EEOC District Offices Restructured

SHRM Online today reports: "After a long and often tense meeting, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted 3-1 July 8 to approve controversial changes to the civil rights enforcement agency’s field structure that will cut the number of operations led by district directors and regional attorneys from 23 to 15 but will not involve closing offices or laying off employees." Eight of the current district offices will now become field offices. The Society for Human Resource Management praised the changes, saying they will reduce bureaucratic supervisory layers. The union representing EEOC employees, however, claims the changes will compromise civil rights enforcement. The EEOC enforces federal discrimination in employment laws, including those prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion.