Intergovernmental relations and the administrative enforcement of equal employment opportunity laws

Does the national government influence policy in the states when it exercises regulatory enforcement through intergovernmental contracts? This article examines the administrative enforcement of equal employment opportunity laws by the national Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state fair employment practice agencies. A framework suggested by the overlapping authority model of intergovernmental relations is used. Coordinated enforcement of discrimination law is required by statute, and complex intergovernmental relationships have resulted. The majority of discrimination charges received by a state agency and the federal commission are shared as a common work load. Joint case processing is managed through annual contracts. A large proportion of variation in enforcement and content of charge resolution contracts can be explained by variation in authority interdependence and bargaining Expansion of enforcement responsibility, along with budgetary constraints and decreasing staff levels, has resulted in increased work lends and case backlogs for both state agencies and the commission. The contractual division of labor has also been affected. State fair employment practice agencies are processing a smaller portion of the common work land than previously. Findings from this study suggest that administrative enforcement of discrimination law has entered a critical period.