WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that President Barack Obama has appointed Commissioner Jenny R. Yang as Vice Chair of the EEOC.  Yang, whose term expires July 1, 2017, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 25, 2013. 

"Over the course of my career and particularly during my time at the Commission, I have seen how vital the work of the EEOC is to the enforcement of our civil rights laws," Vice Chair Yang said. "I am honored to serve as Vice Chair of the Commission to continue to work with the Chair, my fellow Commissioners, and the dedicated staff to advance the EEOC's critical mission to ensure equal opportunity in our nation's workplaces."

EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien said, "I congratulate Commissioner Yang on her appointment.  She has contributed greatly to the work of the EEOC over the past year, and I look forward to even greater contributions through her service as Vice Chair."

As a member of the Commission, Vice Chair Yang is leading a comprehensive review of the agency's systemic program, which addresses issues of alleged discrimination that have broad impact on an industry, profession, company or geographic area.  This effort builds on her many years as a litigator and law firm manager.

Immediately prior to joining the EEOC, Yang was a partner of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC where she represented thousands of employees across the country in numerous complex civil rights and employment actions. Yang has also served as a senior trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section, where she enforced federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment by state and local government employers from 1998 to 2003. 

Yang received her B.A. from Cornell University in government. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was a note and comment editor of the law review and a Root-Tilden public interest scholar. Yang and her husband, Kil Huh, director of the States' Fiscal Health Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts, have two sons.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.  Further information about Vice Chair Yang and the EEOC is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov.