NAACP task force endorses anti-discrimination bill

Federal workers joined members of an NAACP task force Thursday to support legislation that would make agencies more accountable for discriminating against their employees. Participants at an NAACP press conference praised the proposed Notification and Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation Act (No FEAR), which would make the government more accountable when it comes to reporting complaints of discrimination in federal agencies. "We stand here today to again bring attention to the unthinkable crimes against civil rights that go on in our federal workplaces across the country," said Leroy W. Warren Jr., chairman of the NAACP federal sector task force. "Together, we support H.R. 169, the No FEAR Act of 2001." The bill requires agencies that lose or settle discrimination and whistleblower cases to pay judgments out of their budgets. Under current law, agencies must pay for discrimination settlements that are reached at the administrative level, but do not have to pay for judgments and settlements if a discrimination case goes to court. Such payments are made out of a general federal judgment fund. Some critics of the bill, which was approved by the House Judiciary Committee last month, fear agencies would take funds out of employees' salaries and benefits to pay for discrimination settlements. However, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., the bill's sponsor, has said the legislation would not affect the salaries and benefits of federal employees working for agencies that have been fined for discrimination. Under No FEAR, agencies must also notify employees of laws on discrimination and whistleblower protection and file annual reports with Congress and the Justice Department on their discrimination cases. During Thursday's press conference, speakers alleged that discrimination is rife throughout agencies nationwide, highlighting several examples. One incident, which occurred last October, involved a hanging noose at the Energy Department's Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C. An agency employee later admitted he had made the noose. According to a federal task force report released at the press conference, more than $34 million was paid out of the general government judgment fund in 2000 for agency settlements in discrimination cases. According to the General Accounting Office, the number of discrimination cases under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's jurisdiction in fiscal 2000 was 24,524--nearly 40 percent more than in fiscal 1991.