The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission voted 2-1 Wednesday to remove a set of Biden-era procedures that required the agency to hold discussions about enforcement decisions and provide a guaranteed period of time by which commissioners could review proposed EEOC actions.
Chair Andrea Lucas and Commissioner Brittany Panuccio, both Republicans, voted to approve the motion. Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal, the agency’s lone Democrat, voted in opposition.
In an email, an EEOC spokesperson directed HR Dive to the agency’s transcript of the meeting in lieu of further comment. The transcript was not posted at press time.
EEOC’s former Democratic majority voted to approve the procedures in January 2025, prior to the inauguration of President Donald Trump, according to a statement by EEO Leaders, a group representing former Democratic EEOC officials.
Per EEO Leaders, the written voting procedures “largely memorialize[d]” operating procedures that EEOC has used for decades.
The first of the two procedures allowed each commissioner a set time frame to review proposed actions, ranging from 30 days for consideration of proposed guidance and regulations to 10 days for votes on whether to approve commission lawsuits.
The second allowed individual commissioners to cast an “agenda” vote that would prevent the agency’s chair from moving forward with a policy action without first providing the voting commissioner an opportunity to discuss concerns about the proposed action.
“Rescission of the voting procedures raises significant concerns because it consolidates authority in the Chair in a manner inconsistent with the statutory framework governing Commission decision making and will undermine the caliber of decision making by the agency,” EEO Leaders said.
The move also drew criticism from the National Women’s Law Center, which addressed the vote in a Jan. 12 letter to Lucas in which it called the proposed rescission “a power grab” that would undermine EEOC’s integrity. The letter specifically noted that the change could affect upcoming decisions on the agency’s embattled workplace harassment guidance as well as its effort to administratively close disparate-impact discrimination investigations.
“Workers count on the EEOC to uphold their civil rights, and these changes will further erode trust in the Commission and harm all workers, particularly Black workers and other workers of color, women workers, LGBTQI+ workers, and workers with disabilities,” NWLC said.
The commission will next meet on Jan. 22 to discuss topics including rescission of the harassment guidance. Per EEOC, the meeting will be open to the public.
