EEOC Seeks Public Comment on its Planned Retrospective Review of Significant Regulations

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is soliciting public input as it plans to review its significant regulations. The anticipated review is in response to a recent executive order (Executive Order 13563) (pdf) that directs federal agencies to consider the burden of regulation on business and job creation. Specifically, the Executive Order calls upon agencies to develop “a preliminary plan, consistent with law and its resources and regulatory priorities, under which the agency will periodically review its existing significant regulations to determine whether such regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded or repealed to make the agency's regulatory program more effective and/or less burdensome in achieving its regulatory objectives.”

To that end, the EEOC asks for suggestions on how it should design its plan for reviewing its significant regulations. Such input might include the factors it should use to select rules for review, or whether the review should focus on particular types of regulations. With respect to specific regulations, the EEOC is interested in what should be included in the agency’s initial list of regulations for review over the next two years. The EEOC is interested in why the particular regulation should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed; any available data on the costs and benefits of the regulation; and how the EEOC can better achieve the regulation’s objective. The request for public comments represents an important opportunity for employers to communicate their comments, concerns and suggestions for improving the EEOC’s regulatory program. Comments must be submitted electronically to Public.Comments.RegulatoryReview@eeoc.gov on or before March 22, 2011. A complete list of the agency’s regulations can be found here.

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