On March 11, 2024, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) received a request from your office to review nondisclosure policies, forms, agreements, and related documents specific to the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Agency) to ensure the anti-gag provision is included as required by law.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee. Many states and localities have laws prohibiting employment discrimination and have their own agencies responsible for enforcing those laws. These agencies are often referred to as Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPA/FEPAs). The EEOC’s Office of Field Programs (OFP) manages the State, Local, and Tribal Programs (SLTP) that provide oversight of employment discrimination cases handled by FEPAs to ensure that EEOC standards are met for those cases.
We recommend that EEOC defines, communicates, and implements an organization-
wide SCRM strategy to guide supply chain analyses, provide communication channels
with internal/external partners and stakeholders, and assist in building consensus
regarding the appropriate resources for SCRM.
We recommend that the Office of the Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission enhance the documentation, monitoring, and
enforcement of its controls over the closure of charge card accounts.
The PIIA (Public Law 116-117) aims to improve efforts to identify and reduce government-wide improper payments. Agencies are required to identify and review all programs and activities they administer that may be susceptible to significant improper payments based on guidance provided by the OMB. Payment integrity information is published with the agency's annual financial statement in accordance with payment integrity guidance in OMB Circular A-1361. The agency must also publish applicable payment integrity information required in the accompanying materials to the annual financial statement in accordance with applicable guidance. The most common accompanying material to the annual financial statements is the payment integrity information published on paymentaccurancy.gov. The agency's Inspectors General are to review payment integrity reporting for compliance and issue an annual report.
I am pleased to submit this Semiannual Report to Congress highlighting the activities of the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the six
months ending on March 31, 2024.
The OIG employs modern technologies and tools to ensure good financial stewardship of
American taxpayers' investment in the OIG. Our diligent and innovative workforce leverages
extensive experience in overseeing complex and consequential initiatives and produces significant
impact. Our office’s capacity to achieve high impact regarding our audits, evaluations,
investigations, special projects, and use of emerging technology is limited only by resource
challenges. Our office will continue to pursue the mission of providing independent, objective,
standards-based oversight and enforcement to protect EEOC programs and the people they serve
from fraud, waste, and abuse.
During this reporting period, our office was able to fill its vacant senior evaluator position. This
hiring brings our full-time equivalent (FTE) level to eleven. The only position that remains vacant
is the Chief Technology Officer, whose function is currently being performed by the office's
Deputy Inspector General.
Along with other work associated with our mission, one of the most important tasks that we are
currently undertaking is to author our new Strategic Plan. This new plan will drive our vision
associated with the office's goals, objectives, and performance measures. This plan will also
discuss our efforts regarding the implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Our office will continue its efforts regarding identifying new and innovative practices that will
further enhance our ability to perform Office of Inspector General mission-critical activities.
I would like to personally thank the OIG's dedicated team of talented professionals, whose
resilience and flexibility during the reporting period have allowed the office to continue its
vigilance in detecting and preventing waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct in the Agency's
operations and programs. I would also like to welcome the Agency's new General Counsel, Karla
Gilbride, to the EEOC.
The Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982 as well as the Office of Management and Budget's Memorandum-16-17, Circular A-123 Management responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control established specific requirements for management control.
Based on the OIG's review, the agency's management control review process was conducted in accordance with applicable guidance.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) contracted with the independent certified public accounting firm of Harper, Rains, Knight & Company, P.A. (HRK) to audit the financial statements of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for fiscal years ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, and to report on EEOC's internal controls over financial reporting, and compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and other matters. The contract required that HRK conduct the audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS) contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) audit guidance, and U.S. Government Accountability Office/Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency Financial Audit Manual.
I am pleased to submit our Semiannual Report to the U.S. Congress, summarizing the work and accomplishments of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Office of Inspector General from April 1, 2023, to September 30, 2023.
During this semiannual period, my first full reporting period as Inspector General, I have begun to identify areas of change associated with mission attainment, strategic vision, and staffing.
Also, during this reporting period, I was able to fill several critical vacancies within the office. I hired a new Deputy Inspector General, and two new GS 1811 Criminal Investigators. I was also able to fill the Counsel to the Inspector General position internally by transferring the incumbent GS 1811 Criminal Investigator into the position.
As the Inspector General, I plan to continue to partner strategically with our internal and external stakeholders to assist in the identification of innovative approaches and methods to help enhance the Agency’s program and operational effectiveness and efficiency. I would also personally like to thank the OIG’s dedicated team of talented professionals, whose resilience and flexibility during the reporting period has allowed the OIG to continue its vigilance in detecting and preventing waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct in the Agency’s operations and programs. I extend a special thanks to Chair Burrows, the EEOC Commissioners, senior Agency leadership, and their staff for their ongoing cooperation, and Congress for its continuing support of the mission of the OIG.
Respectfully Submitted,
We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
The objective of this performance audit was to assess the effectiveness of the EEOC’s information security program and practices for FY 2023. As part of our audit, we responded to the core metrics and supplemental metrics identified in the FY 2023 -2024 Inspector General Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) Reporting Metrics (IG Metrics), the associated FY 2023 Inspector General FISMA Metrics Evaluator’s Guide, and assessed the maturity levels on behalf of the EEOC OIG to be consistently implemented, which is not effective, per the IG Metrics. We also considered applicable OMB policy and guidelines, National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) standards and guidelines, and the NIST Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (Cybersecurity Framework).