HomeAmericasPoliticsKalpana Kotagal Sworn In As EEOC Commissioner

Kalpana Kotagal Sworn In As EEOC Commissioner

Kalpana Kotagal Sworn In As EEOC Commissioner

India-West Staff Reporter

WASHINGTON, DC – Kalpana Kotagal has been sworn in as Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Kotagal was nominated by President Biden on April 1, 2022, and was confirmed on July 14, 2023, to serve as Commissioner, for a term expiring July 1, 2027. Kotagal joins EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows, Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels, and Commissioners Keith E. Sonderling and Andrea R. Lucas on the presidentially appointed, bipartisan Commission. Kotagal’s swearing-in restores the Commission to its full complement.

“We are excited to welcome Kalpana Kotagal to the Commission,” Burrows said. “She has dedicated her career to advancing civil rights both in the courtroom and by working collaboratively with employers.  Her creative approaches to ensuring equal opportunity, her legal expertise, and her commitment to workers will greatly benefit the Commission.”

Prior to her appointment to the EEOC, Kotagal was a partner at Cohen Milstein, a member of the firm’s Civil Rights & Employment practice group, and chair of the firm’s Hiring and Diversity Committee. Kotagal is a highly acclaimed litigator who has represented women and other marginalized people in employment and civil rights litigation involving issues related to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as wage and hour issues and the non-discrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act.

“It’s an honor to start a new chapter as an EEOC Commissioner and an incredible opportunity to apply the experience from my previous work,” Kotagal said. “I look forward to working toward solutions for the issues facing today’s workforce alongside my colleagues on the Commission and in the agency.”

Prior to her work at Cohen Milstein, Kotagal served as a law clerk to Betty Binns Fletcher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

She attended Stanford University, where she was a Morris K. Udall Scholar and graduated with honors. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where she was a James Wilson Fellow.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. 

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  • The US Supreme Court shot down affirmative action. Biden is still refusing to believe that EEOC has no place to decide who gets jobs based on color, caste, religion, etc. Only that the best candidate get the post.

    Now in appointed positions it is very subjective and discrimination will be rampant. For instance, we know that Biden will hire anyone with long shiny hair that he can smell. And I may be attracted to a fair lady 20 years younger than me.

    Then there are government jobs. Interviews lose their importance. They are only to verify that the person filled the application out correctly and that he/she is what he/she said. The jobs can only be given by scores in tests. Indians and Chinese win!

    LOL!
    Discrimination against Indians and Chinese ends. I will be watching the admissions to University of California schools where the Indian and Chinese students are capped at around 44%. We may see China and India with white looking foreign students on campus soon.

    August 14, 2023

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