Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Bias Claims Against Job Agencies on Rise

Discrimination complaints against employment agencies are on the increase, the chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said. Evan Kemp, in a speech to the National Assn. of Temporary Services, cited an “alarming rise” of more than 20% in such complaints to the federal agency over the last year. “The problem is becoming more pervasive, which obviously makes it urgent to stop it now,” Kemp said. He said there are currently about 365 charges pending against job agencies, and “many of these will end in lawsuits.” A spokesman for Kemp said the EEOC gets more race and sex discrimination complaints against employment agencies than any other single industry. The commission gets about 60,000 complaints a year, of which about 600 result in the EEOC’s filing lawsuits.