Deregulation at the EEOC: Prospects and Implications

Abstract

This essay examines the prospects for deregulation at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in the 1980s. Enforcement reduction rather than target or standards deregulation seems most likely to surface. While this development may in part spring from EEOC deference to particular policy preferences dominant in the White House, the decline in or limited growth of the agency's resources will probably be more important. Specifically, austerity may well contribute to enforcement reduction by reinforcing the EEOC's propensity to emphasize complaint processing rather than self-initiated investigations into patterns of discrimination. Of particular relevance for students of public administration, enforcement reduction by the EEOC may well be more in evidence in the private as opposed to the public sector. The implications of these developments for compliance with equal employment opportunity laws receive attention.

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