The U.S. Senate's confirmation of Brittany Panuccio as a commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is highly significant because it restores the quorum needed for many EEOC actions.
The U.S. Senate's confirmation of Brittany Panuccio as a commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is highly significant because it restores the quorum needed for many EEOC actions. The EEOC requires a simple majority vote to approve actions, but for most of the year, EEOC actions have been hobbled by only two sitting commissioners. With the addition of Panuccio, that number rises to three, creating a 2–1 Republican majority in a situation where only two votes are necessary to move EEOC actions forward. Panuccio, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Florida, will serve as an EEOC commissioner through 2029.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows the EEOC to act only when at least three of its five commissioners are in place. In early 2025, President Donald Trump removed two Democratic commissioners from the EEOC, leaving the commission with only two members, which did not constitute a quorum. The lack of quorum has severely constrained the EEOC's ability to act during 2025. Although the agency continued to accept and investigate discrimination complaints, issue right-to-sue notices, and move forward with pending cases, many of its other normal functions ceased. For instance, without a quorum, the EEOC cannot issue new...
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