COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE, Washington, D.C. The committee met at 10:20 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 4232, New Senate Office Building, Senator Ralph W. Yarborough (chairman of the committee) presiding. Present: Senator Yarborough. Committee staff members present: Robert O. Harris, staff director; John S. Forsythe, general counsel; Roy H. Millenson, minority staff director; and Eugene Mittleman, minority counsel. The CHAIRMAN. The Labor and Public Welfare Committee will come to order in open hearing on certain nominations by the President. First, we will hear the nomination of Mr. Colston A. Lewis of Virginia to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for the remainder of the term expiring July 1, 1972, vice Clifford L. Alexander, Jr., resigned. I understand Mr. Lewis is accompanied by his Congressman. We welcome you, Congressman Whitehurst. Would you please be seated. STATEMENT OF HON. G. WILLIAM WHITEHURST, A REPRESENTA- He has a number of accomplishments to his credit. He is the first Negro to be appointed Defender in Richmond. He is serving as the chairman of the Electoral Board in Richmond. He is the first Negro in the South to receive such an appointment. He has been recommended by both Houses in Virginia to be a judge on the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. He is a churchman, a man highly respected in his community. I think that the President has made an excellent nomination to you and to your colleagues in seeking his appointment to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Congressman Whitehurst. I agree with you after reading this biographical sketch that Mr. Lewis' accomplishments are many and rather remarkable since his discharge from the Army in 1946. We will order placed in the record at this point the biographical sketch of Mr. Colston A. Lewis. (The biographical sketch of Mr. Lewis follows:) (1) COLSTON A. LEWIS, COMMISSIONER, EQUAL EMPLOYMENT Opportunity COMMISSION Colston A. Lewis, a black Republican lawyer from Richmond, Virginia, has a notable career in the civil rights movement. Following his discharge from the Army in paign in Lynchburg, Va., to elect a Negro to40 Lewis organized the first camthe City Council. Although the candidate, C. V. Wilson, was defeated, Lewis' organization, the Voters' League, succeeded in bringing all the registered black voters to the polls. The Voters' League is still in existence, and Lewis later organized a similar effort in Richmond, known as the Crusade for Voters. Lewis was the first Negro to be appointed Public Defender of Richmond, and has been Chairman of the Electoral Board of that city. Lewis has worked for the N.A.A.C.P. and the Urban League, and was a special aide to Virginia Governor Linwood Holton. A graduate of Virginia Union University and Howard University Law School (Class of 1948), he entered the Virginia State Bar in 1949 and opened his own practice the following year. Lewis specialized in domestic relations, criminal law, and juvenile cases, and is a member of the National Bar Association. He has worked on a number of school desegregation cases in Virginia, including those in Essex, Northumberland, King and Queen, and Westmoreland Counties, and has also represented the P.T.A. Leagues for those counties. Lewis, 58, was appointed to the Commission by President Nixon on February 20, 1970, subject to the confirmation of the Senate. His term will expire July 1, 1972. A Commissioner's salary is $36,000 per year. Lewis is married to the former Glenyce D. Davis of Petersburg, Va. They have a ten year old son, Colston A. Lewis, Jr. The CHAIRMAN. We will order printed at this point the statutes governing the duties of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (The statutes governing the duties of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission follow:) [Excerpt From Public Law 88-352, Approved July 2, 1964] CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION SEC. 705. (a) There is hereby created a Commission to be known as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which shall be composed of five members, not more than three of whom shall be members of the same political party, who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. One of the original members shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, one for a term of four years, and one for a term of five years, beginning from the date of enactment of this title, but their successors shall be appointed for terms of five years each, except that any individual chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the member whom he shall succeed. The President shall designate one member to serve as Chairman of the Commission, and one member to serve as Vice Chairman. The Chairman shall be responsible on behalf of the Commission for the administrative operations of the Commission, and shall appoint, in accordance with the civil service laws, such officers, agents, attorneys, and employees as it deems necessary to assist it in the performance of its functions and to fix their compensation in accordance with the Classification Act of 1949, as amended. The Vice Chairman shall act as Chairman in the absence or disability of the Chairman or in the event of a vacancy in that office. (b) A vacancy in the Commission shall not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all the powers of the Commission and three members thereof shall constitute a quorum. (c) The Commission shall have an official seal which shall be judicially noticed. (d) The Commission shall at the close of each fiscal year report to the Congress and to the President concerning the action it has taken; the names, salaries, and duties of all individuals in its employ and the moneys it has disbursed; and shall make such further reports on the cause of and means of eliminating discrimination and such recommendations for further legislation as may appear desirable. (e) The Federal Executive Pay Act of 1956, as amended (5 U.S.C. 2201–2209), is further amended (1) by adding to section 105 thereof (5 U.S.C. 2204) the following clause: "(32) Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission"; and (2) by adding to clause (45) of section 106(a) thereof (5 U.S.C. 2205(a)) the following: "Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (4)." (f) The principal office of the Commission shall be in or near the District of Columbia, but it may meet or exercise any or all its powers at any other place. The Commission may establish such regional or State offices as it deems necessary to accomplish the purpose of this title. (g) The Commission shall have power (1) to cooperate with and, with their consent, utilize regional, State, local, and other agencies, both public and private, and individuals; (2) to pay to witnesses whose depositions are taken or who are summoned before the Commission or any of its agents the same witness and mileage fees as are paid to witnesses in the courts of the United States; (3) to furnish to persons subject to this title such technical assistance as they may request to further their compliance with this title or an order issued thereunder; (4) upon the request of (i) any employer, whose employees or some of them, or (ii) any labor organization, whose members or some of them, refuse or threaten to refuse to cooperate in effectuating the provisions of this title, to assist in such effectuation by conciliation or such other remedial action as is provided by this title; (5) to make such technical studies as are appropriate to effectuate the purposes and policies of this title and to make the results of such studies available to the public; (6) to refer matters to the Attorney General with recommendations for intervention in a civil action brought by an aggrieved party under section 706, or for the institution of a civil action by the Attorney General under section 707, and to advise, consult, and assist the Attorney General on such matters. (h) Attorneys appointed under this section may, at the direction of the Commission, appear for and represent the Commission in any case in court. (i) The Commission shall, in any of its educational or promotional activities, cooperate with other departments and agencies in the performance of such educational and promotional activities. (j) All officers, agents, attorneys, and employees of the Commission shall be subject to the provisions of section 9 of the Act of August 2, 1939, as amended (the Hatch Act), notwithstanding any exemption contained in such section. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Lewis, I assume you have read the statutes applying to the duties of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. Mr. LEWIS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You have talked with people down there to familiarize yourself with the work of the Commission, what has gone on up to date, and the operating procedures they have? Mr. LEWIS. Yes, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Lewis, what outfit were you in in the Army in 1946. It says you were discharged from the Army in 1946. Mr. LEWIS. I was in the Quartermaster Corps. The CHAIRMAN. Were you attached to any division or corps? Mr. LEWIS. No, sir. I was unattached in the Philippines, in the South Pacific. I came here from Luzon. Most of the outfits were broken up after the atomic bomb was dropped. I was attached to a port battalion. I can't recall the number. They were pretty scrambled at the port. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Lewis, this is a conflict of interest question. You know of no financial holding you have that would cause any conflict of interest with your duties as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission? In other words, do you hold stock in any corporation that has any training contracts with equal employment? Mr. LEWIS. No, sir, all the stock I own is in black companies. The CHAIRMAN. There is no dealing that has a monetary contract? Mr. LEWIS. No, sir. I cleared that with the Justice Department. The CHAIRMAN. Of course, this committee has responsibilities also. Mr. LEWIS. I just have some stock in a bank and insurance company which was started by my family. The CHAIRMAN. They have no contract with EEOC where they put money in that company or in that bank? Mr. LEWIS. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Lewis, Senator Kennedy had a couple of questions that he wanted to ask. He could not be here. So, he has asked that I ask them for him. I understand that after the public hearing in New York City on discrimination in white collar employment in January 1968, several of the employers who testified, and other companies as well, made substantial gains in reducing discrimination. I gather that this has been the experience from some of the other public hearings as well. Do you feel that the public hearings are helpful in focusing attention. on areas of discrimination and encouraging action to end discrimination? Mr. LEWIS. Yes, I do. The CHAIRMAN. Will you support public hearings? Mr. LEWIS. Yes, I will. The CHAIRMAN. Do you support giving cease and desist powers to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission? Mr. LEWIS. I haven't really arrived at a definite conclusion on that one. I feel this way, that any tribunal without the power to enforce what it rules is handicapped somewhat. I also feel that if there will be an ultimate court hearing to finally decide it, there is a question in my mind whether it would be not timesaving to have direct court enforcement power. I think both methods have very good points. I do think that cease and desist would facilitate conciliation. I really have not made up my mind, but I think I would go along with the cease-and-desist power. The CHAIRMAN. For giving the cease-and-desist power to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission? Mr. LEWIS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. As you know, the backlogs are as much as 11⁄2 to 2 years, whereas the congressional directive is to try to reach settlement in 60 days. Do you support increases in staffing and budget for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission? Mr. LEWIS. Yes, sir. |