Mishandling of Age Cases
Some of the EEOC’s field offices made a major mistake by allowing the statue of limitations to expire on some 900 age discrimination charges. I have taken action to see this does not recur. In fact, I was the one who made public the information about the 900 cases.
To put the issue in perspective, I would like to remind my critics that there were more than 20,000 charges filed before January, 1979, on the books when I took office in 1982, not to mention 51,720 charges in the active workload. This agency has done a tremendous job in eliminating delays and ineffectiveness.
It is ludicrous for Rep. Martinez to suggest that I would consent to budget cuts. In fact, EEOC even asked Martinez to help us gain approval of the President’s budget request this past year. Congress has cut our budget request every year that I have been chairman of this commission. As for steering the commission away from enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, our record of filing 2,207 lawsuits between fiscal year 1982 and 1987 and securing over $744 million during that time for victims of discrimination speaks for itself.
CLARENCE THOMAS
Chairman, EEOC
Washington, D.C.
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