EEOC: An Overview

GAO discussed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and some concerns about its operations. GAO noted that: (1) EEOC responsibilities and workload have increased significantly since 1964 due to its assumption of responsibility for enforcing certain antidiscrimination acts; (2) EEOC has requested more staff to meet its increasing workload, but it needs to study investigator efficiency and the resources needed to fully investigate all charges filed before determining its staffing needs; and (3) interested organizations have raised concerns about EEOC operations, including the increasing time needed for investigating and processing charges, the increasing number of charges awaiting investigation, the adequacy of investigations, the high proportion of no-cause findings, the limited number of EEOC-initiated litigations and systemic investigations, and the usefulness of data collected and reported by state equal employment agencies.