Early Years

EEPC was created by New York voters on November 7, 1989, when residents sought to comprehensively reshape the new City Charter and Constitution. The amendment to Chapter 36 sections 830 and 831 Equal Employment Opportunity Laws – Chapter 36 of the New York City Charter granted EEPC the ability to serve as the independent authority responsible for advancing public workers' rights to equitable employment opportunities.

EEPC audits and evaluates the employment practices and programs of municipal entities and their efforts to ensure equal employment opportunities for women and people of color employed by, or seeking a position with, the City.

Additionally, the City Charter gives EEPC the authority to issue corrective actions to city entities that are not fulfilling the promise of affirmative employment and to offer strategies for addressing challenges related to providing a fair, equitable, and safe work environment for New York City's public workforce.

EEPC Today

Since then, EEPC has undergone broad transformations in pursuit of excellence, improving its organization, practices, procedures, and human resources to better achieve its vision for equal employment practices across all city agencies.

In 2019, the New York City Council passed Local Law 13, designating EEPC to analyze agencies' workforce data and make policy recommendations for improving the representation of women and people of color in city government.