Premiere Federal Sector Equal Employment Opportunity Law Program Will Feature Cultural Competency, New Certificate Sessions

The Training Institute of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that its annual Examining Conflicts in Employment Laws (EXCEL) training event will be held in Dallas on July 31 – August 2, 2012, with the theme “Knowledge is Power.”

Now in its 15th year, this annual event brings together federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Human Resources and Alternate Dispute Resolution practitioners, members of the private bar and EEOC experts to discuss the laws and procedures governing equal employment opportunity in the federal sector. The program also features training sessions leading to required certificates for agency personnel working in federal EEO offices.

For the first time this year, the program will offer three cultural competency sessions—a general session on “What is Cultural Competency;” and two specific sessions on “Cultural Competency: Generational Understanding” and “Cultural Competency: LGBT Understanding.”

There will also be a new pre-event “Joint Counselor and Investigator Refresher” training session held on Monday, July 30, 2012, leading to a required certificate. Other training courses leading to certificates required for practitioners will be offered in Basic and Advanced Mediation, Hearing Preparation, and Barrier Analysis under Management Directive-715.

Open sessions will cover a multiplicity of issues, including the interpretation of recent decisions involving transgender individuals and contractors vs. employees, guidance on the use of arrest and conviction records, leave as a reasonable accommodation, and positive and negative uses of social media. The entire agenda can be viewed on the website.

Registration for the event, including the closed training sessions, is now open. Registration questions can be directed to 1(866) 446-0940 or 1(800) 828-1120 (TTY) or eeoc.traininginstitute@eeoc.gov. The event will take place at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Dallas, where a special rate is available for overnight stays for participants.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov