EEOC Revives Nearly Half of Discrimination Cases Dismissed by Feds

Nearly half of federal agency rulings dismissing employee discrimination claims have been overturned under President Obama, costing American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars in settlements to keep with the administration’s mission of operating a politically correct government.

In one year alone this translated into an astounding $51.4 billion that federal agencies paid to settle discrimination claims that often had no merit, according to the government’s figures. The information comes from a report issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the bloated federal agency that enforces the nation’s workplace discrimination laws. Judicial Watch has reported in the past how out of control the EEOC has been under Obama and the agency’s own findings confirm it.

In nearly 45% of discrimination claims thrown out by agencies across the U.S. government the EEOC stepped in and revived the cases. The number has increased steadily since Obama became president, according to the EEOC’s figures. For instance, in 2008 the agency reversed 30.3% of government discrimination dismissals, in 2009 35.5% were overturned, 37% in 2010, 35% in 2011 and a whopping 45% in 2012, the latest available figures. The Department of Justice (DOJ) experienced the largest number (nearly 49%) of reversals in the last fiscal year, followed by Veterans Affairs at almost 48%.

This means American taxpayers are coughing up a chunk of change to settle alleged discrimination that the government had already determined to be bogus. This is par for the course at the EEOC, which not long ago turned heads for suing a private American business for discriminating against employees who couldn’t speak English on the job. JW reported the appalling story back in July. A Green Bay Wisconsin metal and plastic manufacturer got sued for dismissing a group of Hispanic and Asian employees over their English skills. Forcing workers to speak English in the U.S. violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, says the Obama administration.

Here’s the twisted explanation from the EEOC; the Civil Rights Act protects employees from discrimination based on national origin, which includes the linguistic characteristics of a national origin group. Therefore, according to this reasoning, foreigners have the right to speak their native language even during work hours at an American company that requires English. Requirements of English fluency and so-called English only rules are often implemented to make what is really discrimination appear acceptable, according to the EEOC.

Under Obama the agency has also taken legal action against businesses across the country accusing them of everything from discriminating against minorities for running criminal background and credit checks to discriminating against Muslims for not allowing hijabs on the job. The criminal background and credit checks disproportionately exclude blacks form hire, according to EEOC lawsuits against several companies. Businesses that forbid Muslim women from wearing a hijab at work violate religious rights guaranteed under the nation’s civil rights laws even when all head coverings are banned for all employees, the EEOC asserts.

More recently the EEOC has gone to bat for transsexuals filing the first-ever lawsuits alleging sex discrimination against transgender individuals. The targets are a Detroit, Michigan funeral home and a Lakeland, Florida eye clinic. Both businesses are being accused of violating federal law for firing employees that were transitioning from male to female. According to the EEOC’s complaints, the funeral home and eye clinic discriminated based on sex because the soon-to-be women did not conform to the employer’s gender-based expectations, preferences or stereotypes. Federal law “prohibits employers from firing employees because they do not behave according to the employer’s stereotypes of how men and women should act, and this includes employees who present themselves according to their gender identity,” said the EEOC attorney handling the Detroit case.

This out-of-control agency is always on the prowl looking for discrimination, even when it’s not there. Just this week, a mainstream newspaper reported that the EEOC has launched an investigation into personality tests that are often used by employers to screen applicants, especially for customer-service jobs. The agency is wasting resources investigating whether the tests, which are known for streamlining the hiring process, discriminate against people with disabilities. Specifically, they’re trying to determine if the tool shuts out people suffering from mental illnesses such as depression or bipolar disorder, according to the news story.