Attorney General's Opinion 1982-83 #712

VIRGINIA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE. MAY NOT MEET AS A BODY WITH EMPLOYEES REGARDING SPECIFIC COMPLAINTS.

August 20, 1982

The Honorable Regina V. K. Williams
Director Department of Personnel and Training

82-83 712

This is in reply to a letter from your office and subsequent discussions with a member of your staff inquiring whether the Virginia Equal Employment Opportunity Committee (the "Committee") may have confidential hearings with applicants and employees regarding discrimination in the Commonwealth ' 5 employment practices. You indicate that concerns have been expressed about employees who may have encountered discriminatory actions but who would feel threatened if they filed charges of discrimination,

Section 2.1-116.14 of the Code of Virginia charges the Committee with the broad responsibility of "monitoring the Commonwealth's equal employment opportunity practices so as to assure that such practices fulfill the Commonwealth's obligations of providing equal opportunity to all employees and applicants." This section also requires the Committee members to "refer employees who have work related discrimination complaints to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Etployee Programs," (Emphasis added.) Thus, an employee may either file a complaint with the Director or may file a grievance pursuant to §2.1-116.14 and 21114.5:1. On the other hand, there is no provision for an applicant with discrimination complaints to be referred to the Director by the Committee, nor for an applicant to be able to file a complaint under the grievance procedure.1 See §2.1-114.5:1(C).

I am of the opinion that the Committee's meeting as a body with employees reguarding specific complaints scope of its powers and duties as prescribed by the Code and would, therefore, constitute an impermissible act by the Committee. Your inquiry is therefore answered in the negative.

If the Committee finds it helpful in monitoring the equal employment opportunity practices of the Commonwealth there would be no objection to the Committee or any of its members meeting with an applicant or employee so long as it does not deal with a specific complaint. If the Committee meets as a body with applicants or employees, it must comply with the open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§§2.1-340 through 2.1-346.1).

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Footnotes:

1 Such applicant may, of course, file a complaint with a federal or State Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.