by The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) have agreed to a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen their efforts to enforce federal employment laws. Signed on September 13, 2023, the MOU formalizes efforts to increase collaboration and coordination.
The key aspects of the MOU include:
Information Sharing: The agencies will now share reports, records, summaries, statistics, and other relevant information. Included in the exchange will be information on discrimination, wage issues, working conditions, denials of rights under various laws, misclassification of employees and independent contractors, and retaliation claims. The MOU gives a high-level view of how the information will flow between the agencies.
Joint Investigations: The agencies agree to work together in conducting investigations into potential federal law violations. If one agency determines that a violation may have occurred under a law enforced by the other agency, the investigating agency will notify the complainant that a charge or complaint may be filed with the other agency and provide the complainant with materials from the other agency. In some cases, the EEOC and the DOL will conduct a coordinated investigation.
Training and Outreach Between the Agencies: The agencies will educate the staff of each agency on the specific issues that may result in a violation of laws enforced by the other agency.
This inter-agency alliance is expected to result in more thorough and multi-faceted investigations of employers.
The MOU can be found at https://www.eeoc.gov/memorandum-understanding-between-us-department-labor-wage-and-hour-division-and-us-equal-employment.
