EEOC chair to step down as term ends

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chairwoman Cari Dominguez announced Tuesday that she will step down at the end of August when her five-year appointment ends.

During her tenure, Dominguez undertook a major reorganization of the EEOC, which works to remove workplace discrimination through conciliation, education, outreach and litigation. The agency opened new field offices in Las Vegas and Mobile, Ala., and reduced the number of managers, although no one was laid off.

"Our work is not done, but we have made significant progress, and I'm very proud of our many accomplishments," Dominguez said. "The credit all goes to a hardworking team of dedicated public servants with whom I have had the privilege to serve at the commission, and to President Bush for his support of our efforts."

The reorganization, and Dominguez herself, attracted some criticism. Gabrielle Martin, president of the American Federation of Government Employees National Council of EEOC Locals No. 216, said Dominguez made her plans without input from the unions or the public. Martin objected to cuts in the number of senior-level decision-makers at the EEOC under the new arrangement.

Dominguez also oversaw a pilot project to create a national customer service call center for EEOC, which the commission voted in July to extend for another year, despite concerns about whether the project has been a success. EEOC Inspector General Aletha Brown said in late June that the center was not effective, in part because of a lack of communication between staff at the center and in EEOC field offices.

Named one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the country by Hispanic Business Magazine in 2001, Dominguez, who was born in Cuba, was confirmed by the Senate in August 2001. During the George H.W. Bush administration, she directed the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and then served as assistant secretary of Labor for employment standards. She came to the EEOC after a stint in the private sector, where she plans to return.

Among her other achievements were securing funds in a 2003 supplemental spending bill to prevent layoffs, greater outreach to small businesses and reduced processing time for federal sector hearings and appeals. Even with improvements, Dominguez testified in Congress this summer that it took an average of 411 days to process an EEO complaint in fiscal 2005.

On Sept. 1, Commission Vice Chair Naomi Earp will step in as acting chair. AFGE's Martin is more optimistic about Earp as chair.

"It's not to say we're going to have an easy time or be the best of buds," Martin said. "But there will be more open communication, more constructive dialogue on how things can be managed."

Earp voted against extending the call center project in July, reversing her position of nearly two years ago.