Schumer, Murray Lead Senate Democrats in Voting to Undo Anti-Worker Trump Administration EEOC Rule

Senate votes 50-48 to undo Trump Administration’s EEOC rule to allow employers to delay or deny workers justice when they’ve experienced discrimination on the job

Schumer, Murray led Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to restore a fair discrimination settlement process at EEOC

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Senate voted 50-48, to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval undoing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) “conciliation” rule, which made it easier for employers to delay or deny justice to workers who have experienced discrimination on the job. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led Senate efforts to overturn the rule and highlighted the importance of restoring a fair settlement process for the tens of thousands of who file discrimination charges with EEOC each year.

“I am pleased that all Senate Democrats voted today to immediately repeal the terrible Trump-era rule that made it harder for victims of employment discrimination to get justice,” said Majority Leader Schumer. “The Trump administration changed the rules on conciliation at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to favor corporations over workers who faced unlawful bias. Overturning this rule means the EEOC will now have the power to fight on workers’ behalf against discriminatory behavior and win without unnecessary delay. This vote today signals to American workers that the federal government is once again in their corner.”

“In January, the EEOC’s Republican Commissioners finalized a rule tipping the scales in favor of employers in EEOC’s process to settle discrimination cases,” said Senator Murray. “Put simply, the rule was designed to make it easier for employers to delay or deny justice for workers who have experienced discrimination on the job. Democrats will not accept a system designed to let employers get away with violating workers’ rights—which is why today, Senate Democrats voted unanimously to overturn this rule and restore a fair settlement process for the tens of thousands of workers who file discrimination charges with EEOC each year.”

On January 14, 2021, over strong objections from civil rights and workers’ rights organizations, the EEOC finalized, by a 3-2 party-line vote, a rule to tip the scales in favor of employers during the EEOC’s process for settling discrimination cases by giving employers access to information about the workers’ case—but not the other way around. The new rule also made it easier for employers to demand the identities of victims and witnesses—increasing the risk of retaliation, worsening the backlog of cases at the EEOC, and forcing workers to wait longer for justice.  

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