On May 10, 2012, the House of Representatives approved 247-163 a fiscal year 2013 funding bill (H.R. 5326) for a variety of federal agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), that includes a series of amendments that would curtail enforcement of certain labor- and employment-related regulations and programs. Last month the House Appropriations Committee approved by voice vote an amendment that would prohibit the use of any of the bill’s funds from being used by the EEOC or Department of Justice (DOJ) to: sue any state on behalf of the National Labor Relations Board pertaining to secret ballot union elections implement, administer, or enforce the new EEOC Enforcement Guidance: Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions. The Senate Appropriates Committee approved its own bill funding the EEOC. Once the full Senate passes a final appropriations bill, it will need to be reconciled with the House version.
