In Today's Kvetch Corner

The Equal Opportunity Commission that Wasn't.

Of all the probable "sell out" points that the Progressives are ticked off at Obama at caving into in the name of compromise one of them should never be the EEOC. There is no reason for it and you would think he would be very concerned about systemic discrimination of any kind.
There is no reason that "investigations" should take YEARS--there is no reason that the federal government cannot impose monetary sanctions on people who do not respond to discovery requests in rebuttal to EEOC charges. Where else do Federal Agencies get shined on like this without penalty- you get a subpoena from the EEOC you don't respond or ask for some open ended extension they do nothing. There is no reason that statistically huge numbers get tossed out of the EEOC with a 'Right to Sue' letter in Federal Court with the standard "we don't have enough time to investigate and can't figure it-you go sue them." Some are easy- figure it out- issue a 'cause' finding. Wouldn't take an idiot. They clearly need to be then about five times larger an agency with five times the staff if they are so overworked nothing gets done. Bush did that-he gutted the EEOC on purpose to protect corporate interests. It completely demoralized plaintiffs and their counsel in many cases.
The EEOC needs a major audit. Start with the DC Field Office. How many charges come through the door. How many are not really properly investigated but just given the cursory- we can't figure it out -you go sue letter. How many ever get "good cause" findings (good reason to believe there was some discrimination.)
As an attorney I personally go to the EEOC with my clients to file charges. They can be done in writing without appearing by attorneys but I feel it important to get a timely charge number the day we walk in and I also feel it important that the intake person actually put a face to the charge and meet the plaintiff and hear their story. Their story compelled me to take the case in the first place, so their credibility is something that the EEOC investigator should take note of.
I have had the most obstructive experiences- people being told to go to Baltimore instead of DC when they should properly be in DC, people told that they should go to the DC Human Rights office because they didn't want to investigate the Title VII facts and thought the DC Human Rights office should do it under their sharing contract (do they get money for kicking off responsibilities to the DC Human Rights Office?)- I am about this close to concluding that the EEOC is a perfunctory administrative joke.
It seems one way that Obama's "base" could be made more in his corner if he investigated the investigators at the EEOC and their so called attorneys (who display shocking ignorance of recent Title VII precedent) to see if we need about five times more better qualified administrative hurdles.
Call me if you want names. I am ready to name names and tell you who should be fired over there-for non-discriminatory reasons. 202-241-3558.