The FCC has transferred the audit and enforcement responsibilities associated with its equal employment opportunity (EEO) rules from the Media Bureau to the Enforcement Bureau. The EEO rules prohibit broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or gender in their hiring decisions. The EEO compliance team focuses on periodic random audits of broadcast licensee and MVPD EEO programs, along with enforcement actions arising from those audits. Earlier this year, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) and other civil rights organizations proposed relocating the EEO staff to the Enforcement Bureau in order to strengthen enforcement of the Commission’s EEO rules. Now that the FCC has adopted this organizational change, the Media Bureau’s Policy Division personnel who are currently responsible exclusively for EEO audit and enforcement will join the Enforcement Bureau’s Investigations and Hearings Division.
