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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release December 16, 1997
                PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES PAUL M. IGASAKI 
                  AS A COMMISSIONER AND VICE CHAIR ON 
              THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION 

The President today announced the recess appointment of Paul M. Igasaki to serve as a Commissioner and Vice Chair on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Mr. Igasaki will serve as a recess appointee. He was nominated on July 31, 1997, and his nomination is currently pending before the Senate.

Paul M. Igasaki, of San Francisco, California, has served as a Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) since September 30, 1994. He led a task force that made recommendations that substantially reduced the agency's case backlog. Prior to his service as Commissioner and Vice Chair of the EEOC, Mr. Igasaki was the Executive Director of the Asian Law Caucus, a civil rights and legal advocacy organization. From 1989 to 1991, he served as the Washington, D.C. representative for the Japanese American Citizens League. As a staff member of the City of Chicago's Commission on Human Relations, he provided legal and management counsel to the Commission and was the Mayor's liaison to the city's Asian-American communities. Mr. Igasaki received a B.A. degree from Northwestern University and a J.D. degree from the University of California at Davis.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has the responsibility to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal laws that prohibit employment discrimination. The Commission has five members, each of whom serve five-year terms. This recess appointment will ensure a functioning Commission with a voting quorum.

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