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EEOC to ERASE Discrimination

August 20th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

With a spate of recent cases of discrimination in the news, the EEOC is introducing a new approach to fighting racism in the 21^st century. The E-RACE initiative is designed to erase racism and colorism throughout the U.S.

The national incentive will bring a fresh approach to an old problem. Discrimination based on race remains the most frequent claim filed with the EEOC, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

E-RACE stands for Eradicating Racism and Colorism from Employment. EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp unveiled the new program at a public meeting at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The event included panels of experts and victims.

E-RACE is an outreach, education and enforcement campaign to promote equal opportunity for everyone under the law. Under the new program, the EEOC will identify specific issues, criteria and barriers that contribute to discrimination based on color and race. They will then explore strategies to improve administrative processing and litigation of race and color cases, and to increase public awareness of discrimination.

“By rolling out the E-RACE Initiative, the Commission is taking a new approach to eradicating racism and colorism in the workplace,” Chair Earp said. “New times demand new strategies to stay ahead of the curve. These old evils are still around in new forms and we intend to act vigorously to eradicate them.”

The EEOC also has plans to integrate E-RACE into existing activities, such as the Youth@ Work Initiative and the LEAD Initiative.

Racial discrimination remains the most frequent type of complaint filed with the EEOC, accounting for 36% of the Commission’s workload in 2006. Over the past 15 years, charges of discrimination based on color have increased more than 300% from 374 in 1992 to 1,241 in 2006.

Ever case of discrimination has a human face. Beejey Enriquez, was an award-winning employee until he found himself targeted due to his Filipino heritage. Suddenly, his company was trying to find reasons to fire him.

“Now I was just a checkbox to eliminate,” Enriquez said. “I was almost embarrassed to be who I was. I don’t want anyone else to be ashamed of who they are, or who their parents and grandparents are.”

According to EEOC Attorney William Tamayo of the San Francisco office, “The E-RACE Initiative urges us to understand and address the multifaceted and complex nature of racism in the 21st century so that discrimination doesn’t rob our nation of the contributions that a diverse population can make.”

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is illegal to deny any person employment due to race, color, sex, religion or national origin. That includes providing a work environment free from illegal harassment and different treatment based on race. In addition, Title VII recognizes that a company that creates an intolerable environment essentially forces the employee to resign. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against someone because he or she has made a complaint of illegal discrimination.

A number of large and small companies have settled discrimination claims with the EEOC under Title VII recently. Walgreen recently paid $20 million to more than 10,000 African American pharmacists and managers nationwide. Target recently settled a case of racial discrimination by the manager of its Springfield, Pennsylvania store. Nike recently settled a multi-million dollar claim that it discriminated against black employees in its Chicago landmark store on Michigan Avenue. The EEOC charged that Nike discriminated in hiring, pay, benefits, promotions, training and even in granting employee discounts for merchandise.

Smaller companies are not immune from discrimination, either. Companies in Illinois, Colorado, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas are among those who recently settled suits alleging discrimination against employees who were African American, Asian, Hispanic or female.

All of the companies mentioned in this article deny any wrongdoing.