What Can The EEOC Do Without A Quorum?

In the first week of the Trump administration, along with a flurry of executive orders, the President appointed Andrea Lucas as the Acting Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). Within days, he suddenly terminated two of the three sitting EEOC Commissioners (Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels)—prior to the expiration of their terms—leaving only Ms. Lucas and one remaining Commissioner at the EEOC.

The President then terminated the sitting General Counsel Karla Gilbride and appointed a new Acting General Counsel—Andrew Rogers—in her place.

The EEOC was created by Congress through the enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Commission is intended to have five Commissioners, including a chair. In order to act, the Commission needs a quorum of three commissioners, which it currently does not have.