EEOC Hears Views on Quality of Investigations

04.08.2013
HR & Safety

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently heard from its front-line field investigators and managers and from attorneys representing employers and plaintiffs as an agency work group met to begin drafting a Quality Control Plan (QCP). Development of the QCP was called for in the EEOC’s 2012-2016 Strategic Plan.

The QCP will revise the criteria used to measure the quality of agency charge investigations and conciliations throughout the nation. The work group is to review the current status of EEOC investigations and conciliations, look for areas where the agency is performing well in its administrative law enforcement program, and determine where the agency would benefit from improvements.

All meeting participants underscored the importance of meaningful measurements that gauge more than procedural quality, but also substantive and analytical quality that advances EEOC’s core mission. Participants also agreed that the QCP must take into account the agency’s limited budgetary and staffing resources. In addition, they noted the critical importance of quality intake: the initial interaction between the charging party and the EEOC and the first step in the investigative process.

Private practitioners further urged the Commission to ensure that investigative and conciliation procedures, including whether to make certain disclosures, be applied consistently throughout the agency in every district and field office. However, EEOC staff counseled that while consistency is important, it must be balanced against the need for flexibility in the field, taking into account office resources, investigator case-load, and the specific needs of each investigation.

The EEOC invites members of the public to submit written comments on any issues or matters discussed at the meeting. Public comments may be mailed to Commission Meeting, EEOC Executive Officer, 131 M Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20507, or emailed .

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