Washington, D.C. – On Monday, May 16, The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission met to deliberate and vote on a proposal to reposition the agency's field structure.  Before the scheduled vote, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones joined 30 Congresswomen in signing a letter to EEOC Chair Cari Dominguez urging the commission to postpone the vote until Congress and the public had a fair and reasonable opportunity to fully analyze the proposal. The vote was ultimately postponed until further notice. Congresswoman Tubbs Jones released this statement:

"I am disappointed that, to date, the public has been allowed very little input regarding this restructuring proposal. I sincerely hope Chair Dominguez's decision to delay the vote originally scheduled for Monday, is a step in the right direction for allowing public input regarding this restructuring proposal.

"Over the past year, all levels of employment within EEOC offices nationwide have experienced reductions in staff. Investigators and mediators, often required to travel and meet directly with constituents, have seen their numbers diminished and their jurisdictions expanded.  I fail to see how reducing the number of qualified personnel improves efficiency or saves money. Now, investigators and mediators will have to devote substantially more time and money into traveling to resolve individual cases.

"Furthermore, I am extremely concerned by the Chair's decision to downgrade the Cleveland District office to a field office, particularly given the current staffing shortages. Over 2,600 of EEOC cases in Fiscal Year 2004 were filed by the Cleveland district office. These individuals count on local personnel to resolve their cases. In total, one-third of EEOC's district offices including Cleveland, Baltimore, Denver, Detroit, New Orleans, San Antonio, Seattle, and Milwaukee will be downgraded to field offices.

"Nationwide, EEOC has requested funding for 2,400 employees, 240 less than the previous year and 500 less than 2001. The Chair has stated that this repositioning effort will not result in any office closures. However, between the staffing shortages and the office downgrades, it seems to me that 'the writing is on the wall.'"
 
EEOC Locale 216 President Gabrielle Martin stated "Our staffing is at an all time low and our backlog of cases is exploding. This plan does not talk about hiring staff. It is inconceivable that a plan, years in the making, does not get to the heart of the problem.  To help people we need people."

Letters to the EEOC Chair regarding the workforce repositioning proposal were also sent from 27 Senators as well as Education and Workforce Committee Members Reps. Robert Andrews and George Miller.