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Performance Measure 13 requires the agency to leverage technology to improve the private and state and local government sectors charge process, including streamlining services and increasing responsiveness to customers throughout the process.
A fifth initiative, which will in future years be applied to the private and state and local sectors, will establish a secure portal for electronic transmittal and the receipt of charge-related documents. For FY , the target for this measure was to develop, pilot, and implement the new online intake and milestone systems, processes, and technology proposed for development in FY , including any provisions for guidance, documentation and staff training.
Although the Online Intake and Milestones Workgroups spent significant time and effort to reach this target, budgetary constraints limited funds available to fully meet the targets for Performance Measure Nonetheless, the Workgroups continued to the point where the acquisition of developers was necessary to move the project forward.
To that end, the Workgroups achieved the following. Online Intake: During the first quarter of , the workgroup continued its discussion of the Online Inquiry User Stories; focusing on "spikes," which identify stories where additional information is needed before "acceptance criteria" can be developed.
The team also identified "epic user stories," those that need to be broken down into more concise requirements before acceptance criteria can be drafted. The team spent significant time crafting the acceptance criteria for the Informational Self-Screening User Stories, as well as classifying and categorizing the user stories based on anticipated customer satisfaction.
Another level of development created a Process Flow for the acceptance criteria. The Process Flow Chart places each aspect of the Informational Self-Screening Component in a particular order to provide essential information on EEOC's jurisdiction to the potential charging party as early as possible.
This process flow enables potential charging parties to understand whether their claims are within EEOC's jurisdiction and quickly choose whether to continue. The flow chart also refines the acceptance criteria and helps assess whether each feature will deliver as intended. Finally, the Work- group focused on the "Scheduling an Intake Interview Online" component of the project, beginning with the acceptance criteria.
The team reviewed the draft "functional" requirements, which describe the specific functions needed for the system to operate as planned. The Milestone Workgroup jointly participated in the i-Class session with the Online Intake Group on the application of the Agile methodology that is being used to manage this process.
Further developments by this Workgroup were contingent upon funding for Agile contract developers, which were requested and approved by the Commission in the fourth quarter of FY The funding approval for technology support for Performance Measure 13 included the acquisition of a web-based online scheduling tool and associated professional services, as well as the acquisition of a web-based portal, application, and associated professional services.
As a fundamental objective, budgets should adequately fund priority programs, grow such programs to reflect the agency's priorities, and protect against diminution when budgets are reduced. Under the Chair's direction, annual budget submissions from each program office were scrutinized to ensure that agency resources would implement the strategies and goals of the Commission.
In concert with the goals established in the Strategic Plan is the need to serve the public efficiently. Managing the agency's charge inventory is part of that obligation. In FY , Chair Jacqueline Berrien initiated a multi-year approach of sustained management attention to reverse the growth of the private sector charge inventory.
Despite the impact of sequestration and limited resources, the EEOC was able to keep the increase to the private sector inventory to charges. This is approximately a 6, charge decrease from the prior three fiscal years; however it is still one of the top five fiscal years in terms of receipts.
In addition, a total of 97, charges were resolved in FY , a drop of nearly 14, While this is a significant decrease in resolutions, it is also a remarkable achievement given the decline in staffing and resources the agency faced in FY The average processing time to resolve charges dropped by 21 days to days.
By improving the timeliness of charge resolution and the EEOC's customer service efforts, these results better position the agency for FY However, further gains may be tempered by the continuing hiring freeze and repercussions from the Government shutdown. Additionally, the agency, through an intake technology streamlining plan, is working to create a comprehensive web interface that will aid both investigators and prospective charging parties, as well as improve the process from the first public contact with the agency through the formalization of a charge.
This will include on-line scheduling of appointments for intake interviews via on-site meetings, web cams, and teleconference. During FY , EEOC completed requirements and high-level technical designs for these two customer-facing applications; however related acquisitions and development were put on hold due to resource limitations.
The EEOC's mediation program has continued to be a very successful part of our enforcement operations and is an integral part of the agency's work pursuant to the Strategic Plan.
In FY , the EEOC's private sector national mediation program secured a total of 8, mediated resolutions out of a total of 11, conducted. Participants almost uniformly view the mediation program favorably, with As a result, the agency continues to focus efforts on increasing the use of the program, where appropriate and consistent with the agency's mission. These agreements reflect employers' commitment to participate in mediation.
At the conclusion of FY , the agency had secured a cumulative multi-year total of 2, UAMs, which is a 3 percent increase from FY In the federal sector, the Commission has authority to hold hearings on complaints of discrimination by federal employees and applicants, and to adjudicate appeals of decisions on such claims. Additionally, the Commission's hearings program resolved a total of 6, complaints, and the number of requests for hearings on federal sector complaints slightly decreased to 7, in FY compared to 7, in FY The EEOC designed, developed, and implemented the new case management system for federal sector cases as required by Performance Measure 3 of the Strategic Plan.
EEOC developed guidance and training materials on the case management system so that staff is prepared to categorize appeals beginning at the start of FY The Commission also adjudicates appeals of federal agency actions on discrimination complaints, and ensures agency compliance with decisions issued on those appeals.
FY was the second full year in which the EEOC applied a more balanced approach to the resolution of the newest and oldest appeals. The agency resolved 4, appeals, including In addition, the Commission resolved 2, or As a result of these efforts, the EEOC reduced the pending aged inventory by 5. The agency achieved these results by leveraging technology and successfully managing the appellate inventory. The EEOC continued its focus on expanding the use of technology to make the federal hearings and appeals process faster and more effective.
The primary goal of electronic case processing via EFX is to create a paperless case processing system that permits web-based electronic filing and case tracking capability. Similarly, AJs will be able to issue orders and decisions through this portal. Finally, when the system is fully operational, all parties will be able to track the receipt of their submissions and obtain the status of their case via the web-based EFX portal.
As of the end of FY , 59 agencies and 89 sub-agencies are submitting files electronically through the EFX system. The number of electronically submitted files increased by percent in FY from 9, files in FY to over 20, in FY , as the user community grew from users to 1, users. Phase II of the EFX pilot has been placed on hold due to budgetary constraints and shifting priorities. Overall, the agency secured both monetary and non-monetary benefits for more than 70, people through administrative enforcement activities-mediation, settlements, conciliations, and withdrawals with benefits.
Of particular note was the high number of charges resolved through successful conciliations, with 1, in FY , which reflects an emphasis on even closer consultation between the Commission's investigators and attorneys. In FY , the EEOC field legal units filed merits lawsuits including 89 individual suits, 21 non-systemic class suits, and 21 systemic suits.
The total number of merits lawsuits is less than the sum of the suits based on each individual statute because some suits are filed under multiple statutes.
The Commission also filed 17 subpoena enforcement and other actions. At the end of FY , the EEOC had cases on its active district court docket, of which 46 20 percent were non-systemic class cases and 54 The Commission also resolved 13 subpoena enforcement and other actions during the fiscal year.
The EEOC achieved a favorable resolution in approximately 90 percent of all district court resolutions. The EEOC took 13 cases to trial in , including 11 jury trials and two bench trials. With respect to the jury trials, the EEOC prevailed in nine of them, resolved one by consent decree during trial, and lost one. The EEOC lost one bench trial, and another case is still pending following a bench trial.
Below is a description of some notable trial results:. In EEOC v. The EEOC alleged that a food processing plant in Iowa subjected a group of 32 intellectually disabled workers to a hostile work environment, discriminatory pay, and other discriminatory terms of employment for many years. Exel Logistics , the EEOC successfully challenged a company's failure to promote a woman to a supervisory position at its warehouse because of her sex. Western Trading , a jury agreed with the EEOC, concluding that an Army-Navy surplus store in Colorado unlawfully fired an employee because of his seizure disorder.
Despite receiving three separate work releases from his doctors, the company refused to allow the employee to return to work. In addition to securing extensive relief for thousands of individuals at the district court level, the EEOC advanced the development of the law with its appellate litigation. For example, in EEOC v. Boh Bros. Construction , the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, reinstated a favorable jury verdict in this same sex harassment suit.
Reversing a panel decision, the en banc court held that a plaintiff in a same sex harassment case can demonstrate that the harassment was because of sex by showing that it was motivated by the harasser's subjective perception that the victim failed to conform to gender stereotypes.
The court further held that the Commission had amassed sufficient evidence to sustain the jury's verdict. Cintas , the Sixth Circuit rejected the district court's determination that the EEOC may not pursue a claim under the Teamsters pattern-or-practice framework pursuant to its authority under section of Title VII.
The court also reaffirmed that a plaintiff is not required to plead in its complaint the evidentiary proof framework it intends to use and held that the EEOC fulfilled its investigation and conciliation obligations by providing notice to Cintas that it was investigating and seeking to conciliate class-wide instances of discrimination.
The Supreme Court declined to review the Sixth Circuit's opinion. Houston Funding , the Fifth Circuit held in the first published appellate decision directly deciding this issue that discrimination against a woman because she was lactating or expressing milk states a cognizable Title VII sex claim.
The Court reasoned that "[a]n adverse employment action motivated by these factors" is discrimination based on sex because it "clearly imposes upon women a burden that male employees need not-indeed, could not-suffer.
While systemic cases are highly complex and resource-intensive, these cases typically impact a large number of employees or job seekers directly and can benefit untold numbers of workers and employers indirectly through public awareness and changes in company policies and industry standards. As a result, in its Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years , the Commission reiterated the importance of systemic enforcement program as a top agency priority.
In FY , the Commission again declared its commitment to combating systemic discrimination in its new Strategic Enforcement Plan, particularly with respect to barriers to recruitment and hiring, discriminatory policies that affect vulnerable workers, discriminatory pay practices, retaliatory practices and policies, and systemic harassment.
Each year since embarking on the systemic program, the Commission has expanded its use of technology to improve its capacity to identify systemic violations and to manage systemic investigations and litigation.
In FY , the agency rolled out the Systemic Watch List, a software application that helps coordinate the investigation of multiple charges filed against the same employer involving similar issues. When a new charge is filed that matches another ongoing investigation or lawsuit, the program issues an automatic alert to staff working on the case, facilitating collaboration across EEOC field offices and avoiding duplication of efforts.
The agency has also expanded its use of webinars to provide training on systemic investigations and litigation, including use of technology to facilitate systemic work. These technology initiatives have proven to be effective, low-cost methods of achieving the EEOC's goal of better integrating enforcement functions, as set out in the agency's Strategic Enforcement Plan. In the litigation context, the EEOC has continued its expansion of the CaseWorks system, which provides a central shared source of litigation support tools that facilitate the collection and review of electronic discovery and enable collaboration in the development of cases for litigation.
In this past year alone, the EEOC increased by percent the storage capacity of CaseWorks, which now hosts over 30 million pages of electronic documents. Despite limited resources available to carry out its enforcement work, the Commission continued to achieve a high level of results in its systemic investigations.
Twenty one percent or 63 of those investigations were resolved through the EEOC's conciliation process, which affords employers an opportunity to come into compliance with the anti-discrimination laws without an EEOC lawsuit being filed. In cases where the EEOC's systemic investigation was hampered by a respondent's failure to comply with requests for relevant evidence, the EEOC continued its practice of relying on its subpoena authority and, where necessary, application to the federal courts to enforce subpoenas.
A number of key systemic resolutions brought about in FY are listed below:. In the second, the EEOC successfully conciliated a systemic investigation after it determined that a class of females was subjected to sexual harassment. When the agency makes a finding of systemic discrimination and efforts to secure voluntary compliance fail, the agency may choose to file suit to enforce the law.
In FY , the Commission filed 21 systemic lawsuits. These new suits challenge a variety of types of systemic discrimination, including challenges to patterns or practices of refusing to hire applicants based on race or sex, criminal record policies that disproportionately screen out African American applicants, pre-offer medical inquiry and examination policies that violate the ADA or GINA, reductions in force that target older employees, and unequal pay practices.
Systemic suits comprised 16 percent of all merits suits filed in FY At the end of FY , a total of 54 cases on the active docket were systemic cases, accounting for This is the largest proportion of systemic suits on the Commission's active docket since tracking began in FY Based on the volume of systemic charges currently in investigation, the quantity of systemic lawsuits and their representation on the total docket is expected to remain high or steadily increase.
Under the EEOC's strategic plan, the agency projects an active systemic docket of percent of all pending lawsuits by FY This past year, the EEOC resolved 29 systemic cases, 7 of which included at least 50 victims of discrimination and 14 of which included at least 20 victims of discrimination. Below is a sampling of significant outcomes of systemic discrimination lawsuits in FY If data is being consolidated, what controls are in place to protect the data from unauthorized access or use?
The application is hosted in a secure environment protected by the appropriate fire walls, security certificates, encryption, IT infrastructure, and internal operational and managerial controls.
Intrusion detection, as well as other security controls, is implemented. Physical security to the room that houses the IMS servers is tightly restricted. A third-party IT security risk assessment was conducted on the application and infrastructure prior to release. If processes are being consolidated, are the proper controls remaining in place to protect the data and prevent unauthorized access?
The appropriate security controls are in place to protect the data and prevent unauthorized access. These controls have been verified through a third party risk assessment. How will the data be retrieved? Can it be retrieved by personal identifier?
What are the potential effects on the due process rights of complainants or companies of: consolidation and linkage of files and systems; derivation of data; accelerated information processing and decision making; use of new technologies. How are the effects to be mitigated? Outside individuals, including charging parties and respondents, are not allowed access to the IMS data. There is no effect on due process rights when individual data is retrieved by staff.
When aggregate data is retrieved and analyzed by research staff, the effect may be at a macro level in terms of agency-wide policy development. Decision-making at an individual or macro level is not controlled by technology tools. Rather, technology tools are utilized to enhance decision-making. Decision-making is controlled by agency-wide policy and regulations, as well as applicable laws and statutes through which the agency operates.
Explain how the system and its use will ensure equitable treatment of complainants or companies. If the system is operated in more than one site, how will consistent use of the system and data be maintained in all sites? The IMS uses system-wide business rules based on agency work processes and laws governing discrimination, thereby ensuring equitable treatment of all individuals and entities.
It is a web-based, centrally located system, with functions and rules centrally controlled and managed. To our knowledge, there is no possibility of disparate treatment of individuals or groups due to the use of IMS data. What are the procedures for eliminating the data at the end of the retention period? Intrusion detection, as well as other security controls, is implemented. A third-party IT security risk assessment has been conducted.
If processes are being consolidated, are the proper controls remaining in place to protect the data and prevent unauthorized access? How will the data be retrieved?
Can it be retrieved by personal identifier? What are the potential effects on the due process rights of complainants or companies of: consolidation and linkage of files and systems; derivation of data; accelerated information processing and decision making; use of new technologies. How are the effects to be mitigated?
EEOC staff may retrieve DMS data upon access to the system and entry of the correspondent's name, or address; or the complainant's name. Additionally, electronic documents can be retrieved by using a full text search. The DMS and its attendant technologies present no new potential challenges to the due process rights of correspondents and complainants. Explain how the system and its use will ensure equitable treatment of correspondents and complainants.
If the system is operated in more than one site, how will consistent use of the system and data be maintained in all sites? The DMS uses standard screens to index documents and stored documents according to type and date, thereby ensuring equitable treatment. It is a server-based, centrally located system.
The DMS is fully compliant with the standards outlined in Section of the Rehabilitation Act of , thereby ensuring equal access to information for individuals with disabilities. While this system will serve to allow EEOC staff to manage some processes and documents electronically, full agency services will continue to be available through the EEOC headquarters and field office locations via telephone, walk-in, mail-in, and fax.
Retention periods for data and documents are indefinite, but the official record remains the paper-based file. What are the procedures for eliminating the data at the end of the retention period? Where are the procedures documented? While the data is retained in the system, what are the requirements for determining if the data is still sufficiently accurate, relevant, timely, and complete to ensure fairness in making determinations?
Data is obtained from the documents provided by the complainant, agency, representative, or correspondent. The electronic record can only be submitted if all of the required fields are completed.
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