Recently announced, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) approved an updated Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) for Fiscal Years 2017-2021. The agency is committed to a strategic outcome in advancing equality in the workplace across the country. Read the major updates to the EEOC Strategic Enforcement Plan below.
EEOC Chair, Jenny Yang expressed the progress of the EEOC is to build SEP to recognize additional areas of concern. She went on to say, the foundation laid by the Commission is to concentrate on coordinating a course of action for these areas of concern and work towards a workplace free of discrimination.
The upcoming strategic SEP plan continues to prioritize areas identified previously, with a few modifications. Here are the main updates to the EEOC Strategic Enforcement Plan:
- Eradicate barriers in recruitment and hiring;
- Address emerging issues;
- Protect vulnerable workers;
- Ensure equal pay protection for all;
- Preserve access to legal systems; and
- Prevent harassment in all forms.
Two notable areas that were updated in this SEP include:
First, issues related to employment relationships in today’s workplace; and secondly, discrimination against Muslim, Sikh or persons of Middle Easter or South Asian decent. With recent events in the U.S. and abroad, the likelihood of discrimination to these groups increases. Another area of focus will be in the technology, to increase data driven screening tools to address barriers in recruitment and hiring.
The Strategic Enforcement Plan is designed to leverage agency’s resources and promote good government. This integrated approach generates new ideas and strategies to collaborate and coordinate, throughout the EEOC.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant. If you have questions about SEP or the updates to the EEOC Strategic Enforcement Plan, contact PREEMPT CORP for more information.
