Today, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) jointly with the Department of Justice (DOJ) at an event at DOJ headquarters.
During the event, the two agencies will announce a memorandum of understanding (MOU) designed to strengthen EEOC and DOJ’s Civil Rights Division’s enforcement of the ADA and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).
Title I of the ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment. GINA bars the use of genetic information in making employment decisions.
Keynote speakers at the July 23 event include EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, former Senators Bob Dole and Tom Harkin and Representative Steny Hoyer.
“As we celebrate the ADA, the world’s first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities, we reflect on the critical role that EEOC plays in fulfilling its promise,” said EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang. “We look forward to working with employers and the disability community to make continued progress in the years ahead.”
EEOC and DOJ together enforce the ADA’s provisions concerning public sector employers. The MOU directs EEOC and DOJ to coordinate investigations of charges of discrimination on the basis of disability, while respecting the distinct responsibilities and enforcement priorities of each agency. Further, the MOU calls for the agencies to share information, as appropriate and to the extent allowable under law.
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