Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Improved Oversight Processes Needed to Help Agencies Address Program Deficiencies
Fast Facts
Equal employment laws are intended to keep workplaces free of discrimination and harassment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission oversees federal agencies' compliance and also gives them guidance and training.
Each year, agencies must assess their equal employment programs to find problems and plan for solutions. Agencies have to report this information to EEOC. But they don't always submit reports on time and EEOC doesn't track these reports or their findings efficiently.
We recommended updating how EEOC monitors these reports to better identify issues and help agencies eliminate discriminatory practices and policies.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) supports federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws through directives and training for agency EEO programs. EEOC also monitors EEO programs through Technical Assistance reviews of executive branch agencies every 3 years. These reviews provide feedback and guidance to agencies on their progress toward attaining a model EEO program. EEOC has reported actions to help address common EEO program deficiencies identified at a number of agencies (see table).
Selected Common Deficiencies Identified in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Technical Assistance Letters to 24 Agencies and Examples of Related Commission Actions (2020-2021)
|
Identified Deficiency |
Number of Agencies |
EEOC Reported Actions |
|---|---|---|
|
Did not issue final agency decisions for complaints within required timeframes |
16 |
Shared promising practices on strategies to improve final agency decision timeliness |
|
Did not have an anti-harassment policy |
16 |
Shared promising practices on strategies for preventing harassment |
|
Equal employment opportunity (EEO) Director did not directly report to the head of the agency |
11 |
Issued report to encourage agency heads to embrace direct reporting structures |
|
Did not complete EEO investigations within required timeframe |
8 |
Enhanced training and issued report |
Source: GAO analysis of EEOC Technical Assistance letters. | GAO-24-105874
Note: The 24 agencies are those listed at 31 U.S.C. § 901(b). These Technical Assistance feedback letters analyzed were the most recently available at the time of this review.
While EEOC supports and oversees federal EEO programs, GAO found that EEOC's oversight processes could be improved. Agencies must assess their own EEO programs, identify deficiencies, and develop plans to address them. Agencies do this by completing an annual report that includes a checklist based on EEOC criteria for operating a model EEO program. However, GAO has found that EEOC's current system for tracking submission of these reports does not ensure timely submissions or facilitate the identification of deficiencies across agencies. This affects EEOC's ability to do analysis and compile government-wide information on compliance with EEO requirements.
GAO found that EEOC routinely identifies agency deficiencies during Technical Assistance reviews but does not require that EEOC staff use its standardized tool to record them. Also, this does not facilitate the identification of deficiencies across agencies. Use of a standardized tool would help ensure that staff are recording deficiencies consistently to support analysis. With regard to enforcement, EEOC has established procedures for public notification of when an agency has not responded timely or in good faith with a compliance plan to address deficiencies. However, EEOC does not outline criteria for when to invoke public notification, which could be used as an enforcement tool.
Why GAO Did This Study
Effective EEO complaint programs help ensure a workplace free of unlawful employment discrimination. Federal agencies are required to maintain EEO programs to promote equal opportunity and eliminate discriminatory practices and policies. EEOC has government-wide responsibility for guiding and overseeing these programs.
GAO was asked to review EEOC's oversight of federal EEO complaint processes. This report examines the extent to which EEOC supports and oversees federal EEO complaint programs, among other objectives.
GAO reviewed federal EEO laws and regulations and EEOC policies, processes, and management directives. GAO analyzed EEOC Technical Assistance letters to agencies and interviewed EEOC officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making four recommendations to EEOC to improve its processes for overseeing agencies' compliance with timely reporting, compiling and analyzing agency EEO information; ensuring consistent use of tools to record agency information; and invoking public notification procedures on agency noncompliance. EEOC agreed with all four recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | The Chair of the EEOC should ensure that the Office of Federal Operations improves or automates existing tracking processes for monitoring agencies' timely completion of Management Directive 715 reports. (Recommendation 1) |
EEOC agreed with the recommendation and, in December 2024, stated that it has taken steps to increase agencies' compliance with MD-715 certification procedures. For example, EEOC conducted ongoing monitoring of agency MD-715 submission status in the most recent certification period opened and developed visual tools and dashboards that display the certification status of all agencies. EEOC also began issuing notices and meeting with agencies that had not certified their reports 30-days before the deadline. EEOC stated that it is exploring the feasibility of further tracking mechanisms to support timely MD-715 certification. We will continue to monitor EEOC's sustained progress in its ongoing monitoring of MD-715 certification, including its ability to continue to improve compliance rates for timely certification and automate its tracking capabilities.
|
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | The Chair of the EEOC should ensure that the Office of Federal Operations enhances its ability to compile and analyze information gathered from its Technical Assistance reviews. For example, EEOC could automate existing features to analyze deficiencies contained in agency Management Directive 715 reports to help it identify EEO trends. (Recommendation 2) |
EEOC agreed with the recommendation and, in December 2024, it stated it is actively working to improve tracking of deficiencies government-wide. The EEOC has developed tools for tracking priority deficiencies government-wide, including the ability to search MD-715, compliance indicators. In fiscal year 2024, EEOC also developed a tool to track agency reported deficiencies using data from fiscal year 2022. We will continue to monitor EEOC's ongoing efforts for sustained progress in developing deficiency tracking tools for subsequent fiscal years that allow it to efficiently identify and monitor deficiencies across agencies.
|
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | The Chair of the EEOC should ensure that the Office of Federal Operations requires staff to record the information obtained through Technical Assistance reviews, including all deficiencies, using the same tracking tool consistently. (Recommendation 3) |
EEOC agreed with the recommendation and, in December 2024, it stated that beginning in fiscal year 2024 EEOC staff were directed to use the same notice letter deficiency tracker system in preparing for technical assistance visits beginning fiscal year 2024. EEOC's Office of Federal Operations leadership conducted a training at the beginning of fiscal year 2024 and again in preparation for fiscal year 2025 to ensure consistency in use. We will continue to monitor EEOC's efforts for sustained progress in offering staff ongoing training on use of the notice letter deficiency tracker to ensure consistent use of the same tools to track deficiencies.
|
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | The Chair of the EEOC should ensure that the Office of Federal Operations develops and implements criteria and guidelines for invoking its public notification procedures related to agency noncompliance as stated in Management Directive 110. (Recommendation 4) |
EEOC agreed with this recommendation and, in December 2024, stated that it would be useful to develop and implement criteria and guidelines for invoking its public notification procedures for agency noncompliance. EEOC is working to develop such standards. We will continue to monitor EEOC's progress .
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