US-Antidiskriminierungsvorschriften und deren Durchsetzung durch US-Behörden

Die Beachtung der entsprechenden US-Vorschriften wird von den US-Behörden kontrolliert , bei Verstößen drohen harte Sanktionen. Die Personalverantwortlichen der deutschen Tochtergesellschaften müssen sich über die Einhaltung der Vorschriften vergewissern. Der Artikel behandelt die koordinierte und zunehmende Zusammenarbeit der verschiedenen Behörden.

This week, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) hosted a webcast, which joined employees from the three agencies to discuss their mutual commitment to collaborate in the enforcement of federal employment discrimination laws.

Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris moderated a panel with Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez, EEOC Chairwoman Jacqueline A. Berrien, and OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu to discuss each agency’s work in enforcing civil rights laws and joint enforcement efforts planned for the three agencies. Melody Barnes, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, gave introductory remarks that discussed the importance of this collaboration.

This is the first time in history that the national and field employees of these three civil rights agencies have gathered to discuss each agency’s work and opportunities for collaboration moving forward.

During the presentation, each agency described the laws it enforces and spelled out its priorities for the coming years.

Assistant Attorney General Perez focused on the Civil Rights Division’s reinvigorated pattern or practice enforcement program, which promotes systemic change in state and local government workforces. He discussed, for example, the Division’s significant victory in U.S. v. City of New York, a case in which the Department has successfully challenged the City’s use of two written examinations for entry-level firefighter positions. The judge in the case granted summary judgment against the City, finding that its practices had unlawful disparate impact against African-American and Hispanic applicants and also constituted intentional discrimination against them.

EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien said that she is “very proud” of the accomplishments of the EEOC and its employees throughout its 45-year history, but is also keenly aware that the public’s demand for the EEOC’s services — as reflected in part by the historic number of discrimination charges filed in the past fiscal year — is more pressing than ever.

She said that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the Civil Rights Division at the Department are very important partners in the effort to end employment discrimination in the United States and, at a moment of unprecedented demands upon agency resources and a constrained fiscal environment, it is especially important for all three agen…