Charlotte Burrows | |
---|---|
Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | |
In office January 20, 2021 –January 20, 2025 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Janet Dhillon |
Succeeded by | Andrea R. Lucas (acting) |
Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | |
In office July 1,2018 –January 27,2025 | |
President |
|
Preceded by | Chai Feldblum |
Succeeded by | vacant |
In office January 13,2015 –July 1,2018 | |
President |
|
Preceded by | Jacqueline Berrien |
Succeeded by | Keith Sonderling |
Personal details | |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Princeton University (BA) Yale University (JD) |
Charlotte A. Burrows is an American attorney and government official. From 2021 to 2025,Burrows served as Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). [1] Burrows first joined the agency as a commissioner in 2015, [2] and previously served as an associate deputy attorney general. [3] A member of the Democratic Party,Burrows also served as an aide and counsel to Senator Ted Kennedy. [4]
Burrows is the daughter of Rodney Burrows,a professor of political science. [5] Burrows graduated from Princeton University in 1992,and is a member of the Association of Black Princeton Alumni (ABPA). [6] Burrows later attended Yale Law School,where she received a Juris Doctor in 1996. [7]
After graduating from law school,Burrows became a clerk for Judge Timothy K. Lewis of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. While in private practice,Burrows was an associate at Debevoise &Plimpton. [8]
Burrows was a top aide to Senator Ted Kennedy Senate's Health,Education,Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee as well as the Senate Judiciary Committee. During her time on Capitol Hill,Burrows worked on legislation including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and 2008 amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). [9]
Burrows served within the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division's Employment Litigation Section. In 2009,Burrows became an associate deputy attorney general within the DOJ. [3]
On September 12,2014,President Barack Obama announced that Burrows would be nominated to replace Jacqueline A. Berrien on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). [3] [10] Burrows was confirmed by the Senate by a 93–2 vote,and took office on January 13,2015. [2] As a member of the EEOC in 2018,Burrows urged Congress to pass the proposed Paycheck Fairness Act. [11]
On January 20,2021,Burrows was chosen by President Joe Biden to serve as chair of the EEOC,replacing Republican Janet Dhillon. [1] During her tenure as chair,Burrows has indicated that pay equity will be a top priority of the agency. [12] Burrows has also indicated interest in strengthening agency guidances related to protecting caregivers. [13]
As chair,Burrows issued guidelines stating that "employers may not deny an employee equal access to a bathroom,locker room,or shower that corresponds to the employee’s gender identity." [14] In order for the agency to operate more efficiently,Burrows has pushed for the hiring of 450 full-time EEOC employees. [15]
Donald Trump dismissed Burrows from EEOC altogether on Jan. 27,2025. [16] No president has ever fired an EEOC commissioner, [17] yet Trump fired Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels simultaneously.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race,color,religion,sex,and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements,racial segregation in schools and public accommodations,and employment discrimination. The act remains one of the most significant legislative achievements in American history.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race,color,national origin,religion,sex,age,disability,genetic information,and retaliation for participating in a discrimination complaint proceeding and/or opposing a discriminatory practice.
Allyson Kay Duncan is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She was the Fourth Circuit's first female African American judge.
Equal employment opportunity is equal opportunity to attain or maintain employment in a company,organization,or other institution. Examples of legislation to foster it or to protect it from eroding include the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,which was established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to assist in the protection of United States employees from discrimination. The law was the first federal law designed to protect most US employees from employment discrimination based on that employee's race,color,religion,sex,or national origin.
Naomi Churchill Earp is an American lawyer and government official from Maryland and Virginia. From 2007 to 2009 she served as chair of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,where she established the Youth At Work Program. She was designated by President George W. Bush in 2006,succeeding Cari M. Dominguez. Prior to her appointment as Chair,she had served as vice chair of the commission since 2003.
William H. Brown III is an American attorney. In 1963,he became a partner at the law firm of Norris Schmidt Green Harris Higginbotham &Brown,Philadelphia's first black-owned law firm. Brown was appointed to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 and named its Chairman by President Richard Nixon in 1969. He was the fourth Chairman of the EEOC,serving from May 5,1969,to December 23,1973.
Christine M. Griffin is an American lawyer. From 2011 to 2013 she served as Assistant Secretary for Disability Policies and Programs for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
Chai Rachel Feldblum is an American legal scholar and activist for disability and LGBT rights. A former law professor at Georgetown University Law Center,she served as Commissioner at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She was nominated to the position by president Barack Obama in 2009. In April 2010,she received a recess appointment to the EEOC,and in December 2010 she was confirmed by the United States Senate. The Senate confirmed her in December 2013 for a second term on the Commission which expired in July 2018.
Gilbert F. Casellas is an American lawyer and businessman. He is a private investor and business consultant in the Washington,D.C. area,a director of Prudential Financial,trustee of the University of Pennsylvania,and advisor to Toyota Motor North America,T-Mobile US,and Comcast Corporation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations,the American Law Institute,trustee of the Pan American Development Foundation and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Workplace Harassment Second Edition 2018 published by Bloomberg Law.
Jacqueline Ann Berrien,often known as Jackie Berrien,was an American civil rights attorney and government official. From 2009 to 2014,Berrien served as chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under President Barack Obama. Prior to this,Berrien had served as Associate Director Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Victoria Ann Lipnic is an American lawyer and public figure. She served in multiple senior United States government positions. She was Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),nominated to two terms by President Barack Obama,2010 –2020.) She served as Chair (Acting) of the EEOC under President Donald J. Trump from 2017 –2019. Prior to her appointments to the EEOC,she was Assistant Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush. The United States Senate confirmed her unanimously to each of these positions.
Michael Evan Horowitz is an American attorney and government official. He is the Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice.
Eric Stefan Dreiband is an American lawyer. While a partner at Jones Day,he was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. The Senate confirmed his appointment on October 11,2018.
Janet Dhillon is an American lawyer. She is a former chair and commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,serving as chair from May 2019 to January 2021,and as commissioner from May 2019 to November 2022. Prior to that,Dhillon was the executive vice president,general counsel,and corporate secretary of Burlington Stores.
Keith E. Sonderling is an American lawyer and government official. He is the nominee for United States Deputy Secretary of Labor in President-elect Trump's second term. From 2020 to 2024,he served as Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Prior to the EEOC,he served as the Acting and Deputy Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor. Before joining the government in 2017,he practiced Labor and Employment Law at the Florida-based Gunster Law Firm in West Palm Beach,Florida.
Jenny Rae Yang is an American attorney and public official. In 2021,Yang was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as the Director of Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs,an agency within the Department of Labor.
Karla Gilbride is an American attorney and civil rights litigator who is the former General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Gilbride is the first individual with a known disability to serve as the General Counsel of the EEOC,and holds the distinction of being the first blind lawyer to argue before the Supreme Court.
Sharon Fast Gustafson is an American attorney who served as General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from 2019 to 2021.
Jocelyn Frances Samuels is an American lawyer. Appointed as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by Donald Trump in 2020,she was made the commission's vice chair by Joe Biden the following year and served in that role until Biden left office in 2025.
Andrea Ruth Lucas is an American lawyer,currently serving as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She was appointed as the commission's acting chair by Donald Trump in 2025. Lucas is a vocal opponent of diversity,equity,and inclusion initiatives,believing that they motivate reverse discrimination. She has also criticized the application of federal civil rights protections to transgender individuals.
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