Janet Dhillon (née Wilcox) is an American lawyer. She is a former chair and commissioner of the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

, serving as commissioner from May 2019 to November 2022, and as chair from May 2019 to January 2021. Prior to that, Dhillon was the executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of Burlington Stores.

Early life and education

Dhillon was born in New York and raised in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in history from

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

. Dhillon attended Occidental College at the same time that future President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

was on campus, before he transferred to

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She then earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

UCLA School of Law The University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (commonly known as UCLA School of Law or UCLA Law) is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. History Founded in 1949, the UCLA School of Law is the third oldest of t ...

Career

Dhillon began her legal career at the law firm of

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (known as Skadden) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm comprises approximately 1,700 lawyers and is the fourth highest ...

LLP, where she was employed from 1991 to 2004. From 2004 to 2009, she held a variety of roles at

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

. In 2009, Dhillon became executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of J. C. Penney. She joined Burlington Stores in 2015. Donald Trump nominated Dhillon to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on June 29, 2017. She was confirmed on May 8, 2019, and became the agency's chair after being sworn in on May 15, 2019. Following the inauguration of President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

, Dhillon was replaced as chair of the EEOC by Charlotte Burrows. Although her term expired in July 2022, she remained in office until her resignation on November 18, 2022. On March 10, 2025, Donald Trump nominated Dhillon to serve as director of the

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a United States federally chartered corporation created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to encourage the continuation and maintenance of voluntary private defined ...

Personal life

She is married to Uttam Dhillon, former acting administrator of the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...

References

External links

Biography at U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhillon, Janet Living people 21st-century American lawyers Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom people First Trump administration personnel Year of birth missing (living people) Chairs of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission