Today, Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (R-NC) spoke in opposition to S.J. Res. 13, which is a partisan attempt to overturn a reasonable regulation improving an outdated Equal Employment Opportunity Commission process. The rule Democrats seek to negate is fair, increases transparency, and benefits victims of workplace discrimination.
Foxx delivered the following remarks on the House floor:
"I rise today in opposition to S.J. Res. 13, which negates a recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) rule. I urge members to reject this misguided resolution.
"The rule in question, often referred to as the conciliation rule, is fair, increases transparency, reduces senseless litigation, and upholds a federal statute.
"There are dozens of pressing problems demanding Congress’s attention. Our southern border is being run over by drug dealers and human traffickers. America is vulnerable to cyberattacks from adversarial foreign nations like China and Russia. Our children are months behind in their schoolwork because of Democrats’ insistence on putting teachers’ union leadership demands before students’ interests.
"We could be addressing those problems, but Democrats are choosing to elevate the repeal of this commonsense rule before all those other immediate issues.
"Let’s examine the facts of the matter. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires EEOC to engage in conciliation. Before the EEOC can pursue court proceedings against an employer for a discrimination claim, the agency must work with the business to resolve the dispute.
"There are good reasons Congress established this requirement. Successful conciliations provide immediate relief to employees who suffered discrimination. Conciliations also save these employees time and money. Court cases are adversarial and can last years. Individuals who experienced discrimination should not have to wait years for justice.
"Nothing in the regulation prohibits the EEOC from using the court system if conciliation fails.
"For over four decades, EEOC’s conciliation process remained largely ineffectual and unaltered. Antiquated bureaucratic systems deserve scrutiny, and this opaque practice was long overdue for improvement.
"Prior to the rule’s promulgation, a paltry 41 percent of conciliations were successful. One out of every three employers declined to participate in this broken process.
"In 2015, the Supreme Court reprimanded the EEOC for its inadequate conciliation process, which included failing to communicate basic information about the alleged discrimination to employers.
"The mounting evidence of a failed conciliation process grew harder and harder for the EEOC to ignore.
"That is why the conciliation rule was issued on Jan. 14, after an extensive notice and comment rulemaking.
"Under the rule, the core tenets of conciliation remain unchanged. Conciliation stays voluntary, does not favor either the employer or the worker, and protects individuals’ privacy.
"The rule requires the EEOC to provide employers with basic but important information in support of the agency’s findings, including simple underlying facts, the legal basis for the finding, an explanation of the monetary relief calculations, and whether the EEOC designated the case for a class of individuals.
"The rule also does not increase costs to taxpayers. EEOC is on the record saying its operating budget will absorb any minor costs associated with implementing the rule.
"In summary, S.J. Res. 13 harms the victims of discrimination, encourages the EEOC to pursue, needless, combative, and expensive litigation, and turns the EEOC back into a politically-driven, runaway bureaucracy.
"I urge members to vote no on S.J. Res. 13."
