Discrimination Complaint Forums in the Federal Workplace
| Jurisdiction | United States,Federal |
| Citation | Vol. 17 No. 9 Pg. 1763 |
| Pages | 1763 |
| Publication year | 1988 |
1988, September, Pg. 1763. Discrimination Complaint Forums In the Federal Workplace
In recent years, federal managers have shown an increasing commitment to equal opportunity in the workplace. Nevertheless, since about 50,000 federal civilian employees work in Colorado, some complaints of discrimination inevitably arise. Processing a discrimination claim against a federal agency can be perplexing because such agencies differ greatly from other employment sectors. Remedies may be sought through three distinct yet intersecting administrative pathways: the formal EEO complaint, the Merit Systems Protection Board ("MSPB") appeal and the labor grievance.
Each federal agency issues regulations for handling discrimination complaints. All must conform to guidelines issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). The complaint process is available to any aggrieved employee or applicant for employment, and class complaints are also authorized. Prohibited forms of discrimination include race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and physical or mental handicap.(fn1)
The aggrieved party initiates the process by seeking counselling, from one of the employing agency's designated equal employment opportunity counselors, within 30 days after the alleged discriminatory event. The counselor attempts to resolve the matter on an informal basis. If its remains unresolved 21 days after counseling began, the counselor notifies the aggrieved party of his or her right to file a formal written complaint with the agency. A complaint may be filed within 15 days of receipt of such notice.(fn2)
Upon receipt of a timely complaint, the agency assigns an investigator to obtain relevant documents and sworn statements from agency witnesses. The documents and statements are compiled into an investigative file. The investigator must be independent of that part of the agency in which the complaint arose and must have cooperation from agency personnel.(fn3)
The agency then furnishes a copy of the investigative file to the complainant and attempts to negotiate a mutually acceptable adjustment. If this effort fails, it issues a proposed disposition of the matter and offers the complainant a choice of a final decision by the agency head (or his or her designee) either with or without a hearing. The proposed disposition may become final if no election is made within 15 days.(fn4)
A hearing, if elected, is conducted by an examiner from another agency (usually the EEOC). It is non-public, informal, and usually held at the employing agency's work site. Rules of evidence are not applied and there is no provision for prehearing discovery, although documents may be sought under the Freedom of Information Act.(fn5) An examiner may require federal employees to testify, but cannot compel the testimony of others. The examiner ultimately issues written findings and a recommended decision.(fn6)
The head of the agency (or his or her designee) then reviews the entire complaint file and issues a final written decision. If a final decision is not issued within 30 days, the recommended decision becomes final.(fn7) If the...
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