New EEOC Dallas director talks race, gender and sexual discrimination in the workplace

The federal agency that investigates workplace discrimination complaints has a new leader for its Dallas district office. Travis Nicholson’s appointment comes after complaints surfaced last year about discrimination within the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Dallas office. Asked if he was brought in to foster a healthier work environment, Nicholson said, “I wouldn’t say so.” “I would say that I hope throughout my career, that I’ve built a reputation of someone who can build trust, someone who collaborates with others well and someone who is a strong communicator,” said Nicholson, who most recently was the EEOC deputy district director in Houston. “And I hope that someone saw something in me to say, ‘This guy can make some things happen and get things done.’”

He’s taking on the new role a little over a year after the EEOC chairwoman ordered a review of the work climate in the Dallas District after USA Today uncovered complaints of internal discrimination. At the time of the report, Belinda McCallister was director of the 100-employee district office and was accused of “facilitating harassment and discrimination,” according to USA Today. She is now in a new role, Nicholson said. The EEOC’s Dallas office investigates discrimination complaints from more than 200 counties in north, central and west Texas. It handled around 4,500 complaints last year and obtained over $32 million in penalties for 1,550 people. Nicholson, 51, grew up in Detroit before going into the U.S. Army for 12 years straight out of high school. “It was really interesting leaving because I was concerned about finding a job that gave me the same sense of purpose that I experienced being in the United States military,” he said. He joined the EEOC in 2009 as a bilingual investigator in Detroit and moved to its Charlotte district as its outreach and education coordinator before going to Houston in 2017.