EEOC general counsel sworn in
Posted On: Aug. 9, 2019 12:29 PM CST
Sharon Fast Gustafson, a controversial nominee, was sworn in as general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday.
Ms. Gustafson’s nomination was approved by the U.S. Senate on Aug. 1, along with a second term for EEOC member Charlotte A. Burrows, a Democrat.
Several civil rights organizations had expressed their “strong concerns” regarding Ms. Gustafson’s nomination following her testimony during a Senate committee confirmation hearing, stating in a letter they were troubled by her “evasive answers” regarding LGBT workers rights.
The general counsel position has been vacant since Obama appointee David Lopez resigned in December 2016.
Ms. Gustafson was counsel for plaintiff Peggy Young in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2011 ruling in Peggy Young v. United Parcel Service Inc. in which the court held the Atlanta-based package delivery company acted unlawfully in refusing to accommodate a pregnant part-time worker's lifting restriction while it did accommodate other workers' limitations.
President Donald Trump’s nominee for EEOC chairwoman, Janet Dhillon, was sworn in in May.