[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                 EXAMINING THE POLICIES AND PRIORITIES
                  OF THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
                  COMMISSION AND THE OFFICE OF FEDERAL
                      CONTRACT COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS

=======================================================================


                                HEARING

                               Before The

                    SUBCOMMITTEE ON CIVIL RIGHTS AND 
                             HUMAN SERVICES

                                 of the

                    COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION
                               __________


             HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, APRIL 27, 2022

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-43
                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce
  
  
 
 
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        Available via: edworkforce.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov

                               ______

                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

56-932 PDF               WASHINGTON : 2024





























                    COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR

              ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia Chairman

RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona            VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina,
JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut              Ranking Member
GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,      JOE WILSON, South Carolina
  Northern Marina Islands            GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania
FREDERICA WILSON, Florida            TIM WALBERG, Michigan
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon             GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin
MARK TAKANO, California              ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York
ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina        RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia
MARK DeSAULNIER, California          JIM BANKS, Indiana
DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey          JAMES COMER, Kentucky
PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington          RUSS FULCHER, Idaho
JOSEPH D. MORELLE, New York          FRED KELLER, Pennsylvania
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania             MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa
LUCY McBATH, Georgia                 BURGESS OWENS, Utah
JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut            BOB GOOD, Virginia
ANDY LEVIN, Michigan, Vice Chairman  LISA McCLAIN, Michigan
ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota                DIANA HARSHBARGER, Tennessee
HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan           MARY MILLER, Illinios
TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico   VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
MONDAIRE JONES, New York             SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin
KATHY MANNING, North Carolina        MADISON CAWTHORN, North Carolina
FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana              MICHELLE STEEL, California
JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York              CHRIS JACOBS, New York
SHEILA CHERFILUS-McCORMICK, Florida
MARK POCAN, Wisconsin
JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey
ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
KWEISI MFUME, Maryland

                       Cyrus Artz, Staff Director
              Veronique Pluviose, Minority Staff Director
              
                                 ------                                

            SUBCOMMITTEE ON CIVIL RIGHTS AND HUMAN SERVICES

                  SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon, Chairwoman

ALMA ADAMS, North Carolina           RUSS FULCHER, Idaho
JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut              Ranking Member
TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico   GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania
FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana              LISA McCLAIN, Michigan
JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York              VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
ANDY LEVIN, Michigan                 SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisonsin
KWEISI MFUME, Maryland               VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina  
ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia    (Ex Officio)
  (Ex Officio) 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

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                                                                   Page

Hearing held on April 27, 2022...................................     1

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

    Bonamici, Hon. Suzanne, Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Civil 
      Rights and Human Services:.................................     1
        Prepared statement of....................................     5
    Fulcher, Hon. Russ, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Civil 
      Rights and Human Services:.................................     6
        Prepared statement of....................................     8

                               WITNESSES

    Burrows, Charlotte A., Chair, U.S. Equal Employment 
      Opportunity Commission.....................................    10
        Prepared statement of....................................    12
    Yang, Jenny R., Director, Office of Federal Contract 
      Compliance Programs........................................    26
        Prepared statement of....................................    28

                         ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS

    Keller, Hon. Fred, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of Pennsylvania:
        Statement dated September 18, 2007, from the Coalition To 
          Preserve the Attorney-Client Privilege.................    62
        Email dated May 5, 2022, to Jenny Yang from the U.S. 
          Chamber of Commerce....................................    67

                        QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD

    Responses to questions submitted for the record by:
        Ms. Charlotte Burrows....................................    78
        Ms. Jenny R. Yang........................................   127

 
                 EXAMINING THE POLICIES AND PRIORITIES
                  OF THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
                  COMMISSION AND THE OFFICE OF FEDERAL
                      CONTRACT COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS

                              ----------                              

                       Wednesday, April 27, 2022

                              House of Representatives,
           Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services,
                              Committee on Education and Labor,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:21 a.m., 
2175 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Suzanne Bonamici 
[Chairwoman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Bonamaci, Adams, Hayes, Leger 
Fernandez, Mrvan, Scott (Ex Officio), Fulcher, McClain, 
Fitzgerald, and Foxx (Ex Officio).
    Also present: Representatives McBath, Mfume, and Grothman.
    Staff present: Brittany Alston, Staff Assistant; Nekea 
Brown, Director of Operations; Ilana Brunner, General Counsel; 
Rasheedah Hasan, Chief Clerk; Sheila Havenner, Director of 
Information Technology; Stephanie Lalle, Communications 
Director; Andre Lindsay, Policy Associate; Aileen Ma, 
Professional Staff; Kevin McDermott, Director of Labor Policy; 
Kota Mizutani, Press Secretary; Max Moore, Professional Staff; 
Kayla Pennebecker, Staff Assistant; Veronique Pluviose, Staff 
Director; Michele Simensky, Oversight Counsel-Labor; Banyon 
Vassar, Deputy Director of Information Technology; Sam Varie, 
Press Assistant; ArRone Washington, Clerk; Tanisha Wilburn, 
Director of Labor Oversight and Counsel; Cyrus Artz, Minority 
Staff Director; Michael Davis, Minority Legislative Assistant; 
Mini Ganesh, Minority Staff Assistant; John Martin, Minority 
Deputy Director of Workforce Policy/Counsel; Hannah Matesic, 
Minority Director of Member Services and Coalitions; 
Operations; Ethan Pann, Minority Press Assistant; Krystina 
Skurk, Minority Speechwriter; Ben Ridder, Minority Professional 
Staff Member.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. The Subcommittee on Civil Rights and 
Human Services will come to order. Welcome everyone. I note 
that a quorum is present. I note for the subcommittee that Mrs. 
McBath of Georgia, and Mr. Pocan of Wisconsin are permitted to 
participate in today's hearing with the understanding that 
their questions will come only after all members of the 
subcommittee on both sides of the aisle who are present have 
had an opportunity to question the witnesses.
    The subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony on 
Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission, and the Office of Federal Contract 
Compliance Programs. This is a hybrid hearing pursuant to House 
Resolution 8, and the regulations thereto.
    All microphones, both in the room and on the platform, will 
be kept muted as a general rule to avoid unnecessary background 
noise. Members and witnesses will be responsible for unmuting 
themselves when they are recognized to speak, or when they wish 
to seek recognition.
    When members wish to speak or seek recognition they should 
unmute themselves and allow a pause of 2 seconds to ensure that 
the microphone picks up their speech. I also ask that members 
please identify themselves before they speak. Members who are 
participating in person should not be logged onto the remote 
platform to avoid feedback, echoes and distortion.
    Members participating remotely shall be considered present 
in the proceeding when they are visible on camera, and they 
shall be considered not present when they are not visible on 
camera. The only exception to this is if they are experiencing 
technical difficulty and inform committee staff of such 
difficulty.
    If any member experiences technical difficulty during the 
hearing you should stay connected on the platform, make sure 
you are muted, and use your phone to immediately call the 
committee's IT director whose number was provided in advance. 
Should the Chair need to step away for any reason another 
majority member is hereby authorized to assume the gavel in the 
Chair's absence.
    To ensure that the committee's 5-minute rule is adhered to, 
staff will be keeping track of time using the committee's 
digital timer on the remote platform. For members participating 
in person the timer will be broadcast in the committee room on 
the television monitor as part of the platform gallery view, 
and visible in its own thumbnail window. The committee room 
timer will not be in use.
    For members participating remotely this will be visible in 
gallery view in its own thumbnail window on the remote 
platform. Members are asked to wrap up promptly when their time 
has expired.
    Finally, while the recent guidance from the office of the 
attending physician has made mask wearing optional at this 
time, please know that we have in our midst at both member and 
staff levels, individuals who are immunocompromised, and/or or 
have immediate family members who are immunocompromised, as 
well as who are not vaccinated either because of medical 
reasons, or because the vaccine is not yet available for 
children under the age of 5.
    Therefore, the committee strongly recommends that masks 
continue to be worn out of concern for the safety of 
unvaccinated and immunocompromised committee members and staff 
and their families.
    Opening statements--pursuant to committee rule 8(c), 
opening statements are limited to the chair and ranking member. 
This allows us to hear from our witnesses sooner and provides 
all members with the adequate time to ask questions. I 
recognize myself now for the purpose of making an opening 
statement.
    Today's hearing will examine the policies and priorities of 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC, and the 
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, OFCCP. Thank 
you, Chair Burrows and Director Yang, for being with us, and 
for your commitment to protecting American's civil rights and 
dignity at work.
    As our workforce become increasingly diverse, the EEOC and 
OFCCP are critical in making sure that every worker can earn a 
living free from discrimination. Unfortunately, thousands of 
women, people of color, older workers, workers with 
disabilities, and LGBTQI+ workers still experience persistent 
disparities in pay, opportunities, and workplace treatment.
    In response to the Trump administration's erosion of worker 
protections, congressional democrats and the Biden/Harris 
administration have taken critical steps to restore and 
strengthen workers' civil rights and expand equal employment 
opportunities. Under Chair Burrows's leadership, the EEOC has 
improved its enforcement efforts on challenging workplace 
harassment and following the Supreme Court's historic Bostock 
v. Clayton County decision, Chair Burrows approved guidance to 
explain the prohibitions against discrimination based on sexual 
orientation or gender identity.
    Additionally in 2021, Congress passed a resolution to 
nullify the EEOC's Trump-Era Conciliation Rule. This resolution 
was a critical step in restoring EEOC's promise to support 
victims of workplace discrimination, and to hold employers 
accountable.
    At OFCCP, Director Yang has made critical improvements to 
protect applicants and employees who apply to, and work for 
Federal contractors and subcontractors. In November 2021, OFCCP 
issued a proposal to rescind a Trump-era rule that gave Federal 
contractors the power to hire and fire workers for 
discriminatory reasons under the guise of religious freedom.
    By reversing the rule, OFCCP took a critical step to 
restore protections for the civil rights of workers. I am also 
pleased to see OFCCP preparing to support an increase in 
workers in the contractor community. The bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law will create up to 15 million new jobs, many 
of which will be filled by workers on Federal contracts and 
subcontracts.
    I look forward to seeing how the agency's Mega Construction 
Project Program will help more workers, especially historically 
underrepresented workers in access to these new jobs, and also 
to protect them against discrimination and harassment. The 
EEOC's and OFCCP's progress under the Biden/Harris 
administration is more important than ever, as our Nation works 
to recover from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    As we all know, the pandemic spurred record unemployment, 
especially among low-wage, older, and unrepresented workers. 
Under President Biden's economic agenda, we have seen record 
job growth, and the lowest unemployment claims since 1968.
    Even still, we know we must do more, so all Americans can 
re-enter the workforce and access a rewarding career. Though we 
cannot achieve that goal if workers do not have the confidence 
that workplaces will uphold and protect their civil rights. 
Securing resources that the EEOC and OFCCP need to conduct 
robust oversight is not only in the best interest of our 
workers, but an essential step to full economic recovery.
    I am pleased that the Biden/Harris administration's 
proposed budget provides the resources for the EEOC and OFCCP 
to advance racial justice, pay equity, and LGBTQI+ protections, 
while strengthening workplace opportunities for all. Moving 
forward, I remain committed to working with my colleagues to 
advance legislative solutions such as the Paycheck Fairness 
Act, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to protect workers 
from discrimination both in the hiring process, and on the job.
    When we invest in worker's civil rights every American has 
the opportunity to succeed. Thank you again to Chair Burrows 
and Director Yang for your leadership. I look forward to 
hearing how you will continue advancing your agency's mission.
    I now yield to the Ranking Member Mr. Fulcher for his 
opening statement.
    [The statement of Chairwoman Bonamici follows:]
    
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    Mr. Fulcher. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for 
holding this hearing. Congressional oversight extends to the 
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Office of 
Federal Contract Compliance Programs, both of which are 
currently struggling to meet the needs of American workers and 
job creators.
    The work of EEOC and OFCCP is important. It too often 
becomes a weapon against job creators. American workers deserve 
to be protected from unlawful discrimination and given an 
unequal, excuse me, given an equal opportunity to succeed in 
the workplace. The vast majority of job creators treat their 
employees fairly and have their employees' best interests in 
mind.
    Federal agencies must stop treating our country's business 
owners like predators. One of the most concerning things coming 
out of the Biden administration's OFCCP is the decision to 
rescind the Trump Era Rule protecting faith-based contractors. 
It's ironic that an agency tasked with preventing and 
combatting unlawful discrimination is pushing the door open for 
faith-based organizations to be discriminated against.
    The previous administration's Final Rule gave religious 
organizations the opportunity to bid for Federal contracts 
without fear of having to compromise their faith or religious 
character. Without this explicit protection, many religious 
Federal contractors will be left without clear guidance 
regarding their rights and obligations.
    This will keep many religious organizations from bidding 
for Federal contracts. Protecting the constitutional principle 
of free exercise of religion is crucial. OFCCP should uphold 
and protect the First Amendment instead of undermining this 
fundamental American principle.
    The right of faith-based organizations to follow their 
sincerely held religious beliefs should not be held up for 
debate. OFCCP is also likely operating outside the law by 
forcing Federal contractors to perform pay equity audits and 
denying them the right to invoke attorney/client privilege. 
There is no such audit requirement in existing law, so one has 
to wonder where OFCCP believes its authority is coming from.
    These actions will reduce clarity and transparency in the 
audit process, especially where employee pay is concerned. EEOC 
spends far too much of its time looking for discrimination 
where there is not any, instead of processing the backlog of 
claims from America's workers.
    Even after EEOC added 450 employees, monetary recoveries 
for workers decreased by 9.6 percent. Litigation recoveries for 
workers decreased 67.9 percent, and compliance assistance 
outreach efforts also declined sharply. These numbers represent 
the hard-working Americans who came to the EEOC for help and 
have been greeted with delay and inefficiencies, if they 
received any help at all.
    EEOC has yet to return its offices to in-person work, and 
all 53 field offices are closed, even though most are located 
in states and localities where private businesses, schools, and 
other government offices are fully open. That is why on March 
23, Republican Leaders Foxx and Comer sent a letter to Chair 
Burrows raising concerns that EEOC does not have an immediately 
executable plan to return to in-person work.
    We know the lack of onsite EEOC personnel hinders the 
ability of claimants to receive the help the agency was created 
to provide. Chair Burrows, you State in your testimony that the 
most vulnerable will probably be the ones who suffered most 
from the closure of local offices, and yet your agency has yet 
to reopen those facilities.
    This committee deserves to know in your calculation of the 
risk of COVID-19, even with widely available vaccines, 
outweighs the cost to those vulnerable workers. It is not 
surprising that the current party and leadership wants to throw 
more money at this agency. The Biden administration is 
requesting that Congress increase EEOC's budget by 44.7 million 
to nearly 465 million.
    Burdensome requirements added unnecessary costs to 
businesses and the EEOC has seemingly did nothing with the data 
collected. Besides costing job creators 325 million annually, 
and doing nothing to prevent pay discrimination, these were 
importantly confidential concerns regarding the EEOC's ability 
to protect the collected data.
    In conclusion, EEOC and OFCCP need to focus on protecting 
workers without throwing employers under the bus. We all want 
to see workers succeed, but over-regulating job creators is 
counter-productive. These agencies need to get their own houses 
in order before they throw more red tape on businesses. Madam 
Chair, I yield back. Thank you.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Fulcher follows:]
    
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    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you, Ranking Member Fulcher. I 
note for the subcommittee that Mr. Grothman of Wisconsin is 
permitted to participate in today's hearing with the 
understanding that his questions will come only after all 
members of the subcommittee on both sides of the aisle who are 
present have had an opportunity to question the witnesses.
    Without objection, all other members who wish to insert 
written statements into the record may do so by submitting them 
to the committee clerk electronically in Microsoft Word format 
by 5 p.m. on May 11th.
    I will now introduce the witnesses. Charlotte Burrows was 
designated as the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission, the EEOC, by President Biden on January 20, 2021. 
She previously served as an EEOC Commissioner between 2015 and 
2019, and in 2019 was re-nominated and unanimously confirmed 
for a second Commissioner term ending in 2023. Before her 
appointment to the EEOC, Ms. Burrows had an extensive career 
advancing civil rights issues.
    She served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the DOJ 
as General Counsel for civil and constitutional rights to 
Senator Edward Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee and 
held several roles in the Civil Rights Division's Employment 
Litigation Section at the DOJ, including Deputy Chief of the 
section.
    Jenny Yang joined the Department of Labor's Office of 
Federal Contract Compliance Programs, OFCCP, as its Director on 
January 20, 2021. From 2013 to 2018, she served as Chair, Vice 
Chair, and Commissioner of the EEOC after unanimous Senate 
confirmation.
    After her service with the EEOC and before joining OFCCP, 
Ms. Yang worked as a Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute 
addressing workplace issues such as sexual harassment and 
algorithmic fairness and the use of hiring technology. Ms. Yang 
has a distinguished career advancing and defending the civil 
rights of workers.
    We appreciate the witnesses for participating today, and we 
look forward to your testimony. Let me remind the witnesses 
that we have read your written statements, and they will appear 
in full in the hearing record. Pursuant to Committee Rule 8(d) 
and committee practice, each of you is asked to limit your oral 
presentation to a 5-minute summary of your written statement. 
Before you begin your testimony, please remember to unmute your 
microphone.
    During your testimony staff will be keeping track of time, 
and the timer should be visible to you at the witness table. 
Please be attentive to the time and wrap up when your time is 
over and re-mute your microphone. We will let all the witnesses 
make their presentations before we move to member questions.
    When answering the question please remember to unmute your 
microphone. The witnesses are aware of the responsibility to 
provide accurate information to the subcommittee, and therefore 
we will proceed. I will first recognize Chair Charlotte 
Burrows.

      STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLOTTE BURROWS, CHAIR, EQUAL 
             EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION

    Ms. Burrows. Good morning subcommittee Chair Bonamici, 
Ranking Member Fulcher, committee, and the distinguished 
members of this subcommittee. I am so pleased to have the 
chance to testify before you today about the important work of 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
    The Commission was created in direct response to the call 
for equality and basic human dignity at the historic 1963 March 
on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A call that is directly 
tied to our basic founding beliefs of liberty and justice. 
Today, as in 1963, the Nation faces both challenges and 
opportunities in the area of civil rights, and I am so honored 
to lead the agency at this very important time.
    The EEOC is doing our part to respond to that universal 
call for racial justice following the brutal murder of George 
Floyd and so many others. This tragedy cast a national 
spotlight on barriers to opportunity including in the area of 
equal employment opportunity. We are also working to address 
those significant civil rights challenges caused by the COVID-
19 pandemic. That has impacted all of us, but it has hit 
especially hard for frontline workers, including many women, 
older workers, persons with disabilities, people of color, and 
caregivers.
    The pandemic has also sparked an alarming rise in 
harassment and violence against Asian Americans, Native 
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. This shameful discrimination 
has spilled into American workplaces. As just one example an 
Asian American worker reported to the EEOC that when he arrived 
at work 1 day, he found a sign on his door marked with the 
words, ``Coronavirus Danger,'' and a biohazard symbol, along 
with the phrase ``Made in China.''
    Indeed, workplace harassment on all bases remains a very 
serious problem in this country. The Me-Too Movement brought 
into stark focus the urgent issue of workplace sexual 
harassment, and we continue to see egregious examples, like the 
case we recently resolved involving a fast-food manager who 
repeatedly propositioned female workers, mostly teenaged girls 
for sex, and subjected them to other physical and verbal 
harassments.
    In 2021, we resolved a case in which managers and employees 
used the N-word and referred to black workers as monkeys and 
slaves. In recent years, we have seen over and over that we 
were fortunately able to obtain relief, but these cases 
involved black employees subjected to nooses, and racist slurs 
on constructionsites, in shipyards, factories, and warehouses.
    We brought cases on behalf of employees mocked for their 
religion or taunted for their disability. That is why a key 
goal for this term during my Chairmanship, Chair--term as Chair 
rather, is to finally finish that workplace harassment guidance 
that we have been working on for so long and update it with 
lessons learned from Me-Too and this pandemic.
    In addition to harassment, discrimination and hiring, 
firing, promotion, pay, and denials of reasonable accommodation 
for disability and religion remain substantial barriers to 
opportunity. To meet the challenges of this moment the EEOC is 
focused on four broad areas--advancing racial justice and 
adjusting systemic discrimination on all protected bases, 
tackling the pandemic's civil rights impact, advancing pay 
equity, and increasing the agency's capacity.
    The EEOC's Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal of $464 million 
would support much needed investment in additional frontline 
staff to investigate charges of discrimination, advance equal 
employment opportunity in the Federal sector, and provide 
education, outreach, and guidance to the public. Thanks to 
additional investments from Congress last year, we began 
rebuilding the EEOC's workforce, which in Fiscal Year 2020 had 
fallen to the lowest level in 40 years.
    Through the efforts of our dedicated career staff, the EEOC 
has helped thousands of workers and employers over the last 
year. We secured more than 485 million dollars for survivors of 
discrimination, resolved nearly 400 systemic investigations, 
conducted over 2,300 outreach events, reaching over a quarter 
of a million persons, and provided much-needed information on 
emerging issues due to the pandemic.
    We were also proud to join and launched a new initiative 
called the Higher Initiative to Reimagine Equity to focus on 
making sure that this is an equitable recovery. I look forward 
to your questions at this hearing and appreciate very much the 
committee's time.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Burrows follows:]
    
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    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you for your testimony. Next, we 
will hear from Director Jenny Yang. You are recognized for 5 
minutes for your testimony.

        STATEMENT OF JENNY YANG, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF
            FEDERAL CONTRACT COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS

    Ms. Yang. Good morning, Chair Bonamici, Ranking Member 
Fulcher, Chair Scott, Ranking Member Foxx, and members of the 
subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me to this important 
hearing. DOL's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs 
is charged with protecting America's workers by ensuring that 
those who do business with the Federal Government fulfill the 
promise of equal opportunity. Our dedicated staff works to 
advance opportunity, promote diversity, and enforce the law.
    Our jurisdiction covers about 20 percent of the American 
workforce. As our country invests in its infrastructure and 
rebuilds from the pandemic, OFCCP is redoubling our efforts to 
enable all workers to access good jobs, free from 
discrimination.
    The historic $65 billion Congress authorized for 
infrastructure projects will increase the number of contractors 
under OFCCP's jurisdiction. This anticipated growth in the 
contractor workforce underscores the agency's need for 
resources after reaching its lowest levels of staffing in 
decades, we are actively hiring over 100 people this fiscal 
year.
    Since the creation of OFCCP in 1965, our country has made 
significant progress in expanding equal opportunity, yet 
discrimination remains a substantial barrier. In the last 
fiscal year, the agency recovered nearly 32 million dollars for 
over 24,000 workers.
    To support an inclusive recovery, OFCCP is working to 
promote greater compliance, empower America's workers, and 
rebuild our staff. As our Nation invests in its infrastructure, 
OFCCP is reinvigorating its construction enforcement and has 
scheduled over 100 construction evaluations. Through a renewed 
mega construction project program, we will provide proactive 
compliance assistance to expand access to jobs on some of the 
most consequential projects.
    Through DOL's Good Jobs Initiative, we assist Federal 
agencies in promoting equal opportunity in their infrastructure 
contracts. OFCCP is taking significant action to promote 
greater compliance during this critical time. On equal pay day, 
we issued a new directive to emphasize the importance of 
contractors' long-standing responsibility to proactively audit 
or pay equity.
    Through OFCCP's review of pay data, and our interviews with 
employees and compliance evaluations, we identify violations 
that would not otherwise come to light. We found systemic pay 
discrimination in over a third of discrimination resolutions 
this administration.
    For example, last December we resolved pay discrimination 
allegations with Allied Barton Security Services, providing 
$1,175,000.00 to over 2,200 female, black, and American Indian 
security officers. In February 2021, in a settlement with 
Google, we obtained 3.8 million dollars for more than 5,500 
workers after finding pay disparities and hiring barriers for 
female employees and Asian American applicants for software 
engineering positions.
    In January, OFCCP and EEOC launched HIRE, a hiring 
initiative to reimagine equity, to expand access to good jobs. 
The U.S. economy has added 7.9 million jobs since the start of 
this administration, yet many workers from underrepresented 
communities still face disproportionately high unemployment. At 
a time where many employers are searching for talent, HIRE will 
identify proven hiring practices that advance equal opportunity 
and assist employers in finding the talent they need.
    This includes removing barriers for workers with 
disabilities and veterans. The pandemic has had an impact on 
mental health for many Americans, and we have an opportunity to 
transform how we address mental health at work. To promote 
compliance, OFCCP recently launched an electronic contractor 
portal to certify compliance with annual affirmative action 
program requirements.
    On March 31st, the agency issued a new directive to promote 
consistent accountability and efficiency in compliance 
valuations. We have long prioritized active compliance 
assistance to contractors, and empowering workers through 
outreach and engagement. To achieve greater progress, OFCCP 
must rebuild our staff. Compliance officer levels are down more 
than 50 percent from a decade ago.
    President Biden's budget for 2023 requests over $147 
million for OFCCP to support much-needed hiring to meet our 
increased responsibilities. In closing, I thank you for your 
support, and I look forward to your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Yang follows.]
    
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you for your testimony. Under 
Committee Rule 9(a), we will now question witnesses under the 
5-minute rule. I will be recognizing subcommittee members in 
seniority order. Staff will be keeping track of time, so the 
members adhere to the 5-minute rule. Please be attentive to the 
time, wrap up when your time is over, and re-mute your 
microphone.
    First, I will recognize the Chairman of the Full Committee, 
Chairman Bobby Scott from Virginia for 5 minutes for your 
questions.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I want to thank both 
of our witnesses for their testimony and their lifelong 
commitment to equal opportunity. First, Chair Burrows, during 
the Trump administration there was a rule that was promulgated 
that allowed faith-based organizations to discriminate in 
employment. What was wrong with the rule and what did you do 
about it?
    Ms. Burrows. Well, thank you, Chair Scott, and I believe 
that you are referring to the religious guidance that the EEOC 
issued at the end of the last administration. That was a 
guidance that addressed a really important issue of religious 
discrimination across the board, and yet we--I was concerned 
about the manner in which we approached that, that it was you 
know rushed through in a very abbreviated period, I think 
something like a 5-day formal vote for very lengthy documents.
    Really thought that it would have been terrific if we could 
have addressed some of the--taken the time first of all to 
really delve into that issue, but also addressed some of the 
very pressing problems that we have seen with respect to 
religious discrimination during the pandemic. For instance, we 
had heard from the Sikh community about issues regarding PPE 
and those folks who for religious reasons may wear, have facial 
hair, and how to balance those issues.
    There were just a number of things that I thought we could 
have done, and I had some concerns frankly about the race to 
finish it in the time that we did.
    Mr. Scott. Well, so there seems to be almost a redefinition 
of the victim of discrimination. When I was growing up, we went 
to a restaurant and we were not served because of your 
ethnicity, you were the victim of discrimination. Now it seems 
that the restaurant owner cannot discriminate against you, then 
he is the victim of discrimination.
    Why is it problematic to protect the right to discriminate, 
rather than the right to be free from discrimination?
    Ms. Burrows. Well, absolutely the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
protects the right to be free from unlawful discrimination 
based on race, color, national origin, religion, as well as 
sex. At that time, as you I am sure are well aware, a lot of 
the arguments about segregated lunch counters, et cetera, were 
based in arguments about--religious arguments about the need to 
segregate racial populations.
    Absolutely under our statutes, race discrimination is 
protected even if there is a religious argument for it, and 
that is true with the other bases as well. There is not a 
question about that with respect to our statutes.
    Mr. Scott. The point is that the victim of discrimination 
is entitled to be free from discrimination. We are not 
protecting somebody's right to discriminate. Director Yang, the 
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has a more 
aggressive mission, and that is proactively required 
affirmative action and with government contractors.
    What kind of affirmative action will you require, and how 
will you enforce compliance with the affirmative action 
requirements in the law?
    Ms. Yang. Thank you for that question, Chairman Scott. 
Under the three authorities that OFCCP enforces, we enforce 
both non-discrimination requirements, and affirmative action 
requirements. Our requirements ask Federal contractors to 
affirmatively recruit underrepresented workers in a variety of 
ways to increase the qualified talent in the applicant pool.
    We ask contractors to track metrics to measure progress and 
diagnose concerns. Our requirements do not in any way impose 
quotas, and in fact, prohibit them. We do enforce these 
affirmative action requirements through our compliance 
evaluations. We conduct routine evaluations through a mutually 
scheduled compliance evaluation, where we have the opportunity 
to work with contractors to provide compliance assistance, and 
to identify opportunities for them to expand access to jobs, to 
understand where they may have barriers to promotion, or 
unequal pay.
    That is the kind of work that OFCCP is focusing on in 
Federal construction contracting, as well.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you. Madam Chair, if I can get both 
witnesses to provide for the record an analysis of how their 
budget requests will allow them to get their job done, I would 
appreciate it.
    Ms. Yang. Absolutely.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Without objection, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Scott. I yield back.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I now 
recognize Ranking Member Mr. Fulcher for 5 minutes for your 
questions.
    Mr. Fulcher. Thank you, Madam Chair and I have a question 
for Director Yang please. In November the OFCCP published a 
proposed rule to rescind the previous administration's rule 
protecting faith-based organizations that wish to bid on 
Federal contracts. That rule ensured faith-based organizations 
could apply for Federal contracts on equal footing with other 
employers without having to compromise their religious beliefs.
    Can you provide assurances to this committee that OFCCP 
will not discriminate against faith-based organizations who 
wish to participate in Federal contracting?
    Ms. Yang. Thank you for that question. OFCCP is firmly 
committed to protecting religious freedom as well as workers. I 
can, I am happy to share our proposal. We are in the rulemaking 
process, so I am limited in what I can say, but I can explain 
the rationale. Our proposal to return to----
    Mr. Fulcher. Director Yang, why propose the rule change if 
that is what you believe?
    Ms. Yang. Well, the reason we propose the rule change is we 
would like to return to the practice in place for nearly 18 
years under both Republican and Democratic administrations to 
apply the text of the religious exemption to the case law as it 
evolves, so that we can make sure to adhere faithfully to the 
law.
    Mr. Fulcher. Do you believe then that faith-based 
organizations have a rightful place in competing for Federal 
contracts on equal footing?
    Ms. Yang. Absolutely.
    Mr. Fulcher. Great, thank you very much. I appreciate that 
comment. A followup question, if I may. March 15th, you issued 
a directive requiring Federal contractors to perform a pay 
equity study. That was not defined. To provide that study to 
OFCCP when the contractor audit is under audit, excuse me, 
contractor is under audit.
    This directive further prohibits the contractor from 
asserting the attorney/client privilege if an attorney prepared 
that audit. This directive was issued without the required 
notice and public comment. Can you please describe on what 
authority that you issued this directive requiring a new major 
obligation that appears to arbitrarily decree that the 
contractor loses its right to assert attorney/client privilege, 
and did it without notice or comment.
    Ms. Yang. Thank you for that question. We issued a 
directive to explain a long-standing regulation that requires 
Federal contractors who are supply service contractors to 
conduct in-depth analyses of all of their employment practices, 
so that includes hiring, pay, promotion, and other areas. That 
is conducting a proactive audit. What----
    Mr. Fulcher. Director if I may then, why avoid the notice 
of public comment?
    Ms. Yang. Well, the regulation already exists, and so 
simply what we did through the directive is highlight to 
employers the importance of complying with that existing 
regulation.
    Mr. Fulcher. Do you see value in having that public 
comment? Do you think that that rule should be there?
    Ms. Yang. There was public comment on the regulation that 
exists that does already require the pay equity audit.
    Mr. Fulcher. You do not think there needs to be any public 
comment for changes to that?
    Ms. Yang. We will be actually looking at our whole supply 
and service regulation, including this provision that I am 
referring to.
    Mr. Fulcher. With public comment?
    Ms. Yang. We will have a full public comment process.
    Mr. Fulcher. Thank you, Director Yang. A followup question 
if I may, I would like to go to Chair Burrows please. Chair 
Burrows, more than a month ago Ranking Member Foxx wrote to you 
requesting information about EEOC's plans to return to in-
person, onsite work. The fact remains we have 2,000 EEOC 
bargaining unit workers that still have not returned to in-
person onsite work after more than 2 years.
    Your written testimony admits that by keeping field offices 
closed, EEOC has failed to reach some of its most vulnerable 
workers. When will you put that back in place, the in-person 
work?
    Ms. Burrows. We are--right now we have returned our 
directors to work in the physical offices. Everyone at the 
EEOC, all 2,000 plus of us, have been fully working during this 
pandemic period. The fact that our office is closed does not 
mean that we have not been working.
    Mr. Fulcher. Chairman Burrows, I am out of time, so forgive 
me, but just to close that do you not see the value of having 
your employees back at work?
    Ms. Burrows. Absolutely, and we are currently in 
negotiations to bring all of our bargaining unit folks back in 
as well.
    Mr. Fulcher. Thank you, Chairman Burrows. Madam Chair, I 
yield back.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you, Ranking Member Fulcher. I 
now recognize myself for 5 minutes. Director Yang, women, 
particularly women of color are severely underrepresented in 
construction apprenticeships and jobs. This is a result of 
various factors, including inadequate recruitment, hostility, 
sexual harassment, during apprenticeship programs and on the 
job, is something I have had many conversations about over the 
years, as well as pernicious gender bias.
    Does OFCCP evaluate construction apprenticeship programs to 
identify gender-based discriminatory barriers in recruitment 
and hiring? If so, does OFCCP plan on using Fiscal Year 2023 
funding to improve oversight and monitoring of construction 
contractors to address these barriers?
    Ms. Yang. Thank you for that question. OFCCP has made it a 
top priority to strengthen our construction enforcement for the 
reasons that you mentioned. Women, people of color, have 
historically been under-represented in good jobs in the trades, 
and we've been building our relationships with the contractor, 
a community in the construction space, unions, worker advocacy 
groups.
    We understand some of these systemic barriers that we need 
to overcome, and it will take all of us. OFCCP knows we cannot 
do this alone, and we are here to help several contractors and 
workers. Apprenticeship programs, which you mentioned, are a 
critical part of creating the talent pool for the major 
infrastructure projects that we have. OFCCP will go into some 
of our most consequential projects, which we have called mega 
projects.
    We go into communities, even before the contractor is 
selected. We form committees working with community-based 
organizations, local governments, and Members of Congress to 
ensure that everyone understands the job opportunities that are 
available. People from all communities learn about the 
apprenticeship programs and other job training opportunities so 
that contractors interested in bidding can be competitive.
    That is a very important opportunity. We have to help 
ensure people from all communities have access to these 
critical jobs and their communities. We have scheduled over 100 
construction contractors for compliance evaluations, and during 
those evaluations, we do review data to look at the hours 
worked, so that is utilization across various demographic 
groups.
    We can help identify where in an apprenticeship program 
women may not be getting sufficient training, or people of 
color may be dropping out of the apprenticeship program and 
assigned to lower-paying jobs, rather than the higher paying 
jobs the apprenticeship program was designed to support them 
in, so this is a key priority.
    Chairman Bonamici. Thank you. You actually answered my 
followup question about how OFCCP is supporting inclusivity in 
those apprenticeships, so thank you for that information. Chair 
Burrows, in the last administration there was a decrease in 
EEOC staffing levels, but also a dramatic decline in the 
pending charge backlog. I woud like you to talk about that. 
Does this contradiction mean that the prior administration 
implemented policies that elevated expedience over workers' due 
process rights?
    What has the current Commission done to address this issue?
    Ms. Burrows. First of all, every single one of those 
charges represents an individual who has been harmed and is 
coming to us for help. Sometimes frankly people share with us 
things they have not even told their own families. We have to 
take that very seriously.
    We also have to--part of that frankly is understanding that 
we have to manage the charge inventory. We have about 250 
charges coming in daily to give some sense of perspective for 
those roughly just north of 2,000 workers. While looking, I am 
not sure the answer with the respect to the past 
administration, looking forward we are absolutely going to 
treat those charges with the respect that they need to have, 
but also is why we are so focused on getting more frontline 
staff to address that issue.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Terrific thank you. I am going to go 
back to Director Yang briefly, and go back to the problem of 
the lack of women in the construction trades, and ask if you 
are addressing the issue of once the people get to the worksite 
and face discrimination, how does OFCCP address that issue of 
discrimination at the workplace once women get through the 
apprenticeship program and get to the jobsite?
    Ms. Yang. Thank you for that question. When we do a 
compliance evaluation we will go--typically go onsite to the 
construction worksite, which is very critical. We will learn 
things through those reviews. In one case for example, black 
women were not allowed to use the restroom on premises. 
Everyone else was. They were told they had to go a mile away to 
use the restroom.
    They found feces in their trucks, and no one was able to 
help them with these issues until we came in, we conducted the 
compliance evaluation, and we were able to ensure that the 
employer took the steps necessary to stop that kind of 
harassing behavior. We do a review, both of our people getting 
the opportunity to work.
    In other situations, black workers were told to show up 
every day, but they were not assigned to any jobs, even though 
all these other workers from all kinds of other backgrounds 
were getting paid, getting assigned out. They had to wait all 
day with no pay.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you, Dr. Yang. I am over my time 
and yield back thank you. Next, I will recognize Representative 
McClain from Michigan for 5 minutes for your questions.
    Mrs. McClain. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you ladies 
for being here. I appreciate your time and effort. I need to 
get a little context in terms of the verbiage that we use. You 
keep talking about systemic, systemic, systemic, can you give 
me the definition of what you mean when you say systemic?
    Ms. Burrows. Well, with respect to the EEOC's enforcement.
    Mrs. McClain. Yes.
    Ms. Burrows. What we mean is when we look at broad patterns 
or practices, that is the language of our statute, patterns or 
practices of discrimination that when you address them can 
affect a large number of people. Sometimes, if you get a change 
in that area, it can actually have an effect in an industry 
because a lot of folks follow industry leaders, they follow you 
know the news and so----
    Mrs. McClain. You are not using systemic in the way that it 
is blatant across all lines, and 100 percent? I just want to 
make sure that although we have issues there is no question. I 
mean, I am a woman. I am in the workplace. I have my own 
business, right? When I hear systemic, I am thinking that it is 
high volumes. I am thinking that it is everywhere.
    It is more the norm than the abnorm. You are using systemic 
in the sense that if we make a minor change we can have a 
maximum effect on it. Am I correct in that understanding?
    Ms. Burrows. Well, certainly we are not looking at it every 
single--everything that an employer does is absolutely 
discriminatory. That is not what I mean.
    Mrs. McClain. Thank you, thank you. I just wanted to make 
sure because when we use words, our words are extremely 
powerful, and those words resonate, so I just want to make sure 
we are on the same sheet music. I want to switch a little bit. 
Ms. Burrows, you State in your testimony that the EEOC works to 
advance racial justice in the workplace by promoting merit-
based practices. Correct?
    Ms. Burrows. That is right.
    Mrs. McClain. Good. I mean, I would because merit--if we 
are using merit as an outcome-based practice, we are taking a 
look at the result. My question is do you believe that all 
employees should have the ability to grant merit-based pay 
raises?
    Ms. Burrows. I think you mean all employers.
    Mrs. McClain. I am sorry, all employers, yes. To me, let us 
when we are making raises, when we are going to go and promote 
raises, do you believe that the employer should look at the 
outcomes, and base it on merit? That would probably be one of 
the best non-discriminatory practices because if we look at the 
output, we do not care if you are who you are, what you are, 
what you identify, we are looking at the output, and that would 
be merit-based.
    Ms. Burrows. If an employer is making a merit-based 
decision that does not violate our laws in any way.
    Mrs. McClain. Good. I am glad. Will you commit to 
supporting employer's ability to grant merit-based pay raises 
regardless of negotiated wage scales in place of employment?
    Ms. Burrows. We certainly work with employers and see them 
as partners. Nothing that you have raised to me sounds as 
though it would violate our laws.
    Mrs. McClain. Good. No, that is good, and I think a lot of 
times there is a misnomer on the easiest way to not 
discriminate is to take a look at what the output is right? You 
also mentioned in your testimony that the EEOC is working hard 
to address pay discrimination in hiring and promotions, right?
    We want to make sure that everyone is on a level playing 
field, correct?
    Ms. Burrows. That is right. We found a number of cases in 
which women and persons of color have been discriminated 
against in the sense that they were given lower pay for doing 
exactly the same job.
    Mrs. McClain. Right, right. We all know that that is not a 
good thing right.
    Ms. Burrows. That is right.
    Mrs. McClain. Would you agree that if an employee has a 
master's degree that they may be paid more than somebody maybe 
who does not? Do you believe degree level matters? Education 
matters in the hiring process?
    Ms. Burrows. Well, it really depends on what the job is. If 
it is relevant to the job, it certainly may, and if it is not 
relevant to the job then there wouldn't be a basis to make that 
distinction. One of the things that is really important is for 
employers to be making that decision in a fact-based way what 
are the skills needed----
    Mrs. McClain. How do you determine relevancy?
    Ms. Burrows. Well, it depends on what the jobs are, and 
what the job is, and what is necessary to do the job.
    Mrs. McClain. I think the definition since we are holding 
these employers to a very high standard. I am out of time. I 
think relevancy matters, and the criteria we use to make these 
decisions need to be played out. Thank you for your time, I 
appreciate it.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. The representative yields back thank 
you. Representative Adams from North Carolina, you are 
recognized for 5 minutes for your questions.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you, Chair Bonamici, for convening this 
important hearing. The EEOC and the OFCCP do critically 
important work to protect our workers from employment 
discrimination and I certainly appreciate the opportunity to 
discuss that work today, so I want to thank all the witnesses.
    Chair Burrows, I note that the EEOC's Fiscal Year 202023 
budget justification mentions multiple ways that it plans to 
increase diversity in employment and recruitment. This includes 
plans to build strategic partnerships and alliances with 
stakeholders such as HBCUs and MSIs for that recruitment.
    Can you first talk about the importance of EEOC's outreach 
to HBCUs and MSIs? Then can you speak to the outcomes and any 
lessons learned from EEOC's Fiscal Year 202022 and current 
HBCU/MSI engagement and outreach?
    Ms. Burrows. Thank you so much for that question. As 
someone whose--both my parents spent their entire careers 
working for HBCUs--I am really passionate about this issue, and 
we have been very pleased to work together with the 
administration, the White House Initiative in this area, and 
have been doing a number of things, and particularly do a great 
deal of outreach every year to HBCUs.
    We have you know obviously with respect to our own hiring 
make sure to get our own information to them when we have a job 
opening for internships as well as permanent positions. Really 
are looking to strengthening that partnership as we lean into 
the hiring initiative to reimagine equity.
    I think that we can never in terms of lessons learned, 
never do too much in terms of making sure that we are on the 
radar screen for HBCUs in that area, and it has been enormously 
helpful. I should also add that we have a lot of staff that are 
alumni of HBCUs as well.
    Ms. Adams. Great. Well, thank you. Turning to Fiscal Year 
202023 can you provide more information about what the 
Commission's HBCU outreach goals are for 2023, and how the EEOC 
will use allocated funding to improve outreach in Fiscal Year 
202023?
    Ms. Burrows. Absolutely. Well, we will certainly continue 
to do what we have been doing and have also looked at--we have 
an equity plan to make sure that we are reaching as broadly as 
possible to include as many of America's population as 
possible. Part of that is doing that together with HBCUs. We 
have a long-standing, very popular program called Youth at 
Work, in which we partner with actually also high schools, but 
also colleges, and want to increase our efforts with HBCUs in 
that area because it has been enormously helpful to, as people 
are just beginning their careers to make sure they understand 
their rights, and that has paid dividends for sure.
    Ms. Adams. Okay. EEOC's serve more than what a half a 
million of my constituents in Charlotte, North Carolina. As you 
know the Coronavirus pandemic has really challenged much of the 
ways in which we thought about the workforce. Workers and 
employers across the country tapped into creative and 
innovative approaches to fulfill their day-to-day operations.
    Can you talk a little bit about how or whether COVID-19 
pandemic impacted the day-to-day work of EEOC, including its 
investigations and education, and outreach efforts to relevant 
stakeholders?
    Ms. Burrows. Absolutely. Well like every other employer, 
and every other frankly person in America, we were impacted 
with that. The first impact was in March 2020, we moved to 
practically complete you know had to close our offices for the 
safety of the public, for the safety of our folks.
    What we learned to do is conduct a lot of our business 
remotely. We invested in remote you know sort of platforms, so 
that we could continue to do that. We have had wild success 
with our mediation program remotely. Folks liked it a lot, and 
we have gotten good recoveries in that.
    We have also done some trials remotely. We have done them 
in person and remotely during COVID-19, you know, what the 
courts wanted we were able to provide, and continue to look for 
creative ways to do that. We have expanded our outreach as 
well. I am though considering, you know, still concerned as I 
said in my testimony that there are some folks that have 
difficulty reaching us when we are not in person.
    We are looking very closely at that issue and looking 
forward to being able to reopen as well.
    Ms. Adams. Well, thank you. I am out of time, just a few 
seconds, but I do want to thank you, and let you know that I 
look forward to the work that EEOC will do in fiscal years 1922 
and 1923. Thank you, Madam Chair, I am going to yield back.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you Representative and sticking 
with North Carolina, I now recognize the Ranking Member of the 
Full Committee Dr. Foxx for 5 minutes for your questions.
    Ms. Foxx. Amen, Madam Chairwoman. Chair Burrows in a recent 
case Amazon terminated an employee for making vulgar offensive 
abusive remarks to a female employee through a bull horn. A 
video of which was posted on the internet. NLRB General Counsel 
Abruzzo sought a Court order that would require Amazon to 
reinState the employee.
    Last week, an NLRB Administrative Law Judge ordered Amazon 
to reinState him with back pay. Committee majority staff has 
indicated that the video is too offensive to play in the 
committee hearing. If it is too offensive to play here, one 
would think it is not appropriate for the workplace. His 
behavior and remarks were clearly seen to constitute sexual 
harassment under EEOC guidance.
    Do you believe such conduct potentially violates Title VII 
of the Civil Rights Act?
    Ms. Burrows. Thank you. I am not familiar with the video 
that you referenced. Our laws--Title VII of the Civil Rights 
Act has a long interpretation with respect to what is 
harassment, and as I said earlier, we take that very seriously. 
If there were an instance of harassment that person could file 
a charge and bring it to us, and we would evaluate.
    With respect to the broader question of issues that arise 
in that context, I would defer to the NLRA
    [NLRB] as to the NLRA issues.
    Ms. Foxx. You have not seen the video?
    Ms. Burrows. I have not seen the video that you were 
referencing, no.
    Ms. Foxx. Okay. Do you believe the employee may have been 
rightfully fired for such conduct?
    Ms. Burrows. Without context, and it is a very fact-
specific undertaking, I am not able to comment on that.
    Ms. Foxx. Is the EEOC prepared to address this case?
    Ms. Burrows. I am not aware of whether, you know, we 
certainly--will put it this way. We certainly will address any 
allegations that are brought to us. We are not of course at 
liberty to say, confirm or deny under the statute whether or 
not we have received a particular charge because there is a 
criminal penalty involved with revealing that.
    Ms. Foxx. Okay. Chair Burrows in 2016 the EEOC issued a 
requirement that employers provide their detailed compensation 
data on a yearly basis for each of the employees, a requirement 
that was abandoned after 2 years. EEOC apparently did nothing 
with the data it collected. EEOC later showed that it was 
extremely expensive for employers to collect this data.
    Experts have also demonstrated the data would be of no use 
to employers, or to EEOC for purposes of Title VII, or Equal 
Pay Act enforcement. More importantly, they have shown that 
EEOC has no ability to protect the confidentiality of this 
highly sensitive data. You stated that you are considering re-
issuing this pay data requirement.
    Given the requirements of nearly identical work under 
nearly identical conditions that are necessary to support a 
claim of unlawful pay discrimination. What practical value is 
there in collecting this aggregation information at a 
tremendous burden to employers? How would any of this 
information be useful to EEOC in investigating or prosecuting a 
Title VII or Equal Pay Act claim? Please be specific in your 
answer.
    Ms. Burrows. Thank you. The Equal Pay Act and the Title VII 
of 1964 have been in effect almost 60 years, and in that time, 
we have cut the pay gap almost in half. Part of the reason--but 
only almost in half. Part of the reason it is taking so long is 
that we need more information on the law enforcement side to be 
able to effectively attack that very pernicious problem.
    One of the frankly difficulties has been the lack of 
specific pay data for the agency as we start to figure out how 
to focus on our resources. Lily Ledbetter, for whom the Act is 
named, received an anonymous note, and that is how she learned 
about it.
    The pay data collection is being studied now by the 
National Academies of Sciences. We do have effective and very 
talented folks who have checked the security for that, and also 
are looking at the pay data, and are able to say that it would 
be very useful to us. With respect to exactly how that will be 
used, I do want to wait for the National Academy of Sciences to 
give us their recommendations.
    I think it would be unwise to get ahead of that.
    Ms. Foxx. We will look forward to getting your specific 
answers, and Madam Chair I am out of time, but I will be 
submitting some questions, and we would like to have timely 
responses. Thank you very much.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you, Ranking Member. As the 
Chair, I just want to clarify Ranking Member Foxx's statement 
that the majority forbid somehow the use of a video. The 
majority party simply asked the minority party to remove the 
expletives, and they chose not to do so, but in any event, it 
is my understanding that the matter that was discussed is 
pending before the National Labor Relations Board, and not the 
EEOC, so I struggle to understand how it was relevant.
    Next, I recognize Representative Hayes from Connecticut for 
5 minutes for your questions.
    Ms. Hayes. Thank you, Chairwoman Bonamici for holding this 
important hearing today. I would like to draw attention to the 
needs of caregivers. Two out of every three American caregivers 
are women. They are disproportionately women of color, and 
often from low-income households.
    Their work to care for children and spouses, parents and 
loved ones is unpaid, and their contributions to our Nation's 
economy is valued at over 470 billion dollars. These caregivers 
face obstacles to upward economic mobility, and the COVID-19 
pandemic has put the inequitable strain on full display as they 
have tried to balance their obligations of essential work, 
children, and their families.
    From December 2021 to January 2022, nearly two million 
women left a job, lost a job, or had not looked for a job 
because of the need for care for their children, compared with 
about 1.2 million men. For these caregivers that remain in the 
workforce, 61 percent report potentially illegal discrimination 
at work. The EEOC recently issued guidance with respect to 
caregivers. In the guidance the Commission clarifies actions 
that would constitute discrimination against employees who are 
caregivers under EEO laws.
    Chair Burrows, can you explain the EEOC's reasoning for 
releasing this guidance, and the impact it will have on 
caregivers' workplace experiences?
    Ms. Burrows. Thank you. Yes. We feel so strongly that that 
is really urgent now. We are fortunately, I hope, turning the 
corner on the pandemic reopening, and as we do that though 
there are many, many folks who are going back to the workplace, 
or seeking to do so, who also have to juggle those caregiving 
responsibilities for children, or for other--for ill family 
members, elder care, et cetera.,
    We thought it was really important in this moment as we are 
all seeking to ensure that there is an equitable recovery. That 
everyone has an opportunity to contribute, and to benefit from 
that, that we make clear the needs of caregivers, and how our 
statutes can be affected by that.
    We do have a longer-term caregiver guidance, but we wanted 
to have it in more accessible form and get it out now because 
it seemed like exactly the right time.
    Ms. Hayes. Well, I believe this guidance is a welcome 
clarification from the EEOC. How does your office plan to 
address potential increased reporting of caregiver 
discrimination given the heighten backlog of private sector 
charges? And do you believe the EEOC is adequately resourced to 
handle a potential influx of reports caused by this guidance?
    Ms. Burrows. It is no secret that we are working very hard 
to manage an inventory that we stay ahead of I should add. We 
get about 61,000 charges in the door, and we resolve about 
62,000 charges in the door. This is every year, so we are a 
little bit ahead of the curve here, but it is obviously a lot 
to manage. We are focused on that.
    Part of the end will be ready to respond to those issues. I 
will say that part of the reason to have the guidance out there 
is not just to let employees know about their rights, but also 
for employers to have some understanding of the 
responsibilities so that hopefully because most employers do 
want to get this right, that we can help them make sure that 
this is handled in the appropriate way so that we will get 
fewer charges.
    Ms. Hayes. Thank you. I want to shift focus a little bit 
here. According to EEOC data, race-based discrimination charges 
have consistently represented a third of the charges filed with 
the EEOC since 1997. This is approximately 30,000 charges 
alleging some form of racial discrimination, which indicates 
that race-based discrimination is still a significant issue 
within American workplaces, yet in recent reporting some EEOC 
employees allege that the agency assigns low priority to race 
discrimination charges, in particular, charges filed by black 
workers.
    Chairwoman Burrows, what is your response to these 
allegations, and what specific actions has EEOC taken to 
address them?
    Ms. Burrows. Thank you. Well, we absolutely prioritize 
ensuring that every single worker's charge is taken seriously 
and decided on the merits. The response to our African American 
charges somehow given lesser weight, and I can say for certain 
not on my watch, we are not going to do that. I do not believe 
that that has been a problem.
    I do believe that we need more resources to focus so that 
we can give that sort of service and those investigations can 
be concluded more quickly, but that is something that we took a 
look at, and are going to continue to focus on. Part of the 
equity plan is making sure that those barriers that may be 
there to folks reaching us, or getting through the process, are 
things that we can really address directly.
    Ms. Hayes. I am sorry, thank you. I am out of time. Madam 
Chair, I apologize, I yield back, thank you.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you, Representative. Next, I 
recognize Representative Fitzgerald from Wisconsin for 5 
minutes for your questions.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. Thank you, Madam Chair. Chair Burrows, 
thanks for being here. Two things that in my own estimate that 
really suffered during the pandemic. One is I think there has 
been a huge loss of credibility when it comes to the public 
health system. The other thing I think that took a direct hit 
was protection for religious beliefs. I think it was dismissed, 
or it was negated by some of the policies.
    With that being said, during height of the pandemic, EEOC 
issued guidance on whether employees could require--whether 
employers could require employees to become vaccinated. While 
the guidance recognized Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and 
along with that the assertion on religious objections to the 
vaccine requirement.
    Your agency, and I do not know why, seemed to weaken the 
right to use this to quite honestly kind of put up a wall to 
those that were going to be vaccinated. I am just wondering do 
you believe that that in fact happened, or can you explain some 
of the changes in and around religious beliefs when it came to 
the pandemic?
    Ms. Burrows. If I understand the question Representative, 
the EEOC strongly believes in protecting against religious 
discrimination. We have done that with our own workforce, we 
have provided information to the public about that, including 
about folks who may have a religious objection to receiving a 
COVID-19 vaccine.
    That is on our website, and we are constantly updating as 
new issues come up. We have also shared our own information 
about how we treat our workforce as we have made that public, 
and we certainly recognize those objections, and apply the law 
when they are raised with us.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. Do you believe that you changed the posture 
on what really was a responsive measure to religious beliefs, 
and took it a step further by saying listen, we are going to 
kind of change the dynamics of what we consider legitimate, and 
not legitimate when it comes to that exemption?
    Ms. Burrows. I am not aware of what you are referring to, I 
am sorry.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. February 2021, you removed the report from 
the EEOC website that was something that was put together by 
General Counsel Sharon Fast Gustafson and Commissioner Andrea 
Lucas. That was very specific and very comprehensive in saying 
these are the types of things under religious exemption that 
will remain acceptable.
    It just seems that this is one other area during the 
pandemic in which there were changes and shifts by the EEOC. I 
am just wondering if that was intentional, was it revisited on 
purpose, or was it something that simply was--that you believe 
never really happened?
    Ms. Burrows. I believe that you are referring to a document 
that the former general counsel of the EEOC had included with 
respect to some invitation-only listening sessions that she 
had. After that, the full Commission voted on a religious 
guidance document that we put on our website. The document that 
you are referring to was with respect to a single--the general 
counsel and I believe a single Commissioner.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. Do you think it had anything to do with the 
actual pandemic and what we were in the middle of experiencing 
related to any of those policy changes?
    Ms. Burrows. I do not believe there were policy changes set 
forth in the document that you are referring to, but the 
document that the full committee addressed, the religious 
guidance, which is on our website, does look in a very 
thoroughgoing way at a number of issues, and sets forth the 
current position of the EEOC.
    I did hope that there were additional things we could 
include in that, including the specifics about the pandemic 
frankly, but the pace at which the commission voted on that 
document did not allow us to add some of the things that I 
would have loved to address at that point.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. Well, I guess my comment would be you know 
I hope it was not some type of knee jerk reaction to the 
pandemic, or that there was some type of conscious effort to 
somehow you know, my word, water down, kind of where the EEOC 
would be on this because that would be a great concern I think 
that I would share with many other of my colleagues on the 
committee so, but thank you for your time. I yield back.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you, Representative. I now 
recognize Representative Leger Fernandez from New Mexico for 5 
minutes for your questions.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you very much, Chairwoman, and 
thank you for coming and sharing the work that you are engaging 
in on behalf of all of our workers. Director Yang, the OFCCP 
recently launched a web page that provided information on the 
employment rights of Indian and Native American workers.
    The website also describes OFCCP's efforts to connect 
Indian and Native American jobseekers with employment 
opportunities on federally funded construction projects. As we 
look forward to the many projects that are going to bring the 
clean water, the broadband, the infrastructure that is sorely 
needed throughout America, but especially within Native 
American communities, I wanted to thank you for that resource.
    I wanted to also ask you, how does the OFCCP plan to 
increase its efforts to conduct education, outreach, and 
compliance assistance activities to promote that recruitment, 
hiring retention, and advancement of Indians and Native 
Americans as well as protect their employment rights?
    Ms. Yang. Well, thank you for that question. We are very 
interested, particularly as the infrastructure, investments are 
made in working with our Federal partners, so contracting 
agencies to raise some of these issues. Not everyone is aware 
of the hiring authorities that exist for American Indians and 
Native Americans on projects located close to a reservation.
    We are working to make sure both our partners across the 
Federal Government who are interested in supporting equity in 
their contracting process, understand those opportunities as 
well. When we work on our construction enforcement, we are out 
in the community in the field bringing together the key leaders 
and organizations in those communities to make sure people 
learn about apprenticeship programs, training opportunities, 
and opportunities to work on the job.
    Internships for students are a critical way also for 
individuals to get into a field where they have been 
historically underrepresented, and we reach out broadly to many 
different educational institutions as well. This is a very 
important priority for our office, and we have some very 
dedicated staff leading those efforts.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you very much for that work 
because I think it is key that we recognize that the 
Infrastructure and Jobs Act, I love the second part of that, 
the Jobs Act right, that it is bringing both what our 
communities need to thrive, not just survive, but then to 
create the jobs within those communities. I am very 
appreciative of your mega construction project program that 
will have contractors and subcontractors make sure they create 
those jobs and invite our underrepresented workers, and that we 
also protect those civil rights.
    I wanted to turn now to Chair Burrows. There was a 2020 GAO 
report that found that there was a limited nationwide data on 
the prevalence and costs of workplace sexual harassment. We 
know it takes place, and it saps our economy, right? It is bad. 
It is bad for business, it is bad for women, it is bad for men 
who suffer this discrimination and harassment.
    I am interested in learning more about the prevalence of 
workplace for sexual harassment experienced by Latinas, by 
women of color, by Native Americans. In particular, whether 
these women are more likely to experience sexual harassment, 
while the 2020 GAO report acknowledged the data was limited, as 
an example it pointed out that Native Americans were close to 
three times as likely to report experiencing sexual harassment 
as non-Hispanic whites.
    This report also echoed the recommendations from the EEOC's 
2016 select task force on the study of harassment in the 
workplace are finding that the EEOC should work with Federal 
and/or private partners to develop and conduct a national 
survey that includes the sex-based harassment.
    Can you tell us what steps the EEOC has taken in regard to 
moving on these recommendations so that we have a better 
understanding of what is happening in the workplace for 
Latinas, women of color, and Native Americans?
    Ms. Barrows. I just want to say quickly that this is such 
an important issue, and such a top issue for us. One of the 
things that we have done is to look at some of our data, which 
to be clear, most people do not report. It is just the tip of 
the iceberg. To look at our data and make sure that we could 
also link it to those instances where there are charges of 
retaliation, so that we can see, hey, is it connected?
    We are also of course working very hard in our 
investigations, and as to the issue of intersectional 
harassment because harassment is a power first and foremost, 
often when people have multiple issues they will be targeted 
for those reasons.
    We see that in our work on farmworker women, we have seen 
that in our work on so many others, and I wish we had more 
time, but I am happy to followup with you on that because it is 
so important.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you, my time has expired. I look 
forward to hopefully providing the budget resources that you 
need to conduct that data. Madam Chairman I yield back.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you, Representative. Next, I 
recognize Representative Mrvan from Indiana for 5 minutes for 
your questions.
    Mr. Mrvan. Thank you, Chairwoman. In 2017 a report on 
diversity technology sector, the GAO recommended that the OFCCP 
evaluate its approach for identifying entities for compliance 
reviews to better reflect workplace structures and location, 
such as virtual sites, non-traditional forms of employment, 
especially in the technology sector, and to include 
subcontractors.
    In OFCCP Fall's 2021 regulatory agenda, the agency proposed 
adding a provision to Executive Order 11246, regulations that 
would require contractors to provide notice to the OFCCP when 
they award supply and service contracts. My question is how 
will having information about the subcontractors advance the 
agency's mission to ensure equal employment opportunities, 
especially in rapid, expanding industries such as the tech 
sector?
    Ms. Yang. Thank you for that question. We have been working 
to improve our scheduling methodology, and that's how we select 
contractors for compliance evaluations. We use neutral criteria 
to try to identify where there may likely to be problems that 
are important for us to be looking at as an agency.
    Specifically for subcontractors we have not had complete 
data on the dates of the time period of the contract for 
subcontractors. In the past, the agency had not scheduled a 
large group of subcontractors for compliance reviews, and what 
we are doing for our next scheduling list that will be issued 
in May is we have included subcontractors by using the prime 
contractor's contract dates.
    That information is available in current data bases, but it 
would be more helpful and accurate to have the dates of the 
subcontract. The recommendation by GAO was that OFCCP explore 
data sources to better schedule the full range of contractors 
under our jurisdiction.
    The agency is working more broadly to ensure that our 
practices align with how workplaces operate today. We recognize 
the point that you raised about many employers are not tied to 
one physical location. The historic approach OFCCP has taken in 
our regulations as to look at one establishment at a time, and 
that, we recognize, may not align with how an organization 
structures its practices.
    For example, software engineers in a technology company may 
not report directly to a leader within their physical location. 
They may report to a leader in a different location, and that 
leader may have authority over multiple establishments in 
different locations, and particularly after the pandemic we 
know that more and more workers are working remotely in a full-
time capacity, so one of the priorities we have in our supply 
and service regulation update, which is on a regulatory agenda, 
is really listening to contractors and understanding 
opportunities we have to modernize those regulations to better 
align with how businesses operate. Thank you.
    Mr. Mrvan. I thank you very much, and I yield back my time.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you, Representative. I do not 
see anymore subcommittee members on the minority side. Is Mr. 
Mfume on the platform? Okay, then we are going to go to non-
subcommittee members and start with Mr. Grothman from 
Wisconsin. You are recognized for 5 minutes for your questions.
    Mr. Grothman. Okay. I am going to look at little bit into 
your enforcement of Executive Order 11246. Would that be more 
appropriate to ask questions to you? Okay, very good. First 
question I have you breakdown people by ethnicity and race 
correct? What ethnicities or racial groups are you looking for?
    Ms. Yang. Our regulations ask employers to track data on 
demographic information by race, gender, ethnicity, for their 
employment practices. That is a metric that can help employers 
identify where there may be a problem in terms of a barrier to 
equal opportunity, and how they are making progress.
    Mr. Grothman. Sure. Can you define the difference between 
race and ethnicity, or what groups you are looking for on the 
form?
    Ms. Yang. By ethnicity, typically we are talking about 
Hispanic, non-Hispanic, and race you know, we are looking at 
you know various racial categories.
    Mr. Grothman. Okay. First of all, with regard to ethnicity, 
Hispanic, non-Hispanic. What is the definition of Hispanic?
    Ms. Yang. Well for our data collections we ask employees to 
self-identify, and so we ask employers to invite their 
workforce to identify for themselves what their ethnicity is or 
race.
    Mr. Grothman. Okay. To give an example, only because it is 
so commented on, is it to say when Senator Warren was applying 
for a job at wherever she went, Harvard Law School, if she is 
1/64th Native American, if she says I am a Native American, you 
put her down as Native American on the form, and she gets 
preferences over other people. Is that what you are saying?
    Ms. Yang. Let me be clear, OFCCP's regulations do not 
promote or permit preferences for any workers. There are 
separate congressionally authorized preferences for Native 
American Indian workers near reservations, but apart from that 
none of our regulations provide preferences.
    Mr. Grothman. Okay.
    Ms. Yang. All we ask is data collection, and we defer to 
the employee's self-identification.
    Mr. Grothman. Okay, but you realize of course that these 
forms are used, or people feel they have to hit targets on 
these forms, correct? Do you realize that?
    Ms. Yang. Actually, what we are very clear about in our 
work with the contractor community is that these are not 
inflexible quotas, these are goals that help contractors 
measure a project. Race and ethnicity are not to be considered 
in any employment decision.
    Mr. Grothman. Okay. Are you not aware that people who 
advise companies on these goals tell the employers that they 
are goals that have to be met, or if they are not met, they 
could be subject to some litigation?
    Ms. Yang. Under our enforcement authorities we do not bring 
an action against an entity simply because they are not 
achieving those goals. Those, as I mentioned, are a diagnostic 
tool. They are not used at all for an enforcement action. 
Employers are asked to show good faith efforts to help reach 
underrepresented populations.
    What we are looking at is are you trying, not--we do not 
bring enforcement actions based on that.
    Mr. Grothman. Well, okay. We will give you another. You 
have no problem if somebody says I am 1/64th Native American, 
or 1/64th Hispanic, that the employer gets to check those off 
as being a Hispanic or Native American?
    Ms. Yang. Well, let me be clear for data collection 
purposes, it is a diagnostic tool. If there was an actual case 
or litigation focus that it was material as to somebody's 
identity, you would have more you know fact-based sort of----
    Mr. Grothman. Well, I am told by people who deal with this 
that that is what you do. This open-ended that you self-
identify, and if you are 1/32d Hispanic, you can check off 
Hispanic, and if the employer feels that helps them get to the 
target they can hire you and get to the target.
    Ms. Yang. Well, these things are not connected, so the 
employer actually does not know how you identify when making a 
hiring decision. Those are separate processes where the actual 
hiring officials don't know the identification of the 
individual, and that is very intentional to avoid the concern 
that you are raising.
    Mr. Grothman. You mean if I am an employer, and I am 
filling out the form I have no idea who I am dealing with?
    Ms. Yang. These are different people within the 
organization, so you have a hiring manager charged with filling 
a position. You have your H.R. department that would complete 
the paperwork in a separate process.
    Mr. Grothman. It is amazing that you do not realize how 
this plays out in the real world, but thank you, I guess my 
time is up.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you, Representative Grothman. We 
have no further members in the queue to ask questions. I want 
to remind my colleagues that pursuant to committee practice, 
materials for submission to the hearing record must be 
submitted to the committee clerk within 14 days following the 
last day of the hearing, so by close of business on March 11, 
March 11? That cannot be right. It must be May, May 11, 2022, 
preferably in Microsoft Word format.
    The materials submitted must address the subject matter of 
the hearing. Only a member of the subcommittee or an invited 
witness may submit materials for inclusion in the hearing 
record. Documents are limited to 50 pages each, documents 
longer than 50 pages will be incorporated into the record via 
an internet link that you must provide to the committee clerk 
within the required timeframe, but please recognize that in the 
future that link may no longer work.
    Pursuant to House rules and regulations, items for the 
record should be submitted to the clerk electronically by 
emailing submissions to Edandlabor.hearings@mail.house.gov.
    Again, I want to thank the witnesses for their 
participation today. Members of the subcommittee may have some 
additional questions for you. We ask the witnesses to please 
respond to those questions in writing. The hearing record will 
be held open for 14 days to receive those responses. I remind 
my colleagues that pursuant to committee practice, witness 
questions for the hearing record must be submitted to the 
majority committee staff, or committee clerk within 7 days, and 
the questions must address the subject matter of the hearing.
    I now recognize the distinguished Ranking Member for a 
closing statement.
    Mr. Fulcher. Thank you, Madam Chair for holding this 
hearing, and Director and Chairman for being here today, and 
for providing testimony. Just as a closing thought I do remain 
concerned Director Yang of potential OFCCP discrimination 
regarding faith-based organizations.
    Just want to point out and serve as a reminder that that is 
a critical and needed component to the system. I just ask that 
you be mindful of that and see the value that they bring. Chair 
Burrows, regarding EEOC, we are still not back to in person 
work. That is a needed component to that situation.
    I think all of us have allowed COVID to manage us too long. 
It is time to manage it. I just ask that you accelerate that 
process of bringing people back to in person work. This 
situation where we appear to be looking to resurrect a defunct 
annual pay data collection system that is quite onerous on 
employees, and the people who turn those economic wheels for 
us.
    That takes me to my final thought, and that is just the 
overall culture that we appear to--and I am saying the 
collective we here. I am not being accusatory. The overall 
culture that we seem to be manifesting here. The Federal 
agencies versus the private sector. Too often we seem to take 
this attitude that the private sector reports to the government 
in some fashion, but that is just not true.
    That is backward to the original intent, and that is 
backward to how our systems work, and I think we all need to 
remember we serve the American workforce. They are the boss 
here, and yes, there are bad apples out there on both sides, 
and so this is a system to try to provide some oversight and 
help, but at the end it is the American people that we serve.
    All of us need to be reminded of that, and I thank you for 
your time and your work. I yield back, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Bonamici. Thank you. Thank you, Ranking Member 
Fulcher. I now recognize myself for the purpose of making a 
closing statement. I want to again thank our witnesses for 
being with us today. Under the leadership of Chair Burrows and 
Director Yang, the EEOC and OFCCP have taken critical steps to 
restore and strengthen worker's civil rights protections.
    Unfortunately, our discussion and the testimony today 
confirm that for far too many women, or people of color, or 
older workers, workers with disabilities, LGBTQI+ workers, they 
are still experiencing persistent discrimination in the 
workplace. These persistent civil rights violations are 
particularly concerning as Americans get back to work and 
recover from the pandemic.
    Moving forward, I am committing to advancing legislative 
solutions and delivering the resources that the EEOC and OFCCP 
need to protect our workers' civil rights, and to support our 
Nation's economic recovery. Each of us should agree that now 
more than ever we must take these steps to protect our Nation's 
most vulnerable workers, and make sure that all workers can 
succeed on the job free from discrimination.
    Thank you again Director Yang and Chair Burrows for your 
time, and your testimony. There is no further business, and 
without objection the subcommittee stands adjourned.

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    [Whereupon, at 11:51 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

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