Upon the completion of an investigation, if the Commission determines that there is not reasonable cause to believe that the charge is well founded, or determines that the charge has not been timely filed, it shall dismiss the charge and promptly notify the aggrieved parties and the respondent, in writing, of such action. In such event, the Commission may, upon good cause shown by the charging party, reconsider its action.

§ 1601.20 Confidentiality.

Neither a charge, nor information obtained pursuant to section 709 (a) of Title VII, nor information obtained from records required to be kept or reports required to be filed pursuant to sections 709 (c) and (d) of said Title, shall be made matters of public information by the Commission prior to the institution under the title of a court proceeding involving such charge or information. This provision does not apply to such earlier disclosures to the charging party, the respondent, witnesses, and representatives of interested Federal, State, and local agencies as may be appropriate or necessary to the carrying out of the Commission's functions under the title, nor to the publication of data derived from such information in a form which does not reveal the identity of the charging party, respondent, or person supplying the information.

PROCEDURE TO RECTIFY UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

§ 1601.21 Reasonable cause; conference, conciliation and persuasion.

In any case in which the Commission determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that an unlawful employment practice has occurred or is occurring, the Commission shall notify the respondent and the charging party in writing of the fact of determination, and shall within the limitations of time set forth in section 706 (e) of Title VIII, endeavor to eliminate such practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion. In any instance in which a member of the Commission has filed a charge under § 1601.10, he shall not participate in the determination in that case of the question whether such reasonable cause exists.

§ 1601.22 Settlements.

The Commission shall attempt to achieve a just resolution and to obtain assurances that the respondent will eliminate the unlawful employment practice and take appropriate affirmative action. Disposition of a case pursuant to this section shall be in writing, and notice thereof shall be sent to the parties. Proof of compliance with Title VII will be obtained by the Commission before the case is closed.

§ 1601.23 Refusal of respondent to cooperate.

Should a respondent fail or refuse to confer with the Commission or its representative, or fail or refuse to make a good faith effort to resolve any dispute, the Commission may terminate its efforts to conciliate the dispute. In such event, the respondent shall be notified promptly, in writing, that such efforts have been unsuccessful and will not be resumed except upon the respondent's written request within the time specified in such notice.

§ 1601.24 Confidentiality of endeavors.

Nothing that is said or done during and as a part of the endeavors of the Commission to eliminate unlawful employment practices by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion may be made a matter of public information by the Commission without the written consent of the parties, or used as evidence in a subsequent proceeding.

PROCEDURE AFTER FAILURE TO OBTAIN VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE

§ 1601.25 Notice to respondent and aggrieved person.

In any instance in which the Commission is unable to obtain voluntary compliance as provided by Title VII it shall so notify the repondent and the aggrieved person or persons. Notification to an aggrieved person shall include: (a) A copy of the charge.

(b) A copy of the Commission's determination of reasonable cause.

(c) Advice concerning his right to proceed in court under section 706 (e) of Title VII.

§ 1601.26 Referral to the Attorney General.

If the Commission is unable to obtain voluntary compliance, it may inform the Attorney General of appropriate facts in the case with recommendations for intervention by him in a civil action previously instituted by an aggrieved party under section 706 of Title VII, and the Commission may make public the fact that it has so recommended to the Attorney General. The Commission may further recommend to the Attorney General that he institute a civil action under section 707 of said title involving a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of any of the rights secured by said title.

SUBPART C-NOTICES TO EMPLOYEES, APPLICANTS FOR EMPLOYMENT AND
UNION MEMBERS

§ 1601.27 Notices to be posted.

Notices, to be prepared by, and to be available from, the Commission, shall be posted by employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations as required by section 711(a) of Title VII.

SUBPART D-INTERPRETATIONS AND OPINIONS BY THE COMMISSION

§ 1601.28 Request for interpretation or opinion; who may file.

Any interested person desiring a written interpretation or opinion from the Commission may make a request therefor.

§ 1601.29 Contents of request; where to file.

A request for an "opinion letter" shall be in writing, signed by the person making the request, addressed to the Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, D.C., and shall contain:

(a) The names and addresses of the person making the request and of other interested persons.

(b) A statement of all known relevant facts.

(c) A statement of reasons why the interpretation or opinion should be issued.

§ 1601.30 Issuance of interpretation or opinion.

Only (a) a letter entitled "opinion letter" and signed by the General Counsel on behalf of the Commission or (b) matter published and so designated in the FEDERAL REGISTER may be considered a "written interpretation or opinion of the Commission" within the meaning of section 713 of Title VII.

SUBPART E-CONSTRUCTION OF RULES

§ 1601.31 Rules to be liberally construed.

The rules and regulations in this part shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purpose and provisions of Title VII.

SUBPART F-ISSUANCE, AMENDMENT, OR REPEAL OF RULES

§ 1601.32 Petitions.

Any interested person may petition the Commission, in writing, for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule or regulation. An original and 12 legibly duplicated (not carbon) copies of such petition shall be filed with the Commission in Washington, D.C., and shall state the rule or regulation proposed to be issued, amended, or repealed, together with a statement of grounds in support of such petition.

§ 1601.33 Action on petition.

Upon the filing of such petition, the Commission shall consider the same and may thereupon either grant or deny the petition in whole or in part, conduct an appropriate proceeding thereon, or make other disposition of the petition. Should the petition be denied in whole or in part, prompt notice shall be given of the denial, accompanied by a simple statement of the grounds unless the denial be selfexplanatory.

1602.6

Procedure governing public hearings.

Decision.

Effective date of record keeping and reporting rules.

AUTHORITY: The provisions of this part 1602 issued under section 709, 713, 78 Stat. 263, 265.

§ 1602.1 General.

(a) Section 709 of Title VII requires the Commission to establish regulations pursuant to which employers, labor organizations, joint labor-management committees, and employment agencies subject to said Title shall make and preserve certain records and shall furnish specified information to aid in the administration and enforcement of the Title.

(b) This Part 1602 sets forth the procedure to be used by the Commission in establishing, amending and revoking such regulations, and by future amendments will set forth regulations so established.

§ 1602.2 Initiating a proceeding.

PROCEDURE

The Commission, on its own motion, or upon the petition of an interested person submitted as provided in § 1601.32 of this chapter, may initiate a proceeding to make, amend, or revoke regulations requiring persons subject to Title VII to make or keep records or to provide information in accordance with section 709.

§ 1602.3 Notice of a proceeding.

(a) Notice of the institution of a proceeding shall be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Such notice shall (1) refer to section 709 as authority for the proposed regulations and direct attention to this Part 1602 governing the procedure; (2) contain the terms or substance of the proposed regulations; and (3) invite interested persons (i) to participate in a public hearing to be held with respect to the proposed regulations, specifying the time and place that such hearing shall commence and information that must be submitted earlier by persons desiring to participate, and (ii) to submit pertinent written data, views, and argument by means other than participation in a hearing, specifying the time and place for such submission.

(b) The Commission may also give additional notice of the initiation of a proceeding as it may deem necessary or appropriate.

§ 1602.4 Procedure governing public hearings.

A hearing under § 1602.3 shall be conducted by a member of the Commission or its designated representative who shall have authority to administer oaths and affirmations. Such hearings shall be stenographically reported, and transcripts shall be made available to interested persons upon such terms as the Commission may provide. Matter which the Commission may wish to be made a part of the record shall be presented at the hearing by an attorney designated by the Commission who may call and examine witnesses, and cross-examine witnesses called by other persons. Subject to such limitations as the presiding officer may impose to limit the record to petinent matter, every interested person shall be afforded the opportunity to offer evidence through witnesses, to cross-examine witnesses called by others, and to present argument. The presiding officer shall regulate the course of the hearing and shall dispose of procedural requests, objections and comparable matter. The presiding officer shall also have power to call and examine witnesses, to govern the content of the record, to exclude persons from the hearing room for good cause, and, upon the conclusion of the testimony, to keep the hearing open for a stated reasonable time in order to receive written proposals and supporting reasons.

§ 1602.5 Decision.

After the close of the hearing and the receipt of materials under § 1602.3 (a) (3) (ii), the Commission shall carefully consider all matter presented to it and any other matter available, and shall thereafter make a final decision adopting, rejecting, or modifying the proposed regulation. The decision shall be expressed in a document signed by the Chairman of the Commission on

behalf of the Commission and shall be published in the Federal RegistER as an amendment to this Part 1602.

§ 1602.6 Effective date of record keeping and reporting rules.

Except to the extent that such decision of the Commission relieves a restriction, it shall provide an effective date for the change of not less than 30 days after the date of its publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER Unless a shorter time is provided for good cause found and expressed in the document. Signed at Washington, D.C., this 28th day of June 1965.

DEAR REPRESENTATIVE ROOSEVELT: Gov. George Romney has asked that we write you in connection with a hearing to be held on Tuesday, July 20, 1965, on H.R. 9222, a bill to more effectively prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and for other purposes. We would like to submit the following views for consideration by the subcommittee.

The people of Michigan have, in their constitution, a provision establishing a civil rights commission, which commission has broad powers to investigate alleged discrimination against any person because of religion, race, color, or national origin in the enjoyment of civil rights guaranteed by law and by this constitution and to secure the equal protection of such civil rights without such discrimination. A copy of the pertinent provisions of the Michigan constitution and the rules of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission are enclosed. The only protection provided under Federal law at the present time and in the proposed legislation which is not covered under the provisions of the Michigan constitution and law is the guarantee of equal rights in employment without discrimination based on sex.

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission has ample enforcement powers to achieve the purposes set forth in the constitution and indeed the protection of civil rights afforded in our State constitution provides even wider coverage than that provided under existing and proposed Federal legislation.

We note that in the proposed legislation, for example, that jurisdiction has been broadened in this bill to employers of eight or more. We favor this revision. We also note that the time of filing a complaint in the new bill extends the period to 1 year. This also is a constructive amendment. Our new rules provide for 180-day jurisdiction over complaints from the date of the alleged violation in the State of Michigan.

In the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Congress provided in title VII, section 706(b) that no charge may be filed by an aggrieved person until the expiration of 60 days after proceedings have been commenced under the State or local law. The Congress also provided in section 706(c) that in the case of any charges filed by a member of the commission alleging unfair employment practices in a State with an enforceable law prohibiting the practice, that the U.S. Commission would notify the State or local authority and would grant them a reasonable time, but not less than 60 days to remedy the practice alleged. In the proposed bill, we find that the sections referred to above, granting States with enforceable powers the right to act upon a charge of discrimination under their own authority prior to the U.S. Commission's entrance into the matter, has been eliminated. We would urge that this provision be retained in any new legislation.

We firmly believe that effective prevention and elimination of discrimination can be best achieved through State and local action in cases where such relief is provided on these levels. We can also appreciate the necessity of the Federal Government stepping into the breach in the absence of the protection afforded under the proposed bill in those States and political subdivisions which either have no enforceable laws, or which have laws which are in conflict with not only the letter, but the spirit of the Federal Civil Rights Act.

We are in accord with the provision of H.R. 9222 which provides: “*** the Commission may enter into written agreements with such State or local agencies and such agreements may include provisions under which the Commission shall refrain from processing a charge in any cases or class of cases specified in such agreements and under which no person may file a complaint under section 6(b) ***."

We are also in accord with the provision which requires the U.S. Commission to rescind any such agreement whenever it determines that the agreement no longer serves the interest of effective enforcement of the act.

Finally, we welcome the opportunity to work cooperatively with the Federal Government in achieving a status of equality of citizenship and civil rights for all of our citizens without regard to religion, race, color, or national origin. We are appreciative of the opportunity of presenting our views to the House subcommittee in its deliberations of the proposed legislation.

Very truly yours,

Enclosures.

BURTON I. GORDIN,
Executive Director.

MICHIGAN CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION

(Following are the portions of the revised constitution of the State of Michigan approved by the people on April 1, 1963, which pertain specifically to civil rights and to the creation of the civil rights commission :)

ARTICLE I

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS

Equal protection; discrimination.

SEC. 2. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws; nor shall any person be denied the enjoyment of his civil or political rights or be discriminated against in the exercise thereof because of religion, race, color or national origin. The legislature shall implement this section by appropriate legislation.

ARTICLE V

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Civil rights commission; members, term, duties, appropriation.

SEC. 29. There is hereby established a civil rights commission which shall consist of eight persons, not more than four of whom shall be members of the same political party, who shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, for four-year terms not more than two of which shall expire in the same year. It shall be the duty of the commission in a manner which may be prescribed by law to investigate alleged discrimination against any person because of religion, race, color or national origin in the enjoyment of the civil rights guaranteed by law and by this constitution, and to secure the equal protection of such civil rights without such discrimination. The legislature shall provide an annual appropriation for the effective operation of the commission.

Rules and regulations; hearings, orders.

The commission shall have power, in accordance with the provisions of this constitution and of general laws governing administrative agencies, to promulgate rules and regulations for its own procedures, to hold hearings, administer oaths, through court authorization to require the attendance of witnesses and the submission of records, to take testimony, and to issue appropriate orders. The commission shall have other powers provided by law to carry out its purposes. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to diminish the right of any party to direct and immediate legal or equitable remedies in the courts of this state.

Appeals.

Appeals from final orders of the commission, including cease and desist orders and refusals to issue complaints, shall be tried de novo before the circuit court having jurisdiction provided by law.

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