[co-author: Grace Boudjalis]

On August 9, 2023, Kalpana Kotagal was sworn in as a Commissioner for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). President Biden nominated Kotagal for her current post in April 2022; she was confirmed on July 13, 2023. Kotagal’s term will expire in July of 2027.

Kotagal joins EEOC from the Cohen Milstein law firm. The focus of her practice at Cohen Milstein related to civil rights and employment, where she often represented traditionally disadvantaged individuals in cases relating to various federal laws such as the Equal Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Title Vll of the Civil Rights Act. Additionally, Kotagal served as chair of the firm’s Hiring and Diversity Committee.

EEOC has been without a full set of five commissioners since November 18, 2022. The confirmation of Kotagal now provides the EEOC with a Democratic majority. With the addition of Commissioner Kotagal, EEOC priorities may shift towards areas relating to wage discrimination. This may include the resumption of the pay data collection portion of the EEO-1 report. Other possible priorities include the implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act recently passed by Congress.

DCI will continue to monitor and provide industry updates as they occur.