[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 8, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Janet Dhillon

  Mr. President, I rise to express my disappointment about the 
confirmation earlier today of Janet Dhillon to the position of Chair of 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC.
  In December, I joined Senator Murray on the floor to express my 
concern about the fact that Republicans were blocking a well-qualified 
nominee, Chai Feldblum, to the EEOC.
  The EEOC is a vital and bipartisan agency that enforces workers' 
civil rights and helps protect them from harassment and discrimination 
while they are on the job. The EEOC has long operated with bipartisan 
support and requires a quorum of its five members to decide the cases 
before the agency, cases which include racial discrimination, gender 
discrimination, age discrimination, and the discrimination against 
people who experience disabilities.
  The partisan obstruction of the Feldblum nomination marked a 
significant break in precedent for how we nominate members to this 
Board, and the administration still has not nominated a replacement for 
Ms. Feldblum. The Senate should not have moved forward until that 
happened.
  It is also clear that Ms. Dhillon would not fulfill the duties that 
the EEOC is entrusted with, particularly with protecting workers and 
ensuring that members of the LGBTQ community are not discriminated 
against. Ms. Dhillon has served as a leader of the Retail Litigation 
Center, which has long opposed pro-consumer and pro-employee policies.
  Additionally, during her nomination hearing before the HELP 
Committee, Ms. Dhillon would not commit to maintaining the current EEOC 
position that the Civil Rights Act forbids employment discrimination 
based on gender identity or sexual orientation, saying ``that current 
law is in flux.''
  For a Commission that is tasked with enhancing workers' rights and 
protections, we cannot have a nominee with a record of putting 
corporations first and who is unwilling to ensure that LGBTQ people are 
not discriminated against in the workplace.
  I oppose this nomination, and I am disappointed that more of my 
colleagues did not do the same.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.