions of the headquarters' offices.

· Chair, on behalf of the Commission, implements Commission policy and administers the Commission, including appointing staff. The Chair recommends policies, procedures, and programs to the Commission.

· Vice Chair has the same functions as the commissioners, and serves as Acting Chair in the absence of the Chair.

· Commissioners develop and approve Commission policies, participate in all matters that come before the Commission, decide questions by majority vote, and authorize and approve filing suits.

· Executive Secretariat serves as the focal point for receipt, documentation, review, coordination and monitoring of all policy development and related activities and decision documents that flow to and from the Chair, Commissioners, and program offices. It coordinates and provides logistics of Commission meetings.

· Office of the General Counsel conducts litigation on behalf of the Commission, gives guidance to regional attorneys, and provides expert analysis for investigations and during litigation development.

· Office of Inspector General, an independent unit, conducts and supervises audits, investigations, inspections, and related projects. Results are reported to the Chair and Congress.

· Office of Equal Employment Opportunity develops, implements, and evaluates EEOC's internal equal opportunity programs and compliance operations.

· Office of Legal Counsel provides legal advice to the Chair, Commissioners and Commission staffs; develops Commission decisions, regulations and other statements of legal policy; represents the agency in legal matters; and reviews Commission litigation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

· Office of Federal Operations provides guidance to federal agencies on the federal government's equal employment opportunity program. Develops and implements Commission-approved affirmative employment policies, ensures federal agency and department compliance with Commission regulations and provides technical assistance to them, administers the review and appeals process for the federal sector, and provides program guidance to administrative judges who conduct hearings in the EEOC field offices.

· Office of Field Programs is the principal advisor to the Chair, Commission and FEPAs in administrative enforcement of the statutes EEOC enforces. OFP also: ensures management and implementation of the administrative enforcement program; manages the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) program; manages the Revolving Fund and develops and oversees related training programs; develops and oversees Commission outreach programs; develops policies for FEPAs and TEROs, conducts special reviews of FEPA charge resolutions, and maintains partnerships with the organizations; and directly supervises all aspects of field office operations.

· Office of Research, Information and Planning coordinates preparation of the agency's strategic plan and annual performance report, and provides guidance and coordination for developing performance measures and indicators. Develops policies to ensure organizational compliance with external requirements (such as the CFO Act, GPRA, presidential executive orders, GAO standards). Conducts research, reviews and analyzes organization activities, recommends ways to improve operations, and provides library and information research services to the Commission and the public. Manages the Commission's Internet web page.

· Office of Information Technology plans, develops, and implements the Commission's information technology program, policies and procedures. Oversees the Charge Data System, provides hardware and software to all EEOC systems and databases, develops and maintains the LAN/WAN and financial and telecommunications systems. Provides help-desk assistance to field persons assigned IT duties in the field, and manages the Commission's Intranet (In-Site).

· Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs represents the Commission to the public, news media, and Congress. Serves as the primary link to these organizations and the wide range of EEOC stakeholders, and conducts internal communication between the Commission and field and headquarters staffs.

· Office of Human Resources plans, administers, and provides advisory services on classification, position management, recruiting, staffing and employee benefits programs. Serves as a partner with managers to formulate and execute mission strategies and goals. Analyzes restructuring proposals and advises managers on efficient organizational and position structures and the impact of organizational changes on employees.

· Office of the Chief Financial Officer and Administrative Services establishes, monitors, and maintains control over federal funds and accounting systems for them. It does this through divisions that handle budget, financial management, procurement management, and resource management.

EEOC'S BUDGET

EEOC's FY 2001 obligations were $303 million, and its FY 2002 obligations were $310 million. While this appears to be an increase, in FY 2002 the Commission experienced unexpected compensation costs, and lower than historical attrition. The FY 2002 budget is divided into the major categories shown in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1
FY 2002 EEOC Budget Categories

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Included in these categories is $12 million for information technology, $3 million for litigation, $1.8 for ADR and $400,000 for outreach. The $310 million does not include the operation of the Education, Technical Assistance, and Training Revolving Fund. In FY 2001, the fund received $4.0 million in collections from which it reimbursed the agency $1.8 million.

THE PRESIDENT'S MANAGEMENT AGENDA

The Commission has been working on a number of separate initiatives to enhance its organizational effectiveness and is focusing on the President's Management Agenda (PMA), which was announced in the summer of 2001. The PMA is an aggressive strategy to improve the management of the federal government, and is based on having a government that meets three key principles--citizen-centered, results-oriented and performance-based. The PMA focuses on five areas of management across the government:

· Strategic management of human capital
· Competitive sourcing
· Improved financial performance
· Expanded electronic government
· Budget and performance integration

Office of Management and Budget Scorecard

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) developed a management scorecard, "Standards for Success Scorecard," which employs a grading system (green for success; yellow for mixed results; and, red for unsatisfactory results) to evaluate the five PMA areas. OMB has established core criteria for scoring each of the areas. In the case of strategic management for human capital, the six core criteria are:

· Agency human capital strategy is aligned with mission, goals, and organizational objectives. These include:

o integrated into budget and strategic plans
o consistent with OPM's human capital scorecard
o complies with standards for internal accountability systems to ensure effective merit-based human resources management

· The agency has a citizen-centered organizational structure that is delayered and oriented toward performing the mission assigned to it.

· The agency: sustains a high-performing workforce that is continually improving in productivity; strategically uses existing personnel flexibilities, tools, and technology; and, implements effective succession plans.

· No skill gaps/deficiencies exist in mission critical occupations.

· Agency differentiates between high and low performers through appropriate incentives and awards.

· Changes in agency workforce skill mix and organizational structure reflect increased emphasis on e-government and competitive sourcing.

Office of Personnel Management Scorecard

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which is the agency responsible for ensuring that executive branch agencies properly implement the Strategic Human Capital component of the PMA, has produced its version of a human capital scorecard to be used in combination with the OMB Scorecard. The purpose of the OPM scorecard is to target those areas that are necessary to achieve green status on OMB's Scorecard. The OPM scorecard was developed in conjunction with the federal government's Human Resources Management Council and draws on private sector practices that have been highlighted in the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative.(1)

OPM identified five dimensions of human capital:

· Strategic alignment
· Strategic competencies
· Leadership
· Performance culture
· Learning

STUDY METHODOLOGY

The EEOC asked the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to assist in it in preparing its restructuring plan required by the President's Management Agenda (PMA), with emphasis on developing the strategic human capital management plan. EEOC also asked the Academy to help identify communication and implementation strategies in support of its restructuring and the strategic human capital plan.

Upon receipt of the contract from EEOC, the Academy assigned a staff to develop the study methodology, interact with EEOC leadership and staff, develop the required information, and prepare a report. The Academy also appointed a project Panel, composed of five Fellows, to oversee this study. Brief biographical sketches of the Panel members and staff appear in Appendix A. The Panel discussed and analyzed information developed by the project staff; adopted findings and recommendations emerging from the work; and reviewed this final report.

To conduct the study, the staff:

· Participated in the three-day EEOC Leadership/Management Conference in June 2002.

· Conducted structured interviews with 60 individuals or groups of individuals in headquarters and field offices and reviewed 86 responses that EEOC employees submitted as a result of EEOC making the structured interview guide available to all employees via its web site. The total number of individuals involved in the 60 in-person structured interviews was more than 100. The results of the structured interviews (sometimes referred to as surveys in this report) are in Appendix B.

· Conducted a number of other information interviews within EEOC and with OMB staff responsible for EEOC's budget.

· Visited five district, two area, and two local offices: Baltimore District; Charlotte District and its Raleigh Area and Greensboro Local Offices; Houston District; Indianapolis District and its Louisville Area Office; San Francisco District and its Oakland Local Office.

· Interviewed representatives of a number of stakeholder organizations, and met with community and stakeholder representatives during visits to two EEOC offices.

· Reviewed more than 50 reports, plans and other documents, some prepared by EEOC and some by other individuals or organizations. Appendix C lists the full bibliography of documents reviewed.

· Reviewed EEOC's work processes and associated workload volumes, staff distribution, and current workload-to-staff ratios.

· Researched innovative business practices for operations similar to EEOC's processing needs and presented appropriate benchmarks.

ROAD MAP TO THIS REPORT

Chapter Two provides an overview of EEOC's work, workforce, and how it is organized. It also discusses the major types of work the agency does and describes efforts to improve operations.

Chapter Three addresses ways to better align EEOC's mission and functions to better serve customers through a mix of place-based, mobile, and remote services. It examines the need for a National Call Center, alternatives to better align office locations with service needs, ways to put similar work in the same organizations, issues regarding federal sector work, and options for consolidating administrative support functions.

Chapter Four examines the need for enhanced analytical and information technology systems. It also examines actions EEOC can take to develop a more mobile workforce of teleworkers and to conduct more on-site work for mediation and investigation. It also discusses managing technology for operational needs.

Chapter Five discusses EEOC's workforce and the level of effort needed to plan for the future. This includes building a leadership model, creating a workforce planning process that assesses needed competencies and helps EEOC prepare for changes to the mix of skills its staff will need. The chapter also examines the need for succession planning and continuous learning opportunities, and discusses the staff rewards and performance management systems. As EEOC realigns work, it will need to retrain and realign staff. These issues are discussed with an example of how other agencies have worked with their unions to do this effectively.

Chapter Six examines performance-based management as the key to fully implementing EEOC's mission to eliminate employment-based discrimination. It looks at using the budget to enhance accountability, providing clearer accountability for key functions, achieving balance in case management, creating a more strategic focus between enforcement and litigation, and developing the capacities to apply best practices and to link performance to outcomes.

Chapter Seven discusses how EEOC can implement its restructuring and human capital plans, and stresses the need for broad employee and external stakeholder involvement, as well as the critical importance of continual communication on progress as a key to successful implementation.

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1. The Balanced Scorecard Collaborative (BSC) is a group of academicians, private sector companies, government agencies and other organizations dedicated to the worldwide awareness, use, enhancement, and integrity of the Balanced Scorecard as a value-added management process. Keying off the premise "measurement motivates," the Balanced Scorecard is intended to help organizations implement strategy rapidly and effectively by integrating the measurement system with the management system. BSC is headed by Drs. Robert Kaplan and David Norton.(return to text)

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