On Sept. 22 and 23, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Andrea Lucas (R), Jocelyn Samuels (D) and Keith Sonderling (R) to serve as commissioners of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“Lucas and Sonderling’s confirmations bring known and valuable assets to the Commission, as they are greatly familiar with the substance of the matters under EEOC’s jurisdiction,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs. “Their experience enables them to quickly join Republican Commission Chair Janet Dhillon and enforce various EEO laws objectively and in a way that respects the rights of both workers and employers.”

Prior to her confirmation, Lucas, who was confirmed by a Senate vote of 49-44, practiced in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in the firm’s labor and employment group for almost a decade, where she represented clients before the EEOC, other administrative agencies and federal and state courts nationwide in a wide variety of employment-related disputes. Additionally, Lucas served as a law clerk to Judge James C. Cacheris of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She will serve on the EEOC for a term expiring on July 1, 2025.

Samuels, who was confirmed by a Senate vote of 54-42, served as the executive director at the Roberta A. Conroy Scholar of Law and Policy at the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Previously, Samuels served multiple roles within the federal government, including director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as a political appointee at the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She will serve on the EEOC for a term expiring on July 1, 2021.

Sonderling, who was confirmed by a Senate vote of 52-41, served as both a deputy administrator and acting administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. Before serving at DOL, Sonderling practiced labor and employment law at the Gunster Law Firm in West Palm Beach, Florida. He will serve on the EEOC for a term expiring on July 1, 2024.