New Priorities At EEOC

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s budget has been increased, its leadership has changed and its enforcement priorities will change as well. A Draft Strategic Enforcement Plan released earlier this year aims to expand the category of vulnerable workers, whose protection is already prioritized, to include “additional categories of workers who may be unaware of their rights under equal employment opportunity laws, may be reluctant or unable to exercise their legally protected rights, or have historically been underserved by federal employment discrimination protections.” Hall Benefits Law advises that the EEOC has AI in its sights and employers should make sure they understand the screening processes of any tech they use in hiring or performance reviews. They also predict a shift to focusing on discrimination arising from the pandemic and other threats to public health, violations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, employment discrimination related to technology, and a focus on overly broad nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements.