Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to encourage enhanced law enforcement and greater coordination through agency information sharing, joint investigations, training, and outreach.

Information Sharing

The MOU authorizes the agencies, to the extent that the law permits, to share any information or data that supports the other agency’s enforcement activities. This information can be obtained in the course of an investigation or through any other sources, including information regarding:

• employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (for those 40 and older), disability, or genetic information;
• unlawful compensation practices, such as violations of minimum wage, overtime pay, or wage discrimination laws;
• employee working and living conditions;
• denial of required break times or places for nursing mothers to express milk;
• unlawful tip retention;
• unlawful denial of family and medical leave and leave-related discrimination based on disability, pregnancy, or caregiving responsibilities;
• employee misclassification; and
• unlawful retaliation against workers who assert workplace rights.

Sharing information under the MOU does not waive any applicable privilege or immunity.

Coordinated Investigations and Enforcement

If an investigating agency determines that conduct may have occurred that the other agency may deem...

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