EEOC S RELATIONSHIP WITH STATE & LOCAL FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES AGENCIES A Fair Employment Practices Agency (FEPA) is a state or local agency that accepts and resolves charges of discrimination by virtue of a state or local law prohibiting the unlawful employment practice alleged. When these state or local laws are substantially similar to the antidiscrimination statutes enforced by EEOC, EEOC is authorized by law to use the services of these FEPAs and pay for such services. This section describes the arrangement between the EEOC and the FEPAs for resolving charges of job discrimination. It is followed by portions of the federal regulations setting out the details for cooperation. THE FEDERAL, STATE & LOCAL CONNECTION Almost every state and many counties and cities have agencies charged with resolving civil rights complaints, including employment. EEOC s worksharing agreements with these agencies normally provide that EEOC and the FEPAs serve as agents for each other in receiving charges and that either EEOC or the FEPA (but not both) will investigate each charge. The purpose of this system is to assure charging parties that their charges are timely filed under both state and federal law and that only one agency will process the charges. When the FEPA resolves a charge, EEOC decides whether to take further action based on its review of the resolution. Most of the FEPAs with which EEOC has worksharing agreements have received certified status, which means that EEOC will perform a substantial weight review on those cases where charging parties or respondents have requested a review and on selected dual-filed charges the FEPAs resolved. P - 1
I. EEOC-FEPA RELATIONSHIP When Congress was considering Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Act was drafted to assure that state and local FEPAs would not be preempted in the enforcement of their statutes. Similar provisions were included in the ADEA in 1967 and in the ADA in 1990. Title VII was amended in 1972 to specifically require EEOC to accord substantial weight to the final decisions and orders of FEPAs. This requirement assures that EEOC considers the FEPAs investigations and findings in completing its process under federal law. From these laws and from annual appropriations earmarked by Congress for the State and Local Program, a national relationship with FEPAs has evolved that serves as a model for creative intergovernmental cooperation and partnership. II. GLOSSARY OF TERMS There are a number of terms used in this program. Following are some definitions that may be helpful: Certified Agency This term denotes those agencies to which EEOC will award substantial weight credit, without review, to the FEPA s final findings and resolutions Certification FEPA agencies may be certified after having a contractual relationship with the EEOC for a minimum of four years and a substantial weight acceptance rate of 95%. Once certified, EEOC will accept the FEPA s findings and resolutions as final except: 1. When the charging party and/or respondent timely requests the EEOC to conduct a substantial weight review; P - 2
2. In all unsuccessful conciliations, when a certified FEPA will not be pursuing its own enforcement authority; 3. Closures for lack of jurisdiction; and 4. Cases with novel issues when the FEPA has made a finding on the merits. Deferral Deferral Work sharing agreements between EEOC and the FEPAs generally provide that the EEOC will defer the handling of Title VII and ADA charges that a FEPA initially receives to that FEPA for processing. This process was devised to eliminate duplicate charge processing by the EEOC and FEPAs. Where there is concurrent jurisdiction with at least one FEPA, the charge is deferred to that FEPA and dual-filed with EEOC. The EEOC generally does not process such charges, but closes dual-filed charges based on the FEPA s acceptable final actions. For all charges that EEOC initially receives, the agreements between the FEPA and the EEOC specify that the FEPA will automatically waive the 60-day deferral period so that the EEOC can file and initially process the charge. Designated Agency. State and Local fair employment practice agencies or authorities that meet the following qualifications shall be designated as FEP agencies. 1. The State or political subdivision has a fair employment practice law which makes unlawful employment practices based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin or disability; and 2. The State or political subdivision has either established a State or local authority or authorized an existing State or local authority that is empowered to seek and grant relief with respect to employment practices found to be unlawful, or to institute criminal proceedings with respect to the practices. P - 3
However, not all designated agencies are contract agencies. Contract agencies are those agencies which have legal agreements by which they receive a fixed price amount for performing work and processing dual-filed charges to resolution. Dual-filed A term used to describe the filing of charges that are jurisdictional with both the EEOC and one FEPA, without regard to which of the agencies will initially process the charges. Charges are dual-filed to ensure that charging parties rights are timely protected under both federal statutes and state or local laws. Fair Employment Practices Agency (FEPA) A term generally used to identify a state or local authority that investigates and resolves charges of employment discrimination in partnership with EEOC. This term currently identifies any state or local authority with which Title VII, ADA, and/or ADEA charges can be dual-filed. Referral Agency - The EEOC must refer ADEA charges to state FEPAs that have laws prohibiting discrimination in employment because of age, and may also refer ADEA charges to local FEPAs for processing. Each such state FEPA is called a referral agency. Under Section 14(b) of the ADEA, EEOC s referral of an ADEA charge to such a state FEPA preserves the charging party s right to file suit in federal court as early as the 61st day after the date of referral to the state FEPA. Substantial Weight - When EEOC gives substantial weight to the final action of a FEPA, this means that EEOC has found the FEPA s investigation and final action to be acceptable under EEOC s standards and that EEOC s final action on the dual-filed charge will in turn be based entirely or in large part on the FEPA s final action. The term is taken from Section 706(b) of Title VII, which in part states: In determining whether reasonable cause exists, the Commission shall accord substantial weight to final findings and P - 4
orders made by state or local authorities in proceedings commenced under state or local law.. Worksharing Agreement (WSA) Worksharing agreements are negotiated between the EEOC District Offices and FEPAs to coordinate the timely processing of dual-filed charges between the EEOC and the FEPA and to avoid duplication of effort. A FEPA must enter into a WSA with EEOC as a prerequisite for a charge resolution contract each year. III. DEFERRAL, WORKSHARING, AND CHARGE RESOLUTION CONTRACTS The EEOC defers Title VII and ADA charges to state and local agencies that have been found to be eligible for deferral under EEOC s procedural regulations. When an allegation of discrimination is covered by both the federal and state or local law, it is dual-filed with both EEOC and the particular FEPA; that is, charges lodged with the FEPA are filed under its statute and copies forwarded to EEOC for filing under the federal statute. All charges lodged with EEOC are sent to the FEPA for filing under its statute or ordinance. Thus, EEOC and the FEPA have a joint workload in the FEPA s geographic area of jurisdiction. Worksharing agreements, established at the District Office level, provide the conditions under which this joint workload will be divided for initial processing (investigation, determination, conciliation, etc.). Thus, only one agency handles initial processing of a charge, and duplication of effort is minimized. Neither agency waives its jurisdiction to the other, but does waive initial processing, while retaining jurisdiction to make its own disposition based upon the other s resolution of the charge. P - 5
The EEOC has worksharing agreements with more than 90 FEPAs under one or more of the statutes EEOC enforces. The worksharing relationship varies based upon workload, staffing considerations, geographic location of office, and ongoing consent decrees or conciliation agreements. Under Contracting Principles approved by the EEOC Commissioners, FEPAs that agree to enter into worksharing agreements and meet other contract eligibility criteria are awarded contracts. These contracts pay a fixed amount for each charge completed by the agency during the contract year that is accepted by EEOC as meeting federal standards. IV. CONCLUSION The nature of the federal-state relationship that has evolved over the years has been one of continued growth and refinement. In addition to a constant interchange between staff of EEOC District Offices, EEOC Headquarters, and the staff of the FEPAs, the EEOC sponsors an annual conference with EEOC field and headquarters staff and staff of all the FEPAs with which EEOC contracts to discuss policy and procedures and to formulate recommendations to be made to the Commissioners. The EEOC s goal has been to continually improve the relationship so that the FEPAs and EEOC can perform efficiently and effectively without duplication of effort. We believe that employers, employees, unions and members can expect substantially the same service and results on a charge processed by a FEPA under contract with EEOC as with a charge processed directly by EEOC. P - 6