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THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                           (Dakar, Senegal)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                      April 2, 1998
                  PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES IDA L. CASTRO
                    AS CHAIR AND COMMISSIONER OF THE
                 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION

The President today announced his intent to nominate Ida L. Castro to serve as Chair and Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Ms. Ida L. Castro, of New York, New York, is an attorney who has been actively involved in employment and labor issues throughout her career. She has served since March 1996 as the Acting Director of the Women's Bureau at the Department of Labor, where she is responsible for formulating standards and policies that promote the welfare of wage earning women. Previously, Ms. Castro served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Worker's Compensation Programs for the Employment Standards Administration at the Department of Labor. Prior to joining the Department of Labor, Ms. Castro served as Senior Legal Counsel for Legal Affairs for the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation from 1990 to 1994. Ms. Castro was Special Counsel to the President and Director of Labor Relations at Hostos Community College of the City University of New York from 1988 to 1990. Ms. Castro practiced employment, labor, and public interest law in New York and New Jersey from 1983 to 1990. She was a tenured associate professor at the Institute of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University from 1976 to 1983.

Ms. Castro received a B.A. degree from the University of Puerto Rico and M.A. and J.D. degrees from Rutgers University.

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.

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