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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created by and enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or reprisal/retaliation.Since 1979, EEOC also has enforced: the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, which protects employees and applicants 40 years of age or older; the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sexbased wage discrimination; and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits federal sector discrimination against persons with disabilities.
Since July 26, 1992, the effective date of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the EEOC has been responsible for protecting individuals in the private sector, and in state and local governments from discrimination based on disability. EEOC is also responsible for enforcing any subsequent changes to the above statutes.
EEOC provides oversight and coordination of all federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies.
The Commission
EEOC has five Commissioners and a General Counsel appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Commissioners are appointed for five-year, staggered terms. The term of the General Counsel is four years. The President designates a Chairman and a Vice Chairman. The Chairman is the chief executive officer of the Commission. The five-member Commission makes equal employment opportunity policy and approves all private sector enforcement litigation. The General Counsel is responsible for conducting EEOC enforcement litigation.
Work of the Commission
EEOC staff oversee federal agencies' affirmative employment efforts and their administrative complaints process. EEOC staff also administer the federal hearings program and review appeals from final agency decisions on complaints. If that review demonstrates that discrimination has occurred which has not been fully remedied, EEOC may order the agency to provide complete relief.
EEOC's Mission
The mission of the Commission is to ensure equality of opportunity by vigorously enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination through investigation, conciliation, litigation, coordination, adjudication, education and technical assistance. In the federal sector, regulation and adjudication are the primary means of enforcement. Commission findings of discrimination are binding on agencies.
Commission Meetings
In accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act, meetings of the Commission are open to the public. However, all or part of a meeting may be closed for consideration of matters exempted under the Sunshine Act, such as recommendations for litigation, litigation strategy and other specified matters. For information about Commission meetings, call 202663-4070 (voice) or 202-663-4018 (TDD). Agenda items for Commission meetings are announced in the Federal Register one week in the advance of the meeting.
Headquarters Offices and Their Functions
Federal Operations: Develops policy guidance for federal agency affirmative employment and complaint programs, and provides technical assistance on all aspects of federal equal employment opportunity. Provides policy guidance and oversight of the Commission's Administrative Judges. Decides appeals from federal agency findings on EEO complaints, decisions on collective bargaining agreement grievances where allegations of discrimination are raised, and on petitions for review of Merit Systems Protection Board decisions involving allegations of discrimination.
Inspector General: Conducts internal and external investigations and audits related to the programs and operations of the Commission.
Communications and Legislative Affairs: Serves as the Commission's primary external communications link with the news media, the U.S. Congress, constituency groups and the public, and conducts internal communications.
General Counsel: Recommends and conducts all EEOC litigation in class, systemic and individual cases of discrimination and subpoena enforcement actions. Presents the Commission's views as amicus curiae in cases in which the Commission is not a party.
Legal Counsel: Serves as principal advisor to the Commission on nonenforcement litigation matters and represents the Commission in defensive litigation and administrative hearings. Prepares Commission decisions on private charges involving issues for which there is no Commission precedent, develops policy guidance for Commission consideration and carries out the Commission's leadership and coordination role for the federal government's external equal employment enforcement functions.
Writes regulations, conducts outreach and education efforts, and coordinates all federal issuances affecting equal employment opportunity.
Management: Oversees administrative, financial, personnel and management support services. Develops and administers the Commission's budget and is responsible for the Commission's internal EEO program.
Program Operations: Manages, directs and coordinates field office operations and systemic investigation. Implements the Commission's state and local charge deferral and contracting program and conducts the national EEO survey report program.
Title VII
Employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Title VII covers the federal government and private employers, state and local governments, and educational institutions that have 15 or more employees. Private and public employment agencies, labor organizations, and joint labor-management committees for apprenticeship and training also must abide by the law.
It is illegal under Title VII to discriminate in:
Hiring and firing;
Compensation, assignment or classification of employees;
Transfer, promotion, layoff or recall;
Job advertisements;
Recruitment;
Testing;
Use of company facilities;
Training and apprenticeship programs;
Fringe benefits;
Pay, retirement plans and disability leave; and
Other terms and conditions of employment.Under the law, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions must be treated the same as any other non-pregnancy-related conditions.
Title VII prohibits reprisal/retaliation against a person who files a complaint of discrimination, participates in the EEO process or opposes an employment practice made illegal by any of the laws the Commission enforces.
Citizenship requirement, preferences or rules requiring employees to be fluent in English or speak only English at work may be unlawful if they disproportionately affect individuals of a particular national origin and are not justified by business necessity. For further information about employment rights and responsibilities under the Immigration Reform and Control Act, call the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices toll free at 1-800-255-7688 (voice or 1-800237-2515 (TDD).
Disability
EEOC enforces Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which protects federal employees and applicants from employment discrimination because of disability. Section 501 also requires affirmative action for hiring, placement and promotion of qualified individuals with disabilities.
The goal of the executive branch of the federal government is to be a model employer of individuals with disabilities. An individual with a disability is one who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of such an individual's major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. Major life activities are such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working.
Reasonable Accommodation and Affirmative Employment
EEOC regulations require federal agencies to make reasonable accommodations for the known physical and mental limitations of qualified applicants or employees with disabilities unless the agency can demonstrate that doing so would result in an undue hardship on its operations.
A qualified individual with a disability is one who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the position in question without endangering his/her health and safety or that of others, and who meets the experience and education requirements of the position or meets the criteria for appointment under one of the special appointing authorities for individuals with disabilities.
Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to, making facilities accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, adjusting or modifying tests, and providing readers or interpreters.
EEOC regulations also prohibit the use of employment tests or other standards of selection that discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities. Pre-employment questions about disabilities, except for jobrelated purposes, also are prohibited.
EEOC requires all federal agencies to develop affirmative employment programs for individuals with disabilities, especially those with severe disabilities such as deafness, blindness, missing extremities, paralysis, convulsive disorders, mental retardation, mental illness and distortion of limbs and/or spine. Under certain circumstances, an agency may be required to reassign employees who become unable to perform the essential functions of their job, even with a reasonable accommodation, due to their disability.
EEOC instructs federal agencies in the development and implementation of affirmative employment programs for individuals with disabilities. EEOC conducts on-site reviews of affirmative employment programs in federal offices and submits to the U.S. Congress an annual report on the employment of individuals with disabilities in the federal government.
Equal Pay Act (EPA)
The Equal Pay Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in payment of wages, where employees of different sexes perform substantially equal work under similar working conditions in the same establishment. The law also prohibits employers from reducing the wages of either sex to comply with the law.
A violation may exist where a different wage is paid to a predecessor or successor employee of the opposite sex performing substantially equal work. Labor organizations may not cause employers to violate the law.
Reprisal/retaliation against a person who files a complaint of equal pay discrimination, participates in an investigation or opposes an employment practice made illegal by any of the laws the Commission enforces, also is illegal.
EPA complaints may be violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which also prohibits sex-based wage discrimination. Such complaints may be filed under both statues. The law does not apply to pay differences based on factors other than sex, such as seniority, merit or systems that determine wages based upon the quantity or quality of items produced or processed.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
Persons 40 years of age or older are protected by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. The law prohibits age discrimination in hiring, discharge, pay, promotions and other terms and conditions of employment.
Reprisal/retaliation against a person who files a complaint of age discrimination, participates in an investigation or opposes an employment practice that violates the ADEA also is illegal.
Filing a Complaint with a Federal Agency
If an employee or applicant for employment believes that he/she has been discriminated against by a federal agency when applying for a job or on the job because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, or disability, and the employee or applicant wants to contest that action, he/she must first contact an equal employment opportunity counselor at the agency where the alleged discrimination took place.
In cases where the matter is appealable to the Merit Systems Protection Board, the aggrieved person must elect between a "mixed case" appeals to the MSPB, which must be filed within 20 days, or a mixed case complaint through the agency administrative process. If a "mixed case" appeal is initiated, EEO counseling is not applicable.
Where an agency is subject to 5 U.S.C. Section 7121(d) and where the negotiated grievance procedure covers the alleged discrimination, the covered employee must elect to file a grievance on the EEO complaint, but not both. The U.S. Postal Service and Tennessee Valley Authority are among the few agencies no covered by 5 U.S.C. Section 7121(d) and thus the election requirement is not applicable.
An aggrieved person has the right to be represented by the person of his/her choice at all stages of the complaint process including the counseling stage.
The aggrieved person has the right to remain anonymous throughout the counseling stage.
Retaliation or reprisal against a person who participates in the complaint process or opposes an employment practice made illegal by any of the laws the Commission enforces, is prohibited. A complaint of reprisal/retaliation is processed in the same manner as other complaints of discrimination.Pre-Complaint Counseling
A complainant must first contact an EEO counselor at the agency responsible for the alleged discrimination within 45 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory act or the effective date of a personnel action before filing a complaint of discrimination or reprisal/retaliation. The EEO counselor will inquire into the facts and attempt to resolve the matter informally.
Generally, the counseling period will not exceed 30 days. Where, however, the agency has an established alternative dispute resolution procedure, and the aggrieved individual agrees to participate in the procedure, the precomplaint processing period is 90 days. If the matter is not resolved through counseling or the alternative dispute procedure, the counselor must give the aggrieved individual written notice of the right to file a complaint.
Filing a Complaint
The complainant has 15 calendar days from receiving a written notice of the right to file a complaint from the EEO counselor to file a formal complaint in writing with the agency. Failure to file with the 15-day time limit may result in the dismissal of the complaint.
The complainant may file a formal complaint with the agency without having the written notice of the right to file a formal complaint if the matter has not been resolved within 30 calendar days from first contacting an EEO counselor.
Acknowledgement or Dismissal
If the agency does not dismiss all or part of the complaint, it must acknowledge the complaint or the portions that it does not dismiss. The complaint is then assigned to an investigator. If the agency dismisses all or part of the complaint, the complainant is notified in writing of the right to appeal to EEOC's Office of Federal Operations with 30 days of receipt of the agency's dismissal.
Investigation of the Complaint
The agency must complete its investigation with 180 days (120 days if it is a "mixed case" complaint). In cases where the complaint is otherwise appealable to the Merit Systems Protection Board, it will be processed as a "mixed case complaint" or a "mixed case appeal." The investigator may take an affidavit from the complainant and other witnesses and gather evidence about the complaint or may use other forms of fact finding. Once the investigation is complete, the agency gives the complainant a copy of the investigative file and notice of the right to a final decision with or without a hearing. In a mixed case complaint, there is no entitlement to a hearing at the EEOC, but a hearing may be requested in connection with an appeal to the MSPB of the final agency decision on the complaint.
Complainants in non-mixed cases must request a hearing by notifying the agency within 30 calendar days of receipt of the investigative file. Otherwise, the agency will issue its final decision without a hearing.
A complainant and the agency may resolve the complaint at any step of the process.
Hearing and the Decision
A hearing is conducted by an EEOC Administrative Judge. The parties have the right to seek discovery before the hearing. The Administrative Judge hears relevant testimony and considers documentary evidence of the alleged discrimination. Witnesses give testimony under oath or affirmation, and may be cross-examined.
After the hearing, and within 180 days of the Commission's receipt of the request for the hearing, the Administrative Judge submits his/her findings and conclusions, along with a complete copy of the hearing record, to each party.
Within 60 days of receiving the findings and conclusions of the Administrative Judge, the agency must issue its final decision: accepting, modifying, or rejecting the Administrative Judge's findings and conclusions.
Employee Appeals of Federal Agency EEO Decisions
Once the agency has rendered a decision on the complaint, the complainant has the right to file an appeal of the agency decision with EEOC's Office of Federal Operations.
How to Appeal a Federal Agency Decision
An appeal must be filed in writing, either personally or by mail, with the Director, Office of Federal Operations, EEOC, P.O. Box 19848, Washington, DC, 20036.
There are strict time frames in which federal appeals must be filed. An appeals is considered filed on the date it is postmarked, or on the date received by EEOC absent a legible postmark.
An appeal must be filed with EEOC within 30 calendar days of receipt of the agency's notice of final decision on the complainant. Any statement in support of the appeal must be submitted to EEOC and the concerned agency within 30 calendar days of filing the appeal.
A private lawsuit under Title VII, the Rehabilitation Act, or the ADEA may be filed in a U.S. District Court within:
90 days of receipt of a final decision taken by the agency on a complaint (30 days for mixed cases); or
180 days after the date of filing a complaint if there has been no agency decision; or
90 days after receipt of a decision by EEOC on the appeal; or
180 days after the date of filing and appeal with EEOC if there has been no decision on the appeal.A private lawsuit for violation of the EPA may be filed in any court of competent jurisdiction within two years or, in cases of willful violations, three years of the alleged discrimination.
Filing a Grievance Instead of a Complaint
If the agency is covered by the section of the Civil Service Reform Act that allows allegations of discrimination to be raised in a negotiated grievance procedure, and the applicable procedure provides for the processing of allegations of discrimination, the employee may choose to file either a complaint or a grievance, but not both.
The employee is considered to have made this choice when he/she first files either a written complaint or a written grievance. Once made, the choice is binding, and may not be changed.
Agency Responsibility When an Appeal is Filed
The agency is required to forward the complaint file to EEOC within 30 days of receipt of a request for the file.
The file should include all notices and forms, the EEO counselor's report, the investigative file, hearing records including the findings and conclusions, the agency's final decision, and proof of mailings, i.e., receipts of all transmittals.
EEOC Decision on Appeal
EEOC's Office of Federal Operations reviews the briefs submitted by the parties, and agency complaint files. The Commission issues a decision based on merit or procedural grounds, taking into consideration applicable laws, rules, regulations, EEOC policies, case law precedents, as well as Comptroller General and prior Commission decisions. The decisions may also establish remedies, if appropriate.
Relief
The Commission's policy is to seek full and effective relief for each and every victim of employment discrimination through the federal sector appeals process. Remedies are tailored to the circumstances and may include:
Posting a notice to all employees advising them of their rights under the laws EEOC enforces and their rights to be free from reprisal/retaliation;
Corrective or preventive actions taken to cure or correct the source of the identified discrimination and minimize the chance of its recurrence;
Nondiscriminatory placement in the position the victim would have occupied if the discrimination had no occurred, or in a substantially equivalent position;
Back pay (with interest where applicable), lost benefits, or both;
Stopping the specific discriminatory practices involved in the case; or
Recovery of reasonable attorney's fee and costs, except in age discrimination complaints.Copies of EEOC decisions are sent to the complainant or his/her designated representative and the federal agency.
If a decision requires the agency to take corrective action, the agency must promptly forward a detailed written report to EEOC that the action has been taken.
When EEOC finds that an agency has not complied with it decision, it may:
Issue a notice to the head of the agency to show cause for lack of compliance;
Refer the matter to the Office of Special Counsel for action; or
Notify the complainant of the right to file a private lawsuit for judicial review of the agency's refusal to comply with EEOC's decision.Reconsideration
The Commissioners may, on their own motion, reconsider any EEOC decision within a reasonable period of time. In addition, the Commissioners may, under specified limited circumstances, reconsider previous EEOC decisions when the requesting party makes convincing written arguments that meet the criteria set forth in EEOC regulations (29 C.F.R. 1614.407).
Requests by either the complainant or the federal agency must be filed within 30 days of receipt of the previous EEOC decision. The opposing party may contest the request for reconsideration.
Technical Assistance
EEOC provides technical assistance and information to complainants, agency heads, senior management officials of federal agencies and employee groups and organizations on EEOC procedures and regulations. EEOC periodically conducts field seminars on the appellate process and federal dispute resolution.
Additional Information
If you need further information, you may call EEOC toll free, 1-800-669EEOC. The TDD number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-800-3302. For calls from the Washington, DC metropolitan area, dial (202)663-4900. The local TDD number is (202)663-4494.
The information contained within this document is intended as a general overview and does not carry the force of legal opinion
Privacy Policy and Important Notices
Curator: Pepsi Phounrath
NASA Official: Adriana Cardenas
Last Updated: January 23, 2007
