Monday morning musings for workplace watchers
How EEOC’s Chair Uses Her Charges | DOL’s Enforcement Arms Back Online
Rebecca Klar: Recent court filings and settlements are offering an unusual glimpse into the EEOC’s confidential commissioner charge process, a once-rarely used tool that the agency’s chair has wielded far more often than her colleagues.
A subpoena enforcement action filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requested information from the University of Pennsylvania as part of an antisemitism probe launched by current Chair Andrea Lucas’s commissioner charge. It’s one of at least three similar probes originating with Lucas aimed at US colleges.
A series of commissioner charges filed by Lucas revealed through reports or court actions showcase how she uses the tool to advance her agenda of increasing focus on religious discrimination or other priorities for the Republican-controlled commission.
Lucas filed the most commissioner charges of anyone on the EEOC between fiscal years 2020 and 2024, according to EEOC data. The agency has yet to release information about 2025.
Most of the agency’s caseload is derived from charges filed by workers, but individual commissioners are allowed to quietly file such charges to initiate investigations.
The confidential process is only revealed through court action, such as the recent subpoenas, or when the employer being investigated makes it public.
The EEOC does release figures on how often individual commissioners file commissioner charges. In the five years before Lucas joined the EEOC, from 2015 to 2020, the agency averaged about 13 such charges each year. From 2020 to 2024 that average increased to nearly 21 per year.
From fiscal year 2015 to the end of fiscal year 2024, the EEOC filed a mere eight total lawsuits based on commissioner charges, according to the EEOC.
The subpoena in the UPenn case seeks information and contact information for members of organizations at the school related to the Jewish faith and for employees in the Jewish Studies program. A university spokesperson said UPenn cooperated with the EEOC but objected to providing personal and confidential information of Jewish employees without their consent.
In another antisemitism probe launched by a charge Lucas filed, the EEOC sent members of Barnard College and Columbia University faculty and staff surveys asking if they are Jewish or Israeli.
Lucas’s charge at Columbia University led to a $21 million deal to resolve the allegations, part of a larger $221 million agreement struck between the school and the Trump administration.
The charges filed by Lucas aren’t squarely focused on universities and antisemitism. A separate charge filed by the chair probed a New Mexico school district over discrimination against Native Americans.
Commissioner charges can be helpful, especially for minority party EEOC members, a position Lucas was in during the Biden administration when she originally filed the recently revealed charges.
However, with a return to a Republican majority and voting quorum, Lucas may now rely less on such tools.
Parker Purifoy: The Department of Labor enforcement branches are officially up and running after the historically-long government shutdown.
The DOL announced nearly $1.5 million in proposed or levied penalties and back wages for legal violations in November. The agency also finalized $22 million in grants.
Enforcement work largely came to a halt during the shutdown but the department did continue on with investigations related to child labor violations and workplace safety inspections that were categorized as emergencies.
Out of the penalties assessed, the largest one was proposed by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration against Taylor Farms New Jersey Inc. and its on-site temporary employment agency after a fatality at one of its processing plants.
OSHA inspectors recommended fines totaling $1.16 million for 16 different safety violations and lack of training.
The Wage and Hour Division recovered over $218,000 in back wages from a California towing company, finding it illegally denied overtime pay to 32 workers. Investigators also levied over $11,000 against the employer in civil fines.
Over $80,000 in backpay was awarded to 12 workers at a Chopstix Buffet in New Orleans, La. after the WHD determined the company illegally took tips from the employees. This came along with $1,435 backpay to a worker who was denied minimum wage and over $1,000 in penalties.
The largest grant announced after the shutdown was $10.5 million divided up among state colleges and municipal governments for mining safety training and programs.
“We are committed to working collaboratively with both mine operators and miners to provide secure working environments,” Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said in a statement. “By investing more than $10 million to promote safety, we will ensure every miner returns home to their families after their shifts.”
Another $12 million from the Employment and Training Administration went to temporary jobs programs in Georgia, Alaska, North Carolina, Missouri, and West Virginia to help cleanup and recovery efforts following natural disasters.
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