EEOC Releases Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) for Fiscal Years 2024-2028

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) – a United States government agency that advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination – has released its Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) for Fiscal Years 2024-2028, according to a press release from the EEOC dated September 21, 2023.

The EEOC SEP for Fiscal Years 2024-2028 establishes the EEOC’s subject matter priorities to achieve its mission of preventing and remedying unlawful employment discrimination and to advance its vision of fair and inclusive workplaces with equal opportunity for all. Changes to the SEP – which incorporates public feedback on the EEOC’s strategic priorities – include:

• Targeting discrimination, bias, and hate directed against religious minorities (including antisemitism and Islamophobia), racial or ethnic groups, and LGBTQI+ individuals.
• Expanding the vulnerable and underserved worker priority to include additional categories of workers who may be unaware of their rights under equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws, may be reluctant or unable to exercise their legally protected rights, or have historically been underserved by federal employment discrimination protections.
• Updating the emerging and developing issues priority to include protecting workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, including under the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and other EEO laws; employment discrimination associated with the long-term effects of COVID-19 symptoms; and technology-related employment discrimination.
• Highlighting the continued underrepresentation of women and workers of color in certain industries and sectors, such as construction and manufacturing, finance, tech and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
• Recognizing employers’ increasing use of technology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, to target job advertisements, recruit applicants, and make or assist in hiring and other employment decisions.
• Preserving access to the legal system by addressing overly broad waivers, releases, non-disclosure agreements, or non-disparagement agreements when they restrict workers’ ability to obtain remedies for civil rights violations.

“Through the SEP’s effective implementation, the agency will continue to advance equality and justice for all in workplaces across this nation, even as significant challenges remain,” EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows stated in the press release. “We are grateful to the public for their engagement and investment in the development of the SEP.”

In August 2023, with implementation beginning immediately, the EEOC published its Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2022–2026 which serves as an overarching framework for achieving the EEOC’s mission. The SEP works together with the Strategic Plan by establishing substantive law enforcement priorities. To learn more about the EEOC, visit EEOC.gov.

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Thomas Ahearn - Digital Content Editor

Thomas Ahearn is a Digital Content Editor at ClearStar, a leading Human Resources (HR) technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. He writes about a variety of topics in the background screening industry including Artificial Intelligence (AI), "Ban the Box," class action lawsuits, credit reports, criminal records, drug testing, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Form I-9, identity theft, privacy, social media screening, and workplace violence.

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