Washington D.C. Employment Law Update : Washington D.C. Employment Lawyer & Attorney : Littler Mendelson Law Firm : Virginia, Tyson's Corner

Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) approved the nominations of Jacqueline Berrien to head the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and Victoria Lipnic and Chai Feldblum to be EEOC Members. The HELP Committee also approved the nomination of P. David Lopez to be the EEOC’s General Counsel.

In a statement (pdf), HELP Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said: “At this time of challenge, Americans need committed, capable public servants working full time on their behalf,” adding, “These nominees will serve Americans by protecting workers from discrimination, facilitating public service and preserving our rich national traditions in the humanities. I am pleased to move their nominations forward.”

If the Senate confirms all three EEOC members, the remaining two seats of the five-member Commission will be filled by current Acting Chairman Stuart Ishimaru and Constance Barker, the sole Republican EEOC member. Acting Vice Chair Christine Griffin has already been confirmed to serve as the deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Once her successor is confirmed, she will leave the EEOC for her new position at the OPM.

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On Monday President Obama announced his intent to nominate Chai Feldblum to serve as one of the five members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  Yesterday, her nomination was sent to the Senate for confirmation. Feldblum is currently a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, where she has taught since 1991. According to her faculty bio, Feldblum was instrumental in drafting and negotiating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. She also helped draft and negotiate the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) and various medical privacy bills and regulations. In addition, Feldblum is the Director of Georgetown Law Center’s Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic, and is co-director of Workplace Flexibility 2010, an initiative aimed to advance a national policy on workplace flexibility. Feldblum has written a number of articles and books advocating disability and gay rights, and has on several occasions testified before Congress to promote the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and employment flexibility to benefit older workers, among other workplace issues.

Feldblum earned her undergraduate degree from Barnard College, and her law degree from Harvard Law School. Feldblum has clerked for Judge Frank M. Coffin on the First Circuit Court of Appeals and for Justice Harry A. Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court.

If confirmed by the Senate, Feldblum would be the third Democrat to sit on the EEOC panel. Acting Chairman Stuart Ishimaru and Acting Vice Chair Christine Griffin are both Democrats, while Commissioner Constance Barker is currently the lone Republican serving on the Commission. Republican Naomi Earp, who served as EEOC Chair during the Bush Administration, resigned in the Spring. In July, President Obama nominated Democrat Jacqueline Berrien to serve as the new EEOC Chair.  Acting Vice Chair Griffin – who has been confirmed to serve as the deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management – is allowed to remain on the Commission until a successor is approved.

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