by REERA YOO
Jenny R. Yang was sworn in today as the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), making her the first Asian American chair of the EEOC. Yang, whose term expires July 1, 2017, was nominated by President Obama and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 25, 2013.
“It is an honor and privilege to have been named by President Obama to serve as Chair of the EEOC,” Chair Yang said. “Our outgoing Chair, Jacqueline Berrien, has left an extraordinary legacy. I look forward to building upon that foundation with my fellow Commissioners, our General Counsel, and all of our dedicated and talented staff.”
Yang previously served as Vice Chair of the EEOC since April 2014 and led a comprehensive review of the agency’s program, which addresses issues regarding alleged discrimination that have broad impact on an industry, profession, company or geographic region. She also represented EEOC on the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
“Fifty years ago, this nation made a fundamental promise to its people to assure equality of opportunity at work,” Chair Yang said. “Congress created the EEOC to make good on this promise — to lead the nation in enforcing our anti-discrimination laws and to champion equal employment opportunity in workplaces across America. It is a tremendous privilege and responsibility to serve this remarkable agency in fulfilling this promise to our nation.”
Yang is a longtime, experienced civil rights and employment lawyer. Prior to joining the EEOC, Yang was a partner at Cohen Milstein, Sellers & Toll PLLC, where she represented thousands of employees across the country in numerous complex civil rights and employment actions. She also served as chair of the firm’s hiring and diversity committee. From 1998 to 2003, Yang was a senior trial attorney with the U.S. Department of justice, Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section, where she enforced federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment by state and local government employers.
Yang received her B.A. from Cornell University in government and her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was a note and comment editor of the law review and Root-Tilden Public Interest Scholar. She and her husband, Kil Huh, director of the States’ Fiscal Health Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts, have two sons.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about Chair Yang and the EEOC is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov.
Photo via SDCBA.
