Jenny R. Yang
Jenny Rae Yang is the Director of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the U.S. Department of Labor.[2] Previously, she served as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from 2012 to 2017 and as chair of the commission from 2014 to 2017.[3]
Jenny Yang | |
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Director of Federal Contract Compliance Programs | |
Incumbent | |
Assuming office January 21, 2021 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Succeeding | Craig E. Leen |
Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | |
In office September 1, 2014 – January 25, 2017 | |
President | Barack Obama Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Jacqueline A. Berrien |
Succeeded by | Victoria Lipnic (Acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Jenny Rae Yang 1970/1971 (age 49–50)[1] |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Kil Huh |
Education | Cornell University (BA) New York University (JD) |
Early life
Yang has a bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University and a Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law.[3][4]
Career
Yang clerked for Edmund V. Ludwig at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.[3] Between 1998 and 2003, Yang worked as an investigating prosecutor for the Labor Litigation Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. In 2003, Yang joined the firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC as a partner, where she primarily represented workers in civil rights litigation.[5]
Member of the EEOC
Yang was appointed to a position on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency tasked with enforcing civil laws against workplace discrimination,[6] by President Barack Obama on August 2, 2012.[7] In 2014, Yang was chosen to succeed Jacqueline A. Berrien as Chair of the EEOC.[8] She was succeeded as chair by acting chair Victoria Lipnic[9] and left the commission on July 1, 2017. During Yang's time as chair, the EEOC established a Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace to address workplace sexual harassment.[10]
Career post-EEOC
Yang was named a 2018 Leadership in Government Fellow by the Open Society Foundation.[11] Yang currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute.[12] She testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on best practices in preventing sexual harassment in the federal courts.[13] In 2020, Yang testified before the House Committee on Education and Labor,[14] where she advocated for what she describes as a "Workers’ Bill of Rights for Algorithmic Decisions" to regulate algorithmic employment decisions.
In 2019, Yang was mentioned by liberal group Demand Justice as one of their recommended Supreme Court nominees.[15]
In November 2020, Yang was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of Labor.[16]
![](../I/Jenny_Yang_at_2015_AAPI_Heritage_Month_Program.jpg.webp)
Personal life
Yang grew up in Livingston, N.J., and is married to Kil Huh, also a graduate of Cornell and NYU.[1] The couple have two sons.
References
- "Weddings; Jenny Yang, Kil Huh". The New York Times. March 25, 2001. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
- Wiessner, Daniel (January 21, 2021). "Jenny Yang, former EEOC chair, tapped to lead DOL federal contractor watchdog" – via Reuters.
- "Presidenta Jenny R. Yang | Comisión para la Igualdad de Oportunidades en el Empleo". EEOC. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "2019 Women's Power Summit on Law & Leadership | Jenny R. Yang". Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Featured Alumna". NYU School of Law. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Discrimination by Type | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission". EEOC. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Obama Nominates Jenny Yang to be New EEOC Member". Littler Mendelson P.C. August 6, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "President Appoints Jenny R. Yang EEOC Chair | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission". EEOC. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "A Message from Acting Chair Victoria A. Lipnic | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission". EEOC. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Jenny". Working IDEAL. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Leadership in Government Fellowship". Open Society Foundation. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- "Jenny R. Yang". Urban Institute. June 8, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Confronting Sexual Harassment and Other Workplace Misconduct in the Federal Judiciary | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- Yang, Jenny (February 5, 2020). "Ensuring a Future That Advances Equity in Algorithmic Employment Decisions" (PDF). urban.org.
- "Demand Justice - Demand Justice Releases Supreme Court Shortlist of Diverse, Progressive Lawyers". Demand Justice. October 15, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- "Agency Review Teams". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved November 10, 2020.