Pact Advances Ongoing Collaboration to Combat Job Bias

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines have officially committed to continuing to work together to combat employment discrimination, the EEOC announced today. In a ceremony at the Philippine Embassy today, EEOC Acting Chair Victoria A. Lipnic and Philippine Ambassador to the United States José Manuel G. Romualdez signed the renewal of the national memorandum of understanding (MOU), first signed on Feb. 12, 2015, continuing the partnership between local consulates and EEOC field offices nationwide. Under its terms, the EEOC and the Philippine Embassy will work together to regularly provide information on workplace discrimination through joint educational sessions to Philippine nationals.

"Filipinos and Americans share the crucial core values of freedom and fairness," said EEOC Acting Chair Lipnic.  "That's why the EEOC and the Philippine government are renewing this agreement to cooperate to fight employment discrimination and advance justice and opportunity for Filipinos in this country."

Ambassador Romualdez remarked, "We value this partnership as a vital component of our efforts to assist the over 3.9 million Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in the United States in protecting their rights and facilitating the creation of safer and fairer work environments. The Embassy looks forward to furthering our cooperation with the EEOC in ensuring that Filipino workers in the United States are treated fairly and accorded the rights due them under U.S. law."

The agreement will carry forward the ongoing collaborative relationship between these two entities to provide Philippine nationals with information, guidance and access to education and training resources to help them exercise their workplace rights.