EEO Complaints

*Note that Sex includes being male or female, as well as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary and gender identity.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) process is governed by the regulations, management directives, guidance, and case law of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), as well as applicable federal court cases. The EEO process consists of three parts, which are detailed below.

1. Informal Complaints of Discrimination

The informal process, also called EEO Counseling, provides an opportunity to define the employee’s concerns, obtain information necessary to address the issues, and attempt to resolve the issues at the lowest possible level. This process is administered by the Area EEOP EEO Counselors and Team Leads. You must complete EEO counseling before filing a formal complaint.

• There is a time limit for contacting an EEO representative, which is within 45 calendar days from the date of or becoming aware of the discriminatory act.
• Employees and applicants should contact the EEOP EEO Counselor or Team Lead for complaint counseling. After filling out an intake form the EEOP Counselor will serve as an impartial third party. 
• Counselors seek resolution through facilitation and initiate a limited fact-finding inquiry into the discrimination allegations. Inquiries include talking with individual(s) alleged to have discriminated and witnesses with possible knowledge of the complaint issue(s). These limited inquiries are not investigations, but are intended to gather basic facts of the allegations.  With this information, the EEO Counselor will attempt to find the common ground between parties to attempt to resolve the issues.  The counseling process should conclude within 30 days but may extend to 90 days due to extenuating circumstances.
• Should the aggrieved opt to use the Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) process, the EEO Counselor will locate a third-party neutral to mediate the issues. The ADR process is a more formalized attempt to resolve the issues between parties.  The ADR process not only works to resolve the complaint, but also to find a long-term solution and heal the work relationship.
• Should an informal complaint not be resolved, the EEO Counselor will issue the aggrieved employee or applicant a Notice of Final Interview and Right to File Formal.
• The Resolution and Compliance staff do not make discrimination findings or decide whether complaints have merit.
• Within 15 calendar days of the final interview, a formal written complaint that specifically details the claim(s) the complainant raised in EEO Counseling and that the complainant wishes to pursue should be submitted. The formal written complaint must be signed by the complainant or the complainant's attorney.

2. Formal Complaints of Discrimination

• The formal EEO complaint process is a legal procedure for the consideration of claims of employment discrimination.
• Formal complaints of discrimination may only be filed after a complainant completes EEO Counseling.
• If a complaint meets procedural requirements established by regulation, an investigation is conducted within 180 calendar days but may extend to 360 days if additional claims are raised and accepted for amendment.
• In most cases, employee will have 30 days upon receipt of the report of investigation to elect to have a hearing before an EEOC Administrative Judge or request an agency decision based solely on the record supported by EEOC case law.
• If the employee elects a Final Agency Decision (FAD) on the complaint, the Agency, in most cases, must issue the FAD within 60 days of the FAD election.
• If the employee elects an EEOC hearing, the complaint is no longer in the Agency’s jurisdiction.

3. The Appeal Process

The appeal process allows complainants to appeal procedural dismissals of claims not accepted for investigation, EEOC hearing decisions and FADs to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

• The time for a complainant to appeal is 30 days from receipt of the decision or dismissal.
• Review the EEO Notice of Appeal/Petition.
• Merit decisions in mixed case complaints, which are complaints involving personnel decisions that are appealable to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) -- are first appealed to the MSPB.

Four federal civil rights laws are enforced through the EEO complaint process:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended
• The Equal Pay Act of 1963
• The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended
• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008