[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2693 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2693

  To ensure the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allocates its 
 resources appropriately by prioritizing complaints of discrimination 
 before implementing the proposed revision of the employer information 
                 report EEO-1, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 16, 2016

 Mr. Alexander introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To ensure the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allocates its 
 resources appropriately by prioritizing complaints of discrimination 
 before implementing the proposed revision of the employer information 
                 report EEO-1, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``EEOC Reform Act''.

SEC. 2. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSED REVISION OF 
              EMPLOYER INFORMATION REPORT.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The current employer information report EEO-1 requires 
        most employers with 100 or more employees to annually submit 
        employment data for its workforce, categorized by race/
        ethnicity, gender, and job category, for a total of 180 
        combinations of data collected. The proposed EEO-1 report 
        expands the data collection to include employee income and 
        hours worked, for a total of 3,660 combinations of data 
        collected. This is an increase in data collection of 1,933 
        percent.
            (2) The primary purpose of chapter 35 of title 44, United 
        States Code (commonly known as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act'') 
        is to ``minimize the paperwork burden . . . for persons 
        resulting from the collecting of information by or for the 
        Federal Government''. The staggering increase of data proposed 
        to be collected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 
        through the proposed revision of the EEO-1 report does not 
        comport with that stated purpose of the Paperwork Reduction 
        Act.
            (3) The Commission failed to provide a detailed explanation 
        of how the Commission will track, verify, compile, ensure 
        confidentiality of, and protect the new information, and how 
        the Commission will use that information in enforcement 
        efforts.
            (4) At the end of fiscal year 2015, the Commission had a 
        pending inventory of 76,408 charges of discrimination. During 
        fiscal years 2014 and 2015, the Commission resolved the fewest 
        number of charges since 2010, even though the charge receipts 
        remained stable or declined during that time period.
            (5) The Commission reported that in 2015, ``37.6 percent of 
        EEOC staff expressed concern that their workload is not 
        reasonable, substantially higher than the government-wide 
        average of 26.5 percent''. If the Commission implements the 
        proposed revision of the EEO-1 report, resources and staff that 
        should be dedicated to reducing the pending inventory of 
        charges of discrimination may be used for reviewing the 
        increased data collected through the proposed EEO-1 report, 
        instead of working to resolve such charges and reduce the 
        backlog of such charges.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Equal 
        Employment Opportunity Commission.
            (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' has the meaning 
        given the term ``Executive department'' in section 101 of title 
        5, United States Code.
            (3) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' means an 
        independent establishment described in section 104(1) of title 
        5, United States Code.
            (4) Proposed report revision.--The term ``proposed report 
        revision'' means the proposed revision of the employer 
        information report EEO-1 set forth in the notice entitled 
        ``Agency Information Collection Activities: Revision of the 
        Employer Information Report (EEO-1) and Comment Request'' (81 
        Fed. Reg. 5113 (February 1, 2016)).
            (5) Revised employer information report.--The term 
        ``revised employer information report'' means the employer 
        information report EEO-1, after the proposed report revision.
    (c) Data Collection and Report.--
            (1) Limitation on implementation.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission may not implement 
                the proposed report revision until the date on which 
                the Commission obtains approval of the related 
                collection of information, at the end of the process 
                described in paragraph (5), and meets the requirements 
                of subsection (d)(2).
                    (B) Prior implementation.--If the Commission 
                implements the proposed report revision before the date 
                of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall cease 
                that implementation on that date and may not resume 
                that implementation or use the data collected from the 
                revised employer information report in its enforcement 
                efforts until the date described in subparagraph (A).
            (2) Data collection.--The Commission shall--
                    (A) on an annual basis--
                            (i) collect information from each head of a 
                        Department or Federal agency (referred to in 
                        this paragraph as the ``Federal employee 
                        information'') that is the same type of 
                        employment data information as a private sector 
                        employer with 100 or more employees would be 
                        required to collect under the revised employer 
                        information report;
                            (ii) verify, compile, ensure the 
                        confidentiality of, and protect the collected 
                        Federal employee information; and
                            (iii) publish, and make publicly available, 
                        the compiled Federal employee information in 
                        the aggregate, and analyzed by each Department 
                        or Federal agency;
                    (B) on an annual basis--
                            (i) collect and compile information 
                        (referred to in this paragraph as the 
                        ``Commission information'') on the number of 
                        employees and employee hours required to carry 
                        out subparagraph (A), the number of employees 
                        and employee hours that were transferred from 
                        reducing the number of pending charges of 
                        discrimination before the Commission to carry 
                        out subparagraph (A), and the cost of carrying 
                        out subparagraph (A); and
                            (ii) publish, and make publicly available, 
                        the compiled Commission information; and
                    (C) on an annual basis--
                            (i) using the information obtained under 
                        subparagraph (B), calculate the number of 
                        Commission employees and employee hours that 
                        will be required for, and the cost of, 
                        tracking, verifying, compiling, ensuring 
                        confidentiality of, and protecting the 
                        information concerning the revised employer 
                        information report for private sector 
                        employers, and enforcing the requirements 
                        related to the report;
                            (ii) using the information obtained under 
                        subparagraph (B), calculate the number of 
                        employees and employee hours that will be 
                        transferred from reducing the number of pending 
                        charges before the Commission, to carry out 
                        such tracking, verification, compiling, 
                        ensuring confidentiality, protection, and 
                        enforcement; and
                            (iii) publish, and make publicly available, 
                        information specifying the results of the 
                        calculations described in clauses (i) and (ii).
            (3) Report.--The Commission shall submit to Congress, on an 
        annual basis, a report containing the information published 
        under subparagraphs (A)(iii), (B)(ii), and (C)(iii) of 
        paragraph (2).
            (4) Comprehensive plan.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission shall develop 
                software for archiving, safely storing, maintaining, 
                retrieving, and processing the information collected 
                for the revised employer information report.
                    (B) Comprehensive plan.--
                            (i) Creation.--Once the software is fully 
                        developed and operable, the Commission shall 
                        create a comprehensive plan for the use of the 
                        information collected for the revised employer 
                        information report, including a detailed, 
                        comprehensive policy with specific examples 
                        regarding how the Commission will--
                                    (I) track, verify, and compile the 
                                information;
                                    (II) use the information in its 
                                enforcement efforts;
                                    (III) ensure confidentiality of the 
                                information; and
                                    (IV) store the information so as to 
                                ensure protection from theft or other 
                                public dissemination, including how the 
                                Commission will enter into data sharing 
                                agreements with Departments and Federal 
                                agencies.
                            (ii) Publication.--The Commission shall 
                        publish, and make publicly available, the 
                        comprehensive plan created under clause (i).
            (5) Submission to the office of information and regulatory 
        affairs.--
                    (A) In general.--On completion of the first report 
                under paragraph (3), and comprehensive plan under 
                paragraph (4)(B), the Commission shall comply with the 
                requirements of section 3507 of title 44, United States 
                Code, with respect to the collection of information 
                related to the proposed report provision.
                    (B) Information.--In complying with that section, 
                the Commission shall submit to the Director of the 
                Office of Management and Budget, as part of the 
                materials described in subsection (a)(1)(C) of that 
                section, and shall include in the notice described in 
                subsection (a)(1)(D) of such section--
                            (i) the information published under 
                        subparagraphs (A)(iii), (B)(ii), and (C)(iii) 
                        of paragraph (2); and
                            (ii) the comprehensive plan published under 
                        paragraph (4)(B).
                    (C) Commission exception inapplicable.--Subsection 
                (f) of that section 3507 shall not apply to the 
                collection of information described in subparagraph 
                (A).
    (d) Reduction of Inventory of Pending Charges.--
            (1) Purpose.--The purposes of this subsection are--
                    (A) to ensure the Commission allocates its 
                resources appropriately by prioritizing complaints of 
                discrimination before implementing the proposed report 
                revision; and
                    (B) therefore, to prohibit the Commission from 
                implementing the proposed report revision until the 
                number of pending charges of discrimination before the 
                Commission is not more than 3,660, the number of data 
                points an employer would be required to provide to the 
                Commission under the proposed report revision.
            (2) Limitation on implementation.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission may not implement 
                the proposed report revision until the Commission 
                reduces its inventory of pending charges to not more 
                than 3,660.
                    (B) Prior implementation.--If the Commission 
                implements the proposed report revision before the date 
                of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall cease 
                that implementation on that date and may not resume 
                that implementation or use the data collected from the 
                revised employer information report in its enforcement 
                efforts until the Commission reduces its inventory as 
                described in subparagraph (A).

SEC. 3. EEOC APPROVAL FOR COMMENCEMENT OF OR INTERVENTION IN CERTAIN 
              LITIGATION.

    Section 705 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-4) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(l)(1) The Commission shall approve or disapprove by majority 
vote a decision on whether the Commission shall commence or intervene 
in litigation involving multiple plaintiffs, or an allegation of 
systemic discrimination or a pattern or practice of discrimination.
    ``(2) A member of the Commission shall have the power to require 
the Commission to approve or disapprove by majority vote a decision on 
whether the Commission shall commence or intervene in any litigation.
    ``(3) Neither the Commission nor a member of the Commission may 
delegate the authority provided under paragraph (1) or (2) to any other 
person.
    ``(4) Not later than 30 days after the Commission commences or 
intervenes in litigation pursuant to approval under this subsection, 
the Commission shall post and maintain the following information on its 
public website with respect to the litigation:
            ``(A) The court in which the case was brought.
            ``(B) The name and case number of the case.
            ``(C) The nature of the allegation.
            ``(D) The causes of action brought.
            ``(E) Each Commissioner's vote on a decision on commencing 
        or intervening in the litigation.
    ``(5) The Commission shall issue, in a manner consistent with 
section 713, procedural regulations to carry out this subsection.''.

SEC. 4. EEOC TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

    (a) Availability of Information About Cases on the EEOC Website.--
            (1) In general.--Beginning not later than 30 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Equal Employment Opportunity 
        Commission shall maintain up-to-date information on its public 
        website consisting of the following:
                    (A) A description of each case brought in court by 
                the Commission, not later than 30 days after a judgment 
                is made with respect to any cause of action in the 
                case, without regard to whether the judgment is final. 
                Such description shall identify--
                            (i) the court in which the case was 
                        brought;
                            (ii) the name and case number of the case, 
                        the nature of the allegation, the causes of 
                        action brought, and the outcome of each cause 
                        of action in the case;
                            (iii) each instance in which the Commission 
                        was ordered to pay fees or costs, including the 
                        amount of such fees or costs ordered to be paid 
                        and, when applicable, the amount of fees or 
                        costs actually paid by the Commission, and the 
                        reason for the fee or cost award;
                            (iv) whether the case was authorized by a 
                        majority vote of the Commission or was brought 
                        pursuant to the Commission's delegation of 
                        authority to the General Counsel of the 
                        Commission, and, in the case of such a 
                        delegation, the basis on which the General 
                        Counsel determined that submission to the 
                        Commission for authorization was not necessary 
                        and a justification of that decision;
                            (v) any case in which a sanction was 
                        imposed on the Commission, including the amount 
                        of such sanction and the reason for the 
                        sanction; and
                            (vi) any appeal and the outcome of the 
                        appeal.
                    (B) During a fiscal year, the total number of 
                charges of an alleged unlawful employment practice or 
                discrimination filed during the preceding fiscal year 
                by a member of the Commission, as authorized by the 
                Commissioner charge authority under section 706(b) of 
                the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(b)) and 
                section 107(a) of the Americans with Disabilities Act 
                of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)), and the total number of 
                resolutions of such charges, disaggregated by type of 
                resolution.
                    (C) The total number of charges of an alleged 
                unlawful practice or discrimination filed during the 
                preceding fiscal year as a result of the Commission's 
                use of its directed investigation authority under 
                section 7(a) of the Age Discrimination in Employment 
                Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 626(a)) and (for purposes of 
                charges of violations of section 6(d) of the Fair Labor 
                Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d))) under section 
                11(a) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 211(a)), and the total 
                number of resolutions of such charges disaggregated by 
                type of resolution.
                    (D) A description of each case of systemic 
                discrimination (including pattern or practice 
                discrimination) brought in court by the Commission 
                under section 706 or 707 of the Civil Rights Act of 
                1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-5, 2000e-6) within the preceding 
                30 days, the court in which the case was brought, the 
                name and case number of the case, the industry 
                involved, the employment practice or practices at 
                issue, the nature of the alleged discrimination, and 
                the circumstances of the systemic discrimination 
                alleged in the case.
            (2) Disaggregation.--
                    (A) In general.--With respect to the total number 
                of charges of alleged unlawful employment practices, 
                unlawful practices, and discrimination provided under 
                subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1), the 
                Commission shall, on its public website, disaggregate 
                each such total number by the number of such charges 
                filed in each Commission District, and within each 
                Commission District, by the number of such charges 
                alleging discrimination on the basis of, or filed 
                under, each of the following categories:
                            (i) Race.
                            (ii) Sex (except as provided in clause 
                        (ix)).
                            (iii) National origin.
                            (iv) Religion.
                            (v) Color.
                            (vi) Retaliation.
                            (vii) Age.
                            (viii) Disability.
                            (ix) Section 6(d) of the Fair Labor 
                        Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)).
                    (B) Notation.--In preparing disaggregated data 
                under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall note in 
                the data which charges fall in 2 or more of the 
                categories described in subparagraph (A).
            (3) Annual performance report.--Beginning in fiscal year 
        2017, the Commission shall include in its annual performance 
        report under section 1116 of title 31, United States Code, the 
        information described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 
        paragraph (1) for the preceding fiscal year, except that such 
        information shall not be disaggregated in accordance with 
        paragraph (2).
    (b) Good Faith Conference, Conciliation, and Persuasion.--Section 
706(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(b)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``(b)'' and inserting ``(b)(1)'';
            (2) in the sixth sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``shall endeavor'' and inserting 
                ``shall use good faith efforts to endeavor''; and
                    (B) by striking ``informal methods of conference, 
                conciliation, and persuasion'' and inserting ``bona 
                fide, informal, good faith methods of conference, 
                conciliation, and persuasion (referred to in this 
                subsection as `bona fide informal good faith 
                endeavors')'';
            (3) in the seventh sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``informal endeavors'' and 
                inserting ``bona fide informal good faith endeavors''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``persons concerned'' and inserting 
                ``respondent involved, except for the sole purpose of 
                allowing a party to any pending litigation to present 
                to the reviewing court evidence to ensure the 
                Commission's compliance with its obligations under this 
                section prior to filing suit''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) No action or suit may be brought by the Commission under this 
title unless the Commission has in good faith exhausted its obligations 
to use bona fide informal good faith endeavors as set forth in this 
subsection. No action or suit shall be so brought by the Commission 
unless it has certified that bona fide informal good faith endeavors 
are at an impasse. The determination as to whether the Commission 
engaged in bona fide informal good faith endeavors shall be subject to 
judicial review. The Commission's good faith obligation to engage in 
bona fide informal good faith endeavors shall include providing the 
respondent believed to have engaged in an unlawful employment practice 
with all information regarding the legal and factual bases for the 
Commission's determination that reasonable cause exists that a charge 
is true as well as all information that supports the Commission's 
requested monetary and other relief (including a detailed description 
of the specific individuals or employees comprising the class of 
persons for whom the Commission is seeking relief and any additional 
information requested that is reasonably related to the underlying 
cause determination or necessary to use bona fide informal good faith 
endeavors).''.
    (c) Reporting to Congress Regarding Cases in Which the EEOC Is 
Ordered To Pay Fees, Costs, or Sanctions.--
            (1) Investigation and report of inspector general.--For any 
        case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 
        which a court orders the Commission to pay fees or costs or 
        imposes a sanction on the Commission, the Inspector General of 
        the Commission shall--
                    (A) notify the Committee on Health, Education, 
                Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on 
                Education and the Workforce of the House of 
                Representatives of the order or sanction within 14 days 
                after the court's decision, and includes in the 
                notification the name of the case, the nature of the 
                court's determination, and the amount of fees or costs 
                ordered or the amount of the sanction imposed by the 
                court; and
                    (B) conduct an investigation to determine why an 
                order for a sanction, fees, or costs was imposed by the 
                court, and, not later than 90 days after the court's 
                decision, submit a related report to the Committee on 
                Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 
                and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 
                House of Representatives that includes--
                            (i) information obtained from interviews 
                        and affidavits of each member and staff person 
                        of the Commission involved in the case;
                            (ii) the amount of resources allocated to 
                        the case, including in terms of full-time 
                        equivalents;
                            (iii) a comparison of the case to other 
                        cases in which a court ordered fees or costs or 
                        imposed sanctions against the Commission;
                            (iv) if the determination to bring the case 
                        was not by a vote of the full Commission, the 
                        reasons such a vote was not held; and
                            (v) any other relevant information.
            (2) Report of the commission.--For any case described in 
        paragraph (1), the Commission, in consultation with the General 
        Counsel of the Commission, shall--
                    (A) not later than 60 days after the court's 
                decision, submit a report to the Committee on Health, 
                Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House 
                of Representatives detailing the steps the Commission 
                is taking to reduce instances in which a court orders 
                the Commission to pay fees or costs or imposes a 
                sanction on the Commission; and
                    (B) not later than 30 days after the day on which 
                the report is submitted to the Committee on Health, 
                Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate and the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House 
                of Representatives under subparagraph (A), post such 
                report on its public website.
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