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Equal Employment Opportunity: EEOC Birmingham Office Closed Discrimination Charges Without Full Investigation

HRD-87-81 Published: Jul 15, 1987. Publicly Released: Jul 15, 1987.
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Highlights

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the extent to which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Birmingham district office closed pending discrimination charges in September 1985, regardless of the investigative status, to meet production goals.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Birmingham District Office, AL In view of the deficiencies, the Chairman, EEOC, should direct the Birmingham district office to implement the Commission's policy to fully investigate all discrimination charges.
Closed – Implemented
The EEOC Chairman directed all senior-level staff and, specifically, the Birmingham District Director that, in all cases, sufficient evidence must be obtained prior to closing charges.
Birmingham District Office, AL Because EEOC has not reviewed Birmingham's charge-processing activities since June 1985, the Chairman should direct the Office of Program Operations to: (1) review the quality of investigations conducted by the Birmingham district office; and (2) recommend, where necessary, actions to correct deficiencies in the district office's charge-investigation process.
Closed – Implemented
The EEOC Chairman instructed the Director of the Office of Program Operations to immediately commence a review of closures, including investigations processed by the Birmingham office. This was completed in August 1987 and will be an ongoing effort.

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