GAO called for requiring EEOC staff use a standardized method to track deficiencies. Image: Sergii Gnatiuk/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe EEOC should modernize and tighten its oversight of whether agencies are in compliance with EEO policy requirements, the GAO has said.
It said that while the EEOC monitors annual reports agencies must submit under the overall EEO policy, called Management Directive 715, “it does not have automated processes for tracking agencies’ MD-715 reports and the program deficiencies they contain. It also does not require its staff to use its standardized tool to record those deficiencies.”
“Tracking deficiencies across so many disparate files can be time consuming and labor intensive. It can also delay EEOC’s ability to include the most recent reports in its analysis. For example, the annual report released in March 2023 contained agency deficiencies from fiscal year 2020,” it said.
The EEO also conducts “technical assistance reviews” of agencies every three years. GAO said for example that in reviews of the 24 Cabinet departments and largest independent agencies over 2020-2021, 16 did not meet deadlines for issuing final agency decisions; 16 lacked anti-harassment policies that cover all protected characteristics; 12 had participation rates in alternative dispute resolution below the 50 percent target; and eight did not complete EEO investigations within the 180-day requirement.
The EEOC “has established procedures for public notification of when an agency has not responded timely or in good faith with a compliance plan to address deficiencies. However, EEOC does not outline criteria for when to invoke public notification, which could be used as an enforcement tool,” the report said.
Said the GAO, “Improved monitoring processes would result in more complete, accurate, and useful information to aid EEOC’s oversight responsibilities. A policy requiring that EEOC staff use a standardized method to track deficiencies would ensure a consistent approach to recording EEO program deficiencies.”
“Further, establishing plans to clearly outline when it should notify the public of EEO noncompliance would strengthen EEOC’s existing procedures for addressing agency noncompliance. These process improvements would strengthen EEOC’s tools for holding agencies accountable for addressing known program deficiencies,” it said.
It said that management agreed with recommendations to address those issues.
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