Senate HELP Committee holds hearing on commissioner nominee

On May 10, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a confirmation hearing for President Joe Biden’s nominee for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) commissioner, Kalpana Kotagal (https://bit.ly/3MAzKbH). Kotagal, a civil rights lawyer at Cohen, Milstein, Sellers & Toll PLCC, in her written testimony (https://bit.ly/383xTwT) and in her statement told the committee her experience as a civil rights litigator would be “central” to her work on the commission.

As Kotagal would be Chair Charlotte Burrow’s third Democratic vote on the EEOC, the nominee was peppered with questions from the committee’s Republicans as to what actions she would support. Specifically, she was asked how she would respond to the changes the agency made during the Trump administration, including publicly disclosing committee votes and shifting litigation decisions back to the General Counsel, among other issues.

EEOC holds hearing on discrimination in construction industry

On May 17, 2022, the EEOC held a hearing on discrimination in the construction sector, especially against women and people of color, and examined how to expand opportunities for historically marginalized workers. The commission indicated that with the federal government substantially reinvesting in U.S. infrastructure projects, it is important to ensure federal government spending continues to provide equal opportunity for all workers.