Janet Dhillon

Janet Dhillon (née Wilcox) is an American lawyer. She is a Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She previously served as the chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from May 15, 2019 to January 20, 2021. Prior to that, Dhillon was the executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of Burlington Stores.[1][2] Dhillon "hollowed out America’s only workplace civil rights watchdog" during her term leading the EEOC.[3]

Janet Dhillon
Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Assumed office
May 15, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Personal details
Born
Janet Wilcox

New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Uttam Dhillon
Alma materOccidental College (BA)
UCLA School of Law (JD)

Early life and education

Dhillon was born in New York and raised in California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Occidental College. Dhillon attended Occidental College at the same time that future President Barack Obama was on campus, before he would transfer to Columbia University.[4] She then earned a Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law.[5][6][7]

Career

Dhillon began her legal career at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where she was employed from 1991 to 2004. From 2004 to 2009, she held a variety of roles at US Airways. In 2009, Dhillon became executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of J. C. Penney. She joined Burlington Stores in 2015.[8]

She is married to Uttam Dhillon, former Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.[9]

Donald Trump named Dhillon to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2019. The number of cases the EEOC pursued significantly dropped during her tenure, which former EEOC general counsel David Lopez compared to "a case of industry capture by the business community."[3] Dhillon chose to review cases herself before the commission would decide to vote on whether to take them, delaying the litigation process. The EEOC stopped pursuing cases of sexual orientation discrimination, even after Bostock v. Clayton County. Dhillon began a program that led to more cases going through mediation for settlement prior to becoming more comprehensive investigation or lawsuits. Staff at the EEOC was reduced to its lowest level since 1980.[3]

References
  1. Wylie, Melissa (July 3, 2017). "Law: Trump nominates Janet Dhillon to lead EEOC". The Business Journals. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  2. Gurrieri, Vin (June 28, 2017). "Trump Picks Burlington Stores GC To Lead EEOC". Law360. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  3. Covert, Bryce (2021-01-23). "The Trump Administration Gutted the EEOC". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  4. "Barack Obama: the college years". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  5. "Janet Dhillon, Chair". www.eeoc.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  6. "Janet L. Dhillon". DirectWomen. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  7. https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Dhillon.pdf
  8. Mulvaney, Erin; Scarcella, Mike (June 29, 2017). "Janet Dhillon, Ex-Big Law Turned Longtime GC, Lands Trump Nod for EEOC". The National Law Journal. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  9. Hayes, Charlotte (September 11, 2019). "Janet Dhillon". The Independent Women's Forum.
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