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By: Tyler Kiblin ‘24
Over the past two months, I interned at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and had the privilege to immerse myself in the agency’s work of investigating employment discrimination claims. This internship has been the most rewarding and enriching experience I have had through my law school career because it affirmed my determination to work in the public interest and the good that government can contribute to society.
The EEOC was created under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as the agency primarily responsible for investigating and potentially litigating charges of discrimination in the workplace. That authority was a primary reason I wanted to apply for the EEOC’s internship because I had one recurring and unanswered question since I started law school, what does stopping discrimination mean? I believed that creating new laws or policies to increase protections for marginalized groups would solve the problem, but I see now that is only half the battle. The EEOC, and organizations like it, represent the other half of the battle, the need for an enforcer. People are not going to change their views or learn how to treat others fairly because a legislature demands it. They need to be held accountable and shown why their actions are wrong.
By working at the EEOC, I learned how those who discriminate are held accountable. As an intern, I did work on both the investigative side and the legal side of the agency. On the investigative side, I experienced firsthand what it was like to work with someone through the early stages of a discrimination charge. I conducted interviews with potential charging parties and had to develop several skills to get the most out of my time with them. One strategy was helping charging parties recall the timeline of events to establish what happened to them. It was common to speak with people that often knew they were discriminated against, but not sure how to communicate their story in a way that worked with the framework of Title VII or similar statutes.
Another strategy I employed was developing a rapport with the potential charging parties and help them feel comfortable talking to me. Discrimination for many people was a traumatizing event and I was the person who was asking that person relive their experience. Many sensitive topics needed to be discussed and building a relationship in which someone could trust me was important so I could be as effective a resource as possible. From there, I would do evidence reviews and write up charges based on the evidence provided to me by the potential charging parties.
I found my interviews with charging parties to be one of the most informative parts of the internship because I learned how pervasive discrimination still is in our community. Perhaps in my own naivety, I believed some of the worst forms of discrimination had been left in by-gone eras. I was wrong. Rather, I heard stories of people being called the worst slurs imaginable and terrorized for who they are. Those stories all occurred within the last year. I realized a necessary step towards stopping discrimination is to be on watch every day and understand that everyone can do something discriminatory.
On the legal side of the EEOC, I got to experience how the EEOC utilizes the law to protect more and more Americans who fall under anti-discrimination statutes. I spent a significant amount of time researching caselaw and finding support for cutting-edge arguments for the parties that the EEOC was representing in litigation. I found this legal process to be a great learning experience because I got to see how important motions and evidence presentation are. In school, I was only able to experience writing briefs that would be the final presentation of my case, but the EEOC allowed me to understand just how much grander the scope of litigation is especially when litigating cases relying almost entirely on circumstantial evidence.
The EEOC made me feel like I should be an attorney in public interest because of the passion I experienced. In general, in the United States, there is a prevailing societal belief that the government is a faceless institution. By virtue of being faceless, the government has a reputation of being inefficient, self-interested, and disengaged from what communities need. These misconceptions do not reflect any possible meaning of passion. However, when government resources are put into the hands of motivated people with good hearts, genuine change becomes possible. Since day one of this summer, I witnessed first-hand how passionate the EEOC staff members were about their work. That passion was so welcoming and motivating for me because I felt like I was a part of something important. My experiences and the knowledge I have gained from the summer internship at the EEOC have enhanced my passion to help others. No matter what I was working on, I knew I was being relied upon to advance a truly positive goal and all the staff felt the same way. I appreciate them greatly for letting me into their world and giving me the opportunity to grow as a future attorney.
I would like to thank the University at Buffalo School of Law Summer Public Interest Funding & Fellowship Program and the generosity of the Richman family for providing me the funds to make my internship at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission possible. Without that support, I do not believe I would have been able to find such passion this early into my legal career.
Name: Tyler Kiblin ‘24
Fellowship: Terry M. Richman Summer Fellowship
Placement: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Location: Buffalo, NY
One important lesson I have learned from this fellowship: Society must be held accountable for its wrongs to improve for the better. Without such accountability, we cannot achieve our greatest goals.
UB School of Law Responds 