Senate Confirms Karla Gilbride As EEOC General Counsel

October 19, 2023

What's New

Nearly a year and a half after President Biden originally nominated her, the U.S. Senate in a partisan vote confirmed Karla Gilbride to serve as the new General Counsel to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The position has been filled on an acting basis since Biden’s controversial firing of former General Counsel Sharon Fast Gustafson, a Trump appointee, in March 2021 even though her term did not expire until August 2023.

What It Means

The EEOC’s Office of General Counsel is responsible for all litigation initiated by the EEOC in the federal courts. The OGC represents the EEOC when it appears as a party in federal courts and prepares friend-of-the-court briefs on the EEOC’s behalf.

Ms. Gilbride’s confirmation gives Biden appointees not only majority control of the five-member commission but also control of the influential General Counsel’s office. CWC expects that the EEOC will take a fairly aggressive approach to litigation in view of Ms. Gilbride’s background as a plaintiff’s lawyer and an opponent of employment arbitration.

What You Should Do

CWC members can discuss latest EEOC litigation and enforcement trends at Conversation Corners.

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