EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION (EEOC)

Statement of Regulatory and Deregulatory Priorities

The mission of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC, Commission, or Agency) is to ensure equality of opportunity in employment by vigorously enforcing and educating the public about the following Federal statutes: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex (including pregnancy), religion, or national origin); the Equal Pay Act of 1963, as amended (makes it illegal to pay unequal wages to men and women performing substantially equal work under similar working conditions at the same establishment); the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended (prohibits employment discrimination based on age of 40 or older); Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, and sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended (prohibit employment discrimination based on disability); Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information and limits acquisition and disclosure of genetic information); and section 304 of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (protects certain previously exempt state & local government employees from employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability).

The first item in this Regulatory Plan is entitled "The Federal Sector's Obligation To Be a Model Employer of Individuals with Disabilities." The EEOC's regulations implementing section 501, as set forth in 29 CFR part 1614, require Federal agencies and departments to be "model employers" of individuals with disabilities. The Commission issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on May 15, 2014, (79 FR 27824), and intends to issue a proposed rule to revise the regulations regarding the Federal government's affirmative employment obligations in 29 CFR part 1614 to include a more detailed explanation of how Federal agencies and departments should "give full consideration to the hiring, placement, and advancement of qualified individuals with disabilities." Any revisions would be informed by Management Directive 715, and may include goals consistent with Executive Order 13548. Furthermore, any revisions would result in costs only to the Federal Government; would contribute to increasing the employment of individuals with disabilities; and would not affect risks to public health, safety, or the environment.

The second item is entitled "Federal Sector Equal Employment Opportunity Process." In July 2012, the Commission published a final rule containing fifteen discrete changes to various parts of the Federal sector EEO process, and indicated that the rule was the Commission's initial step in a broader review of the Federal sector EEO process. The Commission intends to develop an ANPRM which would seek public input on additional issues associated with the Federal sector EEO process.

The third item is entitled "Amendments to Regulations Under the Americans With Disabilities Act." This proposed rule would amend the regulations to implement the equal employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to address the interaction between title I of the ADA and financial inducements and/or penalties as part of wellness programs offered through health plans. EEOC also plans to address other aspects of wellness programs that may be subject to the ADA's nondiscrimination provisions in this NPRM.

The fourth item is entitled "Amendments to Regulations Under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008." This proposed rule would amend the regulations on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 to address inducements to employees' spouses or other family members who respond to questions about their current or past medical conditions on health risk assessments. This NPRM will also correct a typographical error in the rule's discussion of wellness programs and add references to the Affordable Care Act, where appropriate.

Consistent with section 4(c) of Executive Order 12866, this statement was reviewed and approved by the Chair of the Agency. The statement has not been reviewed or approved by the other members of the Commission.

Retrospective Review of Existing Regulations

Pursuant to section 6 of Executive Order 13563, "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review" (Jan. 18, 2011), the following Regulatory Identifier Numbers (RINs) have been identified as associated with retrospective review and analysis in the EEOC's final retrospective review of regulations plan. Some of the entries on this list may be completed actions, which do not appear in The Regulatory Plan. However, more information can be found about these completed rulemakings in past publications of the Unified Agenda on Reginfo.gov (http://reginfo.gov/) in the Completed Actions section. These rulemakings can also be found on Regulations.gov (http://regulations.gov). The EEOC's final Plan for Retrospective

Analysis of Existing Rules can be found at:

http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/regulations/retro_review_plan_final.cfm.

RIN

TITLE

EFFECT ON SMALL BUSINESS

3046-AA91

REVISIONS TO Procedures for Complaints or Charges of Employment Discrimination Based on Disability Subject to the Americans With Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

This rulemaking may decrease burdens on small businesses by making the charge/complaint process more efficient.

3046-AA92

REVISIONS TO Procedures for Complaints/Charges of Employment Discrimination Based on Disability Filed Against Employers Holding Government Contracts or Subcontracts

This rulemaking may decrease burdens on small businesses by making the charge/complaint process more efficient.

3046-AA93

REVISIONS TO Procedures for Complaints of Employment Discrimination Filed Against Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance

This rulemaking may decrease burdens on small businesses by making the charge/complaint process more efficient.

3046-AB00

FEDERAL SECTOR EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

This rulemaking pertains to the Federal Sector equal employment opportunity process and thus is not expected to affect small businesses.