Telemarketer Script for EEOC's National Call Center

Call Introductions and Closings

Topic: CALL CENTER GREETING

Explanation: This section provides an initial greeting.

Discussion: Hello. You’ve reached the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. How can I help you today?

[If the caller has a general question, refer to the appropriate discussion in this script. If the caller has no further questions after this information is provided, refer to the “General Call Center Closing” section.]

[If the caller seems interested in filing a charge or discussing their work situation, refer to the “Transition to E-Assessment tool” section.]

[If the caller wants to report discrimination, but doesn’t want to file a charge, refer to the “Transition to Field Office for Reporting Discrimination” section.]

Topic: GENERAL CALL CENTER CLOSING

Explanation: This section provides a closing with callers who don’t complete the E-assessment tool or who don’t want to report discrimination.

Discussion: Thank you for calling. If you have more questions about the laws we enforce, I can refer you to one of our local field offices. Our public website also has a lot of information about EEOC and our laws. The address for our website is www.eeoc.gov.

Topic: TRANSITION TO FIELD OFFICE FOR REPORTING DISCRIMINATION

Explanation: This section provides a transition for callers who want to report discrimination, but don’t want to file a charge.

Discussion: Usually we need a person to file a charge of discrimination before we can investigate discrimination, and we won’t investigate a charge unless you give us your name. Sometimes, though, we will initiate an investigation on our own based on information we receive from the public. If you have information that you would like to share with us, I would be happy to put you in touch with one of our field offices.

[Refer caller to appropriate field office]

Also, you can file a charge on behalf of someone else who has been the victim of discrimination. In such cases, we usually don’t tell the employer on whose behalf the charge was filed, but we do tell the employer the name of the person or organization who filed the charge. If you would like to file a charge on behalf of someone else, I would be happy to put you in touch with someone at one of our field offices.

[Refer caller to appropriate field office]

Topic: TRANSITION TO E-ASSESSMENT TOOL

Explanation: This section provides a transition for callers who want to file a charge or discuss their work situation.

Discussion: Before I can answer your question, I’d like to ask some questions to make sure our laws apply to your situation. If our laws don’t apply, I will try to refer you to another agency that can help.

[Begin E-assessment tool]

Topic: CALL CENTER CLOSING AFTER UNSUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF E-ASSESSMENT TOOL

Explanation: This section provides a closing for callers whose answers to the electronic charge assessment tool have ended the session.

Discussion: Based on what you have told me, it sounds like we are not the best agency to help you.

[Give reason(s) below]

· We only investigate discrimination that happens at work or when you are applying for a job.

· We only investigate discrimination because of a person’s race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age (40 or older), disability or retaliation.

· We only investigate employers that have 15 or more employees (20 or more in age discrimination cases).

· We only investigate labor unions that either operate a hiring hall or have at least 15 members (25 in age discrimination cases).

· We only accept charges of age discrimination from people who were 40 years old or older at the time the discrimination occurred.

· We only accept charges that are filed within 180/300 days of the day the discrimination happened. Based on what you have just told me, it sounds like your time has run out or is about to run out. What I would like to do is refer you one of our field offices so we can figure out if you still have time to file a charge.

Would you like me to see if there is another agency that can help you with your problem?

[If yes, refer to appropriate agency and then continue with this section of the script.]

[If no, continue with this section of the script.]

Of course, if you feel we still might be able to help you, I can help you get in touch with one of our local field offices. One of our investigators there will meet with you to talk about your situation and answer any questions you have. The meeting usually takes about an hour – maybe longer, depending on your situation. Then you can make a decision about whether or not you want to file a charge.

If you decide that you don’t want to file a charge, we will take no further action. Your interview with us is strictly confidential, and we will not tell your employer or anyone else that you talked to us.

If you want us to investigate your complaint, you need to file a charge. Also, in most cases you will need to file a charge before you can take an employer to court for workplace discrimination. There is no fee for filing a charge, and you don’t need to have an attorney.

Would you like me to refer you to one of our field offices?

[If yes, refer to appropriate field office]

[If no: Thank you for calling us. If you decide later that you do want to talk with someone about filing a charge, please call back so we can get you in touch with the appropriate field office. You can also go online and fill out a charge questionnaire, which will be forwarded electronically to the appropriate field office. Someone in our field office will then get in touch with you about setting up a meeting. If you want more information about EEOC and the laws we enforce, visit our website at www.eeoc.gov. ]

Topic: TRANSITION AFTER SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF E-ASSESSMENT TOOL

Explanation: This section provides a transition for callers who have successfully completed the E-assessment tool.

Discussion: Based on what you have told me so far, it sounds like your situation may be covered by our laws (although I can’t tell you if your claim is a strong one). In order to get a better idea of how strong your claim is, we would need for you to meet with an investigator at one of our local field offices. The investigator will talk to you about your situation and answer any questions you have. The meeting usually takes about an hour – maybe longer, depending on your situation. Then you can make a decision about whether or not you want to file a charge. There is no fee for filing a charge, and you don’t need to have an attorney.

If you want us to investigate your complaint, you need to file a charge. Also, in most cases, you need to file a charge before you can take an employer to court for workplace discrimination.

Charges cannot be filed over the phone, so our conversation today will not start an investigation. What we can do today, though, is get the process started. All I need is some basic information from you, which I will send to the appropriate field office. They will follow-up with you later about filing a charge.

You can also answer these same questions online. Your answers will be sent electronically to the appropriate field office, and someone in that office will get in touch with you to set up a meeting.

If you would rather contact one of our field offices directly, I would be happy to refer you to the right office.

How would you like to proceed?

[If the caller wants to complete the charge questionnaire by phone, complete charge questionnaire.]

[If the caller wants to complete the charge questionnaire on EEOC’s website, refer the caller to our website at www.eeoc.gov.]

[If caller would like to speak to a field office, refer to appropriate field office.]

[If none of the above: Thank you for calling us. If you decide later that you do want to talk with someone at one of our field offices or do want to file a charge, please call back so we can get you in touch with the appropriate field office. You can also go online and fill out a charge questionnaire, which will be sent electronically to the appropriate field office. Someone in our field office will get in touch with you later about setting up a meeting. If you want more information about EEOC and the laws we enforce, visit our website at www.eeoc.gov.]

TOPIC: CALL CENTER CLOSING AFTER SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF E-ASSESSMENT TOOL AND E-CHARGE QUESTIONNAIRE

Explanation: This section provides a closing to be used by call center staff with callers who have successfully completed the electronic charge assessment and questionnaire.

Discussion: Thank you for answering our questions. I will forward the information you gave me to the appropriate EEOC field office, which in your case is the __________________. A field office representative will follow-up with you within ___ days. In the meantime, let me give you the phone number and address of that office in case you need to contact them.

[Provide field office location, phone number, address, etc.]

Additional information about the EEOC and the laws we enforce is available on our website at www.eeoc.gov. Thank you for calling.

Topic: ABOUT EEOC

Discussion: The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a person at the workplace. The laws we enforce prohibit discrimination against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, religion, age (40 or older) or disability. It also is illegal to discriminate against a person because they complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination or participated in an EEOC investigation or lawsuit.

Most employers with at least 15 employees are covered by these laws (20 employees in age discrimination cases). Most labor unions and employment agencies are also covered. The laws apply to all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages and benefits.

The EEOC has the authority to investigate charges of discrimination against employers who are covered by the law. Our role in an investigation is to fairly and accurately assess the allegations in the charge and then make a finding. If we find that discrimination has occurred, we will try to settle the charge. If settlement efforts fail, we have the authority to file a lawsuit to protect the rights of individuals and the interests of the public. We also work to prevent discrimination before it occurs through outreach, education and technical assistance programs.

We carry out our work through our headquarters offices in Washington, D.C. and through 51 field offices serving every part of the nation.

Topic: FEDERAL LAWS ENFORCED BY EEOC

Discussion: We enforce the following federal employment discrimination laws:

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII): This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because they complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination or participated in an EEOC investigation or lawsuit.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA): This law makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because they complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination or participated in an EEOC investigation or lawsuit.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA): This law protects people who are 40 or older from discrimination because of age. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because they complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination or participated in an EEOC investigation or lawsuit.

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA): This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a person with a disability in the private sector and in state and local governments. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because they complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination or participated in an EEOC investigation or lawsuit.

Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a person with a disability in the federal government. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because they complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination or participated in an EEOC investigation or lawsuit.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act: This law amended Title VII to make it illegal to discriminate against a women because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth.

Topic: COMMON ABBREVIATIONS

Discussion:

ADEA - Age Discrimination in Employment Act;

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act;

EPA - Equal Pay Act;

Section 501 or Rehabilitation Act - Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;

Title VII - Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;

PDA - Pregnancy Discrimination Act;

EEOC - U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Topic: DEFINITION OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: Under federal law, it is illegal to discriminate against an employee or job applicant because of that person’s race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age (40 or older) or disability. It also is illegal to discriminate against a person because they complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an EEOC investigation.

To “discriminate” against someone means to treat that person differently, or less favorably, because of the person’s race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age or disability. The law forbids discrimination in all aspects of employment, including hiring and firing; pay; job assignments; transfer; promotion; layoff or recall; job advertisements and recruitment; employment testing; use of company facilities; training and apprenticeship programs; fringe benefits; retirement plans; disability leave; and any other term or condition of employment. For example, an employer may not refuse to hire a female applicant because she is a woman or fail to promote an Hispanic employee because of his national origin.

Unlawful discrimination also forbids harassing a person because of their race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability. The laws we enforce also prohibit an employer from using neutral employment policies and practices that are not job-related and have a negative impact on the employment of a person because of their race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability.

An employer’s duty to keep the workplace free of discrimination also includes the duty to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees and job applicants with disabilities and to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. A reasonable accommodation can be any change in the work environment to help a person with a disability apply for a job, perform the duties of a job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment or to allow an employee to practice their religion.

Topic: RACE DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: Race discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because they are of a certain race or because of personal characteristics associated with race (such as hair texture, skin color or certain facial features). Race discrimination also can involve treating someone unfavorably because the person is married to (or associated with) a person of a certain race or because of their connection with a race-based organization or group.

The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits and any other term or condition of employment. It is also unlawful to harass a person because of their race. Racial harassment can include, for example, racial slurs, offensive or derogatory racial remarks, or the display of racially-offensive symbols. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, racial harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

Even an employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of race, can be illegal if it has a negative impact on the employment of people of a particular race and is not job-related. For example, a “no-beard” employment policy that applies to all workers without regard to race may still be unlawful if it is not job-related and has a negative impact on the employment of African-American men (who have a predisposition to a skin condition that causes severe shaving bumps).

Topic: COLOR DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: Color discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because of skin color. Color discrimination also can involve treating someone unfavorably because the person is married to (or associated with) a person of a certain color or because of their connection with an organization or group that is generally associated with people of a certain color.

The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits and any other term or condition of employment. It is also unlawful to harass a person because of his or her color. Harassment can include, for example, offensive or derogatory remarks about a person’s color. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

Even an employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of color, can be illegal if it has a negative impact on the employment of people of a certain color and is not job-related.

Topic: NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: National origin discrimination involves treating people unfavorably because they are from a particular country or part of the world, because of ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic background (even if they are not). National origin discrimination also can involve treating people unfavorably because they are married to (or associated with) a person of a certain national origin or because of their connection with an ethnic organization or group.

The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits and any other term or condition of employment. It is also unlawful to harass a person because of his or her national origin. Harassment can include, for example, offensive or derogatory remarks about a person’s national origin, accent or ethnicity. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, national origin harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

The law also makes it illegal for an employer to use an employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of national origin, if it isn’t job related and has a negative impact on people of a certain national origin. An employer can only require an employee to speak fluent English if fluency in English is necessary to perform the job effectively. An “English-only rule,” which requires employees to speak only English on the job, is only allowed if it is needed to ensure the safe or efficient operation of the employer’s business and is put in place for nondiscriminatory reasons. An employer may not base an employment decision on an employee’s foreign accent, unless the accent seriously interferes with the employee’s job performance.

Under the federal anti-discrimination laws, an employer may require that an employee be a U.S. citizen, so long as the requirement is not put in place for discriminatory reasons. If an employer does require U.S. citizenship, it must enforce the requirement across-the-board, without giving preference to some countries but not others. For example, an employer may not refuse to hire Egyptian citizens when it is willing to hire British citizens for the same position.

While the federal anti-discrimination laws don’t prohibit citizenship discrimination, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) does make it illegal for an employer to discriminate against a person because of his or her citizenship status when it comes to hiring, firing, or referral. IRCA's nondiscrimination requirements are enforced by the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration‑Related Unfair Employment Practices, Civil Rights Division, at 1-800-255-7688 (voice), 1-800-237-2515 (TTY for employees/applicants) or 1-800-362-2735 (TTY for employees) or on the worldwide web at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc.

Topic: SEX DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: Sex discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because of their sex. Sex discrimination also can involve treating someone less favorably because of their connections with an organization or group that is generally associated with people of a certain sex.

The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits and any other term or condition of employment. It is also unlawful to harass a person because of their sex. Harassment can include, for example, offensive or derogatory remarks about a person’s sex. It can also include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Both the victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex.

Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

Topic: PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: Pregnancy discrimination involves treating a woman unfavorably because of pregnancy, childbirth or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits and any other term or condition of employment.

If a woman is temporarily unable to perform her job due to a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, the employer must treat her the same as any other temporarily disabled employee. For example, the employer may have to provide modified tasks, alternative assignments, disability leave or unpaid leave.

It is also unlawful to harass a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

Pregnant employees may have additional rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which is enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor. For more information on FMLA, contact the nearest office of the Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. The Wage and Hour Division can be reached at 202-693-0051 (voice), ______ (TTY) or at http://www.dol.gov/esa/public/whd_org.htm.

Topic: EQUAL PAY ACT DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal. Job content (not job titles) determines whether jobs are substantially equal. All forms of pay and benefits are covered by this law, including salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock options, profit sharing and bonus plans, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, cleaning or gasoline allowances, hotel accommodations, reimbursement for travel expenses, and benefits. If there is an inequality in wages between men and women, employers may not reduce the wages of either sex to equalize their pay.

Title VII also makes it illegal to discriminate based on sex in pay and benefits. Therefore, someone who has an Equal Pay Act claim will also have a claim under Title VII.

Topic: AGE DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: Age discrimination involves treating someone less favorably because of his or her age. The federal anti-discrimination laws only forbid age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. They do not protect younger workers under the age of 40, although some states do have laws that protect younger workers from age discrimination. It is not illegal for an employer to favor an older worker over a younger one, even if both workers are age 40 or older.

[If caller is under 40 or has another claim not covered by federal law, check to see if a state or local agency has jurisdiction.]

The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits and any other term or condition of employment. For example, an employer may not fire a 62-year-old employee simply because he is older and close to retirement age.

It is unlawful to harass a person because of his or her age. Harassment can include, for example, offensive remarks about a person’s age. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren’t very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

Topic: RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: Religious discrimination involves treating a person unfavorably because of his or her religious beliefs. The law protects people who belong to traditional organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, as well as people who do not have religious beliefs.

The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits and any other term or condition of employment. For example, it is illegal for an employer to fire someone because they are is Jewish. Religious discrimination can also involve treating someone differently because they are married to or associated with an individual of a particular religion or because of their connection with a religious organization or group.

It is also illegal to harass a person because of his or her religion. Harassment can include, for example, offensive remarks about a person’s religious beliefs or practices. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren’t very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

The law also requires an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense for the employer. This means an employer may be required to make reasonable adjustments to the work schedule that will allow an employee to practice their religion. Some examples of some common religious accommodations include flexible scheduling, voluntary shift substitutions or swaps, job reassignments, and modifications to workplace policies or practices.

An employer doesn’t have to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices if doing so would cause undue hardship to the employer. An accommodation may cause undue hardship if it is costly, compromises workplace safety, decreases workplace efficiency, infringes on the rights of other employees, or requires other employees to do more than their share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work.

An employee cannot be forced to participate (or not participate) in a religious activity as a condition of employment.

TOPIC: DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: Disability discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because they have a disability. Disability discrimination can also involve treating someone less favorably because they have a history of a disability (such as cancer that is controlled or in remission) or because they are believed to have a disability (even if they do not).

The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits and any other term or condition of employment. It is also illegal to harass a person because of disability. Harassment can include, for example, offensive or remarks about a person’s disability. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren’t very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

The law also requires an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee or job applicant with a disability, unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense for the employer. A reasonable accommodation is any change in the work environment (or in the way things are usually done) to help a person with a disability apply for a job, perform the duties of a job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment. Reasonable accommodation might include, for example, making the workplace accessible for wheelchair users, providing a reader or interpreter, or providing special equipment.

An employer doesn’t have to provide an accommodation if doing so would cause undue hardship to the employer. Undue hardship means that the accommodation would be too difficult or too expensive to provide, in light of the employer’s size, financial resources and the needs of the business. An employer may not refuse to provide an accommodation just because it involves some cost. An employer does not have to provide the exact accommodation the employee or job applicant wants. If more than one accommodation works, the employer may choose which one to provide.

Not everyone with a medical condition is protected by the law. In order to be protected, a person must be qualified for the job and have a disability as defined by the law. A person can show that they have a disability in one of three ways. First, a person may be disabled if they have a physical or mental condition that substantially limits a major life activity (such as walking, talking, seeing, hearing or learning). Second, a person may be disabled if they have a past history of a disability (such as cancer that is in remission). Third, a person may be disabled if they are treated by the employer as having a disability (even if they don’t). Figuring out whether someone is “disabled” under the law is complicated. If you aren’t sure about whether you are covered, I can refer you to one of EEOC’s Field Offices for help.

[If caller has further questions, fully complete E-assessment tool and forward to appropriate field office.]

The law also protects people from discrimination based on their relationship with a person with a disability (even if they do not themselves have a disability). For example, it is illegal to discriminate against an employee because her husband has a disability. While the federal anti-discrimination laws don’t require an employer to accommodate an employee who must care for a disabled family member, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may require an employer to take such steps. The Department of Labor enforces the FMLA. For more information, call: __________________.

The law places strict limits on employers when it comes to asking job applicants and employees to answer medical questions, take a medical exam, or identify a disability. For example, an employer may not ask a job applicant to answer medical questions or take a medical exam before extending a job offer. An employer also may not ask job applicants if they have a disability (or about the nature of an obvious disability). An employer may only ask job applicants whether they can perform the job and how they would perform the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation.

After a job is offered to an applicant, the law allows an employer to condition the job offer on the applicant answering certain medical questions or successfully passing a medical exam, but only if all new employees in the same job have to answer the questions or take the exam. Once a person is hired and has started work, an employer can only ask medical questions or require a medical exam if it believes that an employee is not able to perform a job successfully or safely because of a medical condition. The law also requires that employers keep all medical records and information confidential and in separate medical files.

TOPIC: RETALIATION

Discussion: All of the laws we enforce make it illegal to fire, demote, harass or otherwise “retaliate” against someone because they filed a charge of discrimination, because they complained to their employer about discrimination on the job, or because they participated in an EEOC proceeding (such as an investigation or lawsuit). For example, it is illegal for an employer to refuse to promote an employee because she filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC, even if the charge was later found to be a weak one.

Topic: PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

Discussion: Under the laws we enforce, it is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, or disability. It is also illegal to retaliate against a person because they complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination or participated in an EEOC investigation or lawsuit.

The law forbids discrimination in every aspect of employment, including:

· Job Advertisements and Recruitment – It is illegal for an employer to publish a job advertisement that shows a preference for or discourages someone from applying for a job because of their race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age or disability. For example, a help-wanted ad that seeks “females” or “recent college graduates” may discourage men and people over 40 from applying and may violate the law. It is also illegal for an employer to recruit new employees in a way that discriminates against someone because of their race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age or disability. For example, an employer’s reliance on word-of-mouth recruitment by its mostly Hispanic work force may violate the law if the result is that almost all new hires are Hispanic.

· Application and Hiring – It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against a job applicant because of their race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability. For example, an employer may not refuse to give employment applications to people of a certain race. An employer may not base hiring decisions on stereotypes and assumptions about a person’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability. If an employer requires job applicants to take a test, the test may not exclude people of a particular group, unless the employer can show that the test is necessary and related to the job. If a job applicant with a disability needs an accommodation (such as a sign language interpreter) to apply for a job, the employer is required to provide the accommodation, so long as the accommodation does not cause the employer significant difficulty or expense.

· Job Referrals – It is illegal for an employer, employment agency or union to take into account a person’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability when making decisions about job referrals.

· Job Assignments and Promotions – It is illegal for an employer to make decisions about job assignments and promotions based on an employee’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability. For example, an employer may not give preference to employees of a certain race when making shift assignments and may not segregate employees of a particular national origin from other employees or from customers. An employer may not base assignment and promotional decisions on stereotypes and assumptions about a person’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability. If an employer requires employees to take a test before making decisions about assignments or promotions, the test may not exclude people of a particular group, unless the employer can show that the test is necessary and related to the job.

· Pay and Benefits – It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee in the payment of wages or employee benefits on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability. Employee benefits include sick and vacation leave, insurance, and retirement programs. For example, an employer may not pay Hispanic workers less than African-American workers because of their national origin, and men and women in the same workplace must be given equal pay for equal work. In some situations, an employer may be allowed to reduce some employee benefits for older workers, but only if the cost of providing the reduced benefits is the same as the cost of providing benefits to younger workers.

· Discipline and Discharge – An employer may not take into account a person’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability when making decisions about discipline or discharge. For example, if two employees commit a similar offense, an employer may not discipline them differently because of their race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability. When deciding which employees will be laid off, an employer may not choose the oldest workers because of their age. Employers also may not discriminate when deciding which workers to recall after a layoff.

· Employment References - It is illegal for an employer to give a negative or false employment reference (or refuse to give a reference) because of a person’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability.

· Accommodating People with Disabilities – The law requires that an employer reasonably accommodate an employee or job applicant with a disability, unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense for the employer. A reasonable accommodation is any change in the workplace (or in the way things are usually done) to help a person with a disability apply for a job, perform the duties of a job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment. Reasonable accommodation might include, for example, providing a ramp for a wheelchair user or providing a reader or interpreter for a blind or deaf employee or applicant.

· Religious Accommodation – The law requires an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause difficulty or expense for the employer. This means an employer may have to make reasonable adjustments at work that will allow the employee to practice his or her religion, such as allowing an employee to voluntarily swap shifts with a co-worker so that he or she can attend religious services.

· Training and Apprenticeship Programs – It is illegal for a training or apprenticeship program to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability. For example, an employer may not deny training opportunities to African-American employees because of their race. In some situations, an employer may be allowed to set age limits for participation in an apprenticeship program.

· Harassment – It is illegal to harass an employee because of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age or disability. It is also illegal to harass someone because they have complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination or participated in an EEOC investigation or lawsuit. Harassment can take the form of slurs, graffiti, offensive or derogatory comments or other verbal or physical conduct. Sexual harassment (including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other conduct of a sexual nature) is also unlawful. Although the law does not prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal if it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or if it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

· Terms and Conditions of Employment – The law makes it illegal for an employer to make any employment decision because of a person’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability. That means, an employer may not discriminate when it comes to such things as hiring, firing, promotions and pay. It also means an employer may not discriminate, for example, when granting breaks, approving leave, assigning work stations or setting any other term or condition of employment – however small.

· Medical Questions and Examinations – The law places severe restrictions on employers when it comes to asking job applicants and employees to answer medical questions, take a medical exam, or identify a disability. An employer may not ask a job applicant, for example, if he or she has a disability (or about the nature of an obvious disability). An employer also may not ask a job applicant to answer medical questions or take a medical exam before making a job offer. An employer may only ask a job applicant whether they can perform the job and how they would perform the job.

The law allows an employer to condition a job offer on the applicant answering certain medical questions or successfully passing a medical exam, but only if all new employees in the same job have to answer the questions or take the exam. Once a person is hired and has started work, an employer can only ask medical questions or require a medical exam if it has reason to believe an employee would not be able to perform a job successfully or safely because of a medical condition. The law also requires that employers keep all medical records and information confidential and in separate medical files.

Topic: REMEDIES FOR EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: Whenever discrimination is found, the goal of the law it to put the victim of discrimination in the same position (or nearly the same) that he or she would have been if the discrimination had never occurred. The types of relief will depend upon the discriminatory action and the effect it had on the victim. If someone is not selected for a job or a promotion because of discrimination, for example, the remedy may include placement in the job, back pay and benefits the person would have received. The employer also will be required to stop any discriminatory practices and take steps to prevent discrimination in the future.

Compensatory and punitive damages may be awarded in cases involving intentional discrimination based on a person’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion or disability. Compensatory damages pay victims for out-of-pocket expenses caused by the discrimination (such as costs associated with a job search or medical expenses) and compensate them for any emotional harm suffered (such as mental anguish, inconvenience, or loss of enjoyment of life). Punitive damages may be awarded to punish an employer that has committed an especially vicious or reckless act of discrimination.

There are limits on the amount of compensatory and punitive damages a person can recover. These limits vary depending on the size of the employer:

· For employers with 15-100 employees, the limit is $50,000.

· For employers with 101-200 employees, the limit is $100,000.

· For employers with 201-500 employees, the limit is $200,000.

· For employers with more than 500 employees, the limit is $300,000.

In cases involving intentional age discrimination, or in cases involving intentional sex-based wage discrimination under the Equal Pay Act, victims cannot recover either compensatory or punitive damages, but may be entitled to “liquidated damages.” Liquidated damages may be awarded to punish an especially vicious or reckless act of discrimination. The amount of liquidated damages that may be awarded is equal to the amount of back pay awarded the victim.

A victim of discrimination also may be able to recover attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, and court costs.

Topic: WORKPLACE LAWS ENFORCED BY OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES

Discussion: The following laws prohibiting discrimination or regulating workplace issues are not enforced by EEOC.

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) makes it illegal to discriminate against a federal employee or job applicant on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age or disability. The CSRA also prohibits discrimination on the basis of certain other factors that don’t adversely affect employee performance, such as marital status, political association, and sexual orientation. The CSRA makes it illegal to fire, demote or otherwise “retaliate” against a federal employee or job applicant for whistle blowing or for exercising the right to file a complaint, grievance or an appeal. The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) enforce the CSRA. For more information, contact the Office of Personnel Management at (202) 653-7188 or visit www.opm.gov.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) makes it illegal for certain employers to fire or refuse to hire a person on the basis of that person’s national origin. This law also makes it illegal for an employer to request employment verification only from people of a certain national origin or only from people who appear to be from a foreign country. An employer who has citizenship requirements or gives preference to U.S. citizens also may violate IRCA. For more information, contact the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices at 1-800-255-7688 (voice); 1-800-237-2515 (TTY for employees/applicants); or 1-800-362-2735 (TTY for employers) or visit www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc.

Executive Order 11246 makes it illegal for federal contractors and subcontractors to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It also requires federal contractors and subcontractors to take steps to ensure equal employment opportunity in the workplace. For more information, contact the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) at 202-693-0200 (voice), _____ (TTY) or visit www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. For more information, contact the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division at 202-514-2151 (voice), _____ (TTY) or visit www.justice.gov/crt/cor/coord/titlevi.htm.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities in all programs, activities, and services offered by state and local government agencies. This includes public transportation services and physical access to state and local government buildings. For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 800-514-0301 (voice), 800-514-0383 (TTY) or visit www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm.

Title III of the ADA prohibits disability discrimination by private entities that provide services to the public or “public accommodations.” Public accommodations include, for example, restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, stores, doctor’s offices, parks, and schools. The law applies to buildings, programs and services. Under the law, public accommodations may have to provide “auxiliary aids and services” such as sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, or large print materials, unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense. For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 800-514-0301 (voice), 800-514-0383 (TTY) or visit www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires certain employers to grant up to 12 weeks of leave during a 12-month period to eligible employees who need time off because of a “serious health condition” that they or someone in their family is experiencing.

FMLA leave can sometimes overlap with Title VII requirements concerning leave for pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions and ADA and Rehabilitation Act requirements concerning leave as an accommodation for an employee with a disability. For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 (voice and TTY) or visit www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) sets out safety requirements for workplaces. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration works with states to investigate and enforce OSHA requirements. For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1-800-321-6742 (voice), 1-877-889-5627 (TTY) or visit www.osha.gov.

Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits certain federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against employees and job applicants with disabilities. Section 503 also requires contractors to take affirmative steps to hire and promote qualified people with a disabilities. The non-discrimination provisions of Section 503 mirror those found in the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, 1-866-487-2365 (voice), 1-877-889-5627 (TTY) or visit www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/ofccp/fs503.htm.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits disability discrimination in programs and activities that receive federal funds or federal financial assistance. This includes discrimination against qualified applicants and employees with disabilities, as well as discrimination in the services and activities provided by federal agencies to the public. The non-discrimination provisions of Section 504 are similar to those found in Title I of the ADA, covering employment discrimination, and Title II of the ADA, covering the programs, activities, and services offered by state and local governments. For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 800-514-0301 (voice), 800-514-0383 (TTY) or visit www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies to ensure that electronic and information technology used by the government can be accessed and used by people with disabilities. For more information, contact the U.S. Access Board, 202-272-5434 (voice), 202-272-5449 (TTY) or visit www.access-board.gov. Information can also be obtained from the U.S. General Services Administration, Center for IT Accommodation (CITA), 202-501-4906 (voice), 202-501-2010 (TTY) or visit www.section508.gov.

The Social Security Act provides Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) to certain individuals with severe disabilities who can no longer work. The Social Security Act definition of “disability” is different than the ADA. For this reason, whether or not you are eligible to receive disability benefits does not determine coverage under the ADA. For more information, contact the U.S. Social Security Administration, 1-800-772-1213 (voice), 1-800-325-0778 (TTY) or visit www.ssa.gov/disability.

The Fair Labor Standards Act regulates workplace practices related to minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor. For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 (voice), 1-877-889-5627 (TTY) or visit www.dol.gov/esa/whd.

Every state (and the federal government) has a Workers’ Compensation law that provides compensation for on-the-job injuries and illnesses. Some workers’ compensation programs also require employers to provide job modifications or alternative assignments, which also may be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. If an employee’s occupational injury is covered under both Workers’ Compensation and the ADA (or Rehabilitation Act), the employee may be entitled to a job modification or reassignment under both laws.

Intake and Charge Filing

Topic: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A CHARGE IS FILED?

Discussion: After your charge is filed, we will send you a charge number. Within about ten days, we will also send a copy of the charge to the employer.

In some cases, we will ask both you and the employer to take part in our mediation program. If you both agree to mediation, our expert mediators will try to help you and the employer reach a voluntary settlement. Mediation allows you and the employer to talk about your concerns. Mediators don’t decide who is right or wrong, but they are very good at suggesting ways to solve problems and disagreements.

If the case is not sent to mediation, or if mediation doesn’t resolve the problem, we will ask the employer to give us a written answer to your charge. We may also ask the employer to answer questions we have about the claims in your charge. Then your charge will be given to an investigator.

If a charge appears to have little chance of success, or if it is something that we don’t have the authority to investigate, we may dismiss the charge without doing an investigation. We also do not offer mediation in such cases.

How we investigate a charge depends on the facts of the case and the kinds of information we need to gather. In some cases, we visit the employer to hold interviews and gather documents. In other cases, we interview witnesses over the phone and ask for documents by mail. After we finish our investigation, we will contact you to talk to you about what we found and then send you and the employer a Letter of Determination, which tells you whether or not we found a violation of the law.

If we haven’t found a violation, we will send you a Notice-of-Right-to-Sue with the Letter of Determination. This notice gives you permission to file a lawsuit in a court of law. If we have found a violation, we will try to reach a voluntary settlement with the employer. If we cannot reach a settlement, your case will be referred to our legal staff (or the Department of Justice in certain cases), who will decide whether or not the agency should file a lawsuit. If we decide not to file a lawsuit, we will give you a Notice-Of-Right-To-Sue.

Topic: CAN I FILE A CHARGE BY MAIL?

Discussion: You can file a charge by simply sending us a letter that includes the following information:

· your name, address and telephone number;

· the name, address and telephone number of the employer (or employment agency or union) you want to file your charge against;

· the number of employees employed there (if known);

· a short description of the events you believe were discriminatory (for example, you were fired, demoted, harassed);

· when the events took place;

· why you believe you were discriminated against (for example, because of your race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability); and

· your signature.

If you send us all the information we need, we will begin processing your charge immediately. If more information is needed, we will contact you to gather that information.

Don’t forget to sign your letter. If you don’t sign it, we cannot investigate it. At a later date, we will put all of the information you sent us on an official EEOC charge form and ask you to sign it.

Topic: CAN I FILE A CHARGE WITHOUT GIVING MY NAME?

Discussion: When you file a charge, you must give us your name. Your name must appear on the charge, and it must be signed by you. We are required by law to give your charge to the employer so that the employer can answer the claims made in your charge.

Sometimes we will initiate an investigation on our own based on information we receive from the public. If you have information that you would like to share with us, we would be happy to take a look at it. Also, you can file a charge on behalf of someone else who has been the victim of discrimination. In such cases, we usually don’t tell the employer on whose behalf the charge was filed, but we do tell the employer the name of the person or organization who filed the charge.

Topic: I AM CONCERNED THAT MY EMPLOYER WILL RETALIATE AGAINST ME FOR FILING A CHARGE

Discussion: Your employer may not fire, demote, harass or otherwise “retaliate” against you for filing a charge. All of the laws we enforce make it illegal for an employer to retaliate against someone who files a charge or someone who take part in an EEOC investigation or lawsuit.

If you feel you have been retaliated against, you should promptly contact the investigator looking into your charge. The investigator will talk with you about the situation and add a claim of retaliation to your charge if appropriate.

If a claim of retaliation is added to your charge, we will tell the employer and then investigate the retaliation claim along with the rest of your charge. Keep in mind that the strict deadlines for filing a charge also apply when you want to add to a charge. The fact that you filed an earlier charge may not extend the deadline. For this reason, you should contact us as soon as possible.

Topic: CAN YOU FILE A CHARGE ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE?

Discussion: We will accept a charge that is filed on behalf of someone else who has been the victim of discrimination. The charge can be filed by a person or an organization. In such cases, we usually don’t tell the employer who the charge was filed for, but we do tell the employer the name of the person or organization who filed the charge.

Topic: HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR YOU TO INVESTIGATE MY CHARGE?

Discussion: How long the investigation takes depends on a lot of different things, including the amount of information that needs to be gathered and analyzed. It usually takes us about 160 days to investigate a charge.

We are often able to settle a charge faster through mediation (usually in about 85 days).

Topic: CAN I FILE A CHARGE OVER THE PHONE OR THE INTERNET?

Discussion: Although we don’t take charges over the phone or the internet, you can get the process started over the phone or on-line. You can call us or log on to our website to submit basic information about a possible charge, and we will forward that information to the EEOC field office in your area. Once the field office receives your information, they will contact you to set up a meeting.

Topic: DO I NEED AN APPOINTMENT TO MEET WITH AN INVESTIGATOR ABOUT FILING A CHARGE?

Discussion: Each office has its own procedure for scheduling meetings. If you like, I can figure out which of our offices you should be talking to and tell you what you need to do to schedule a meeting.

[Go to Database on Field Office Intake Procedures]

Topic: CAN I BRING SOMEONE TO MY MEETING WITH THE INVESTIGATOR?

Discussion: You can bring anyone you want to your meeting, especially if you need language assistance and know someone who can help. You may also bring your lawyer, although you don’t have to hire a lawyer to file a charge.

If you need special assistance during the meeting, like a sign language or foreign language interpreter, just let us know ahead of time so we can arrange for someone to be there for you.

Topic: DO I NEED TO BRING ANY INFORMATION OR PAPERS WITH ME TO THE MEETING?

Discussion: It is always helpful if you bring with you to the meeting any information or papers that will help us understand your case. For example, if you were fired because of your performance, you might bring with you the letter or notice telling you that you were fired and your performance evaluations. You might also bring with you the names of people who know about what happened and information about how to contact them.

Topic: WHERE TO FILE A CHARGE OF DISCRIMINATION

Discussion: Where you should file your charge depends on where the discrimination took place. For example, if you live in New Jersey, but the discrimination took place at your job site in New York, you should file your charge with our office in New York. If it is not clear where you should file your charge, you can file where the employer’s corporate headquarters is located.

We have 51 field offices nationwide. If you tell me where the discrimination took place, I can tell you which EEOC office you should contact.

Topic: WHY IT IS IMPORTANT FOR EEOC TO KNOW WHERE THE DISCRIMINATION TOOK PLACE?

Discussion: We need to know where the discrimination took place so that we can determine how long you have to file a charge. If the discrimination took place in a state or locality that has a fair employment practice agency, you have 300 days to file a complaint with EEOC. Otherwise, the deadline is 180 days. We also need to know this information so we can refer you to the appropriate EEOC office or to some other agency that can help you.

[Referring to the E-Assessment Tool: In general, you should select the state where the alleged discrimination occurred, meaning where you worked or applied for a job. If that is not clear, you may select the state where the employer’s headquarters is located.]

Topic: WHERE DO I FILE A CHARGE IF I AM WORKING OVERSEAS?

Discussion: If you are a U.S. citizen working for an American company overseas, you should file your charge with the EEOC field office closest to your employer's corporate headquarters. If you tell me where your employer’s corporate headquarters is located, I can help you figure out which EEOC field office you should contact.

Topic: ADDING TO YOUR CHARGE

Discussion: If new events take place after you file your charge that you believe are discriminatory, we can add these new events to your charge and investigate them. This is called “amending” a charge. In some cases, we may decide it is better for you to file a new charge of discrimination. If new events are added to your charge or a new charge is filed, we will send a copy of the new or amended charge to the employer and investigate the new events along with the rest. Keep in mind that the strict deadlines for filing a charge also apply when you want to amend a charge. The fact that you filed an earlier charge may not extend the deadline. For this reason, you should contact your investigator immediately if you think other discriminatory events have taken place.

Topic: WHAT IF I DON’T AGREE WITH EEOC’S FINDINGS?

Discussion: Our investigation is final. If you aren’t satisfied with our investigation, you can ask the Director of the EEOC office where your charge is filed to reconsider the decision. Office Directors don’t often reconsider a case unless you are able to show important new information that we didn’t have when the decision was made.

If you don’t agree with the results of our investigation, you can still go to court and file a lawsuit. You have the right to file a lawsuit against the employer within 90 days after you receive your Notice-of-Right-to-Sue, which we will send to you along with the determination letter if we decide not to bring a lawsuit ourselves. Keep in mind that the filing deadline for filing a lawsuit is not extended if you ask for reconsideration, unless the Director gives you a written Notice of Intent to Reconsider before the deadline for filing a lawsuit expires.

Topic: RECORD KEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS

Discussion: All of the federal anti-discrimination laws have record keeping requirements. If you are an employer, you must keep all employment records – such as records related to hiring, firing, promotion, demotion, and transfer – for at least one year from day the record is created. If an employee is fired, you must keep all of the employee’s employment records for at least one year from the day the employee was fired.

An employer is also required to keep all records that relate to pay. You must keep all payroll records for at least three years (listing each employee’s name, address, sex, date of birth, occupation, rate of pay and compensation earned each week) and all records that explain differences in the payment of wages (including wage rates, job evaluations, seniority and merit systems, and collective bargaining agreements) for at least two years. Also, you must keep work schedules, wage rate tables, records showing additions to and deductions from wages, and other employment and earnings records (such as time cards) for at least two years. Copies of employee benefit plans (such as pension and insurance plans) and seniority and merit systems must be kept for at least one year after the termination of the plan or system.

If you are an employment agency, you must keep all employment records for one year, including records related to placements, referrals, job orders, job applications and inquiries, test papers, job advertisements, and vacancy notices.

If you are a labor organization, you must keep current records that identify your members by name, address, and date of birth. Also, you must keep the name, address, and age of any person who has sought membership in your organization for at least one year.

If you are a state or local government, a school, or an institution of higher education, you must keep employment records for two years.

If a charge of discrimination is filed against your organization, additional record keeping requirements apply. Once you receive notice that a charge has been filed, you must keep all records related to the charge until the charge is resolved.

Topic: REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS

Discussion: Certain employers must file a report commonly referred to as the “EEO-1 Report” every year. The report gives us a snapshot of the employer's workforce by race, ethnicity, gender and job category. Our agency uses the reports to assess the employment status of minorities and women and, in some cases, to help investigate charges.

All private employers with 100 or more employees, and some federal contractors with 50 or more employees, are required to file the EEO-1 Report. State and local governments, school systems, educational institutions and certain other employers are not required to file.

You can complete the EEO-1 Report through our new on-line filing system. The online form is entirely web-based, so there is no software to download or install. Whenever possible, the filing system will pre-fill information from the previous year to speed-up data entry. The new system also allows an employer to access up to 10 years of EEO-1 data for its own establishment.

You can find additional information about filing an EEO-1 Report, including reporting instructions, on our website. You can also contact our EEO-1 Coordinator, Brenda Kyne, at brenda.kyne@eeoc.gov. The EEOC’s Joint Reporting Committee, which handles the processing of EEO-1 reports, may also be contacted by phone (757) 461-1213; fax (757) 461-1739; or by writing to:

Joint Reporting Committee P.O. Box 779Norfolk, VA 23501

Topic: POSTING REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS

Discussion: If your organization is covered by the federal anti-discrimination laws, you are required to post a notice that describes the federal laws prohibiting job discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age and disability. This notice must be placed in noticeable locations where notices to applicants and employees are usually posted (such as an employee break room). Also, you must provide the notice in ways that are accessible to people with disabilities when needed (such as large print, braille, and audio-cassette recording). Your failure to post a notice is a violation of the law punishable by fine.

We can provide you with a poster that meets this requirement at no cost. The poster is entitled “Equal Opportunity is the Law,” and it briefly discusses all of the laws we enforce. The poster is available in English, Arabic, Chinese and Spanish and in the form of an audio-cassette recording. You can order up to ten copies on our website. For more than ten copies or for an audio-cassette recording, please contact:

Topic: WHICH PEOPLE ARE PROTECTED BY THE LAW?

Discussion: If an employer has the required number of employees for coverage under the anti-discrimination laws, you are protected by those laws if you are:

· an employee;

· a job applicant;

· a former employee; or

· an applicant or participant in a training or apprenticeship program.

If your complaint involves discrimination because of your age or disability, you must meet other requirements in order to be covered.

All of the laws we enforce make it illegal to discriminate against a person who is working (or looking for work) in the United States, regardless of citizenship.

American workers employed by U.S. companies overseas enjoy the same broad protections as workers in the U.S. That means protection under the anti-discrimination laws travels with the employee, so long as the employee is a U. S. citizen working for a U.S. company.

People who are not employed by the employer, such as independent contractors, are not covered by the anti-discrimination laws. Figuring out whether or not a person is an employee of an organization (as opposed to a contractor, for example) is complicated. If you aren’t sure whether you are covered, you should contact one of our field offices as soon as possible so we can make that decision.

Topic: WHICH EMPLOYERS ARE COVERED BY THE LAW?

Discussion: An employer must have a certain number of employees to be covered by the laws we enforce. This number varies depending on the type of employer (for example, whether the employer is a private company, a state or local government agency, a federal agency, an employment agency, or a labor union) and the kind of discrimination alleged (for example, discrimination based on a person’s race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability).

Topic: HOW DO YOU COUNT THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AN EMPLOYER HAS?

Discussion: Usually, a worker can be counted as an "employee" if he or she has worked for the employer for at least twenty calendar weeks (in this year or last). That means some part-time workers can be counted as employees to show the employer is covered by the laws we enforce. People who are not employed by the employer, such as independent contractors, are not counted.

In some cases, if the employer has more than one worksite, employees at each of the worksites can be counted together. For example, if an employer operates four different restaurants, it may be possible to count employees at all of the restaurants together.

Figuring out whether an employer has enough employees to be covered by the laws we enforce can be complicated. If you aren’t sure how many employees there are, you should contact one of our field offices as soon as possible so we can make that decision. Also, keep in mind that even if an employer doesn’t have enough employees to be covered by the laws we enforce, it may still be covered by state or local law. If it is, we can refer you to the state or local agency responsible for enforcing that law.

Topic: COVERAGE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Discussion: If you are a federal employee or job applicant, the law protects you from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability. It doesn’t matter how many employees the agency has because all federal agencies are covered.

Topic: COVERAGE OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Discussion: If you have a complaint against a state or local government agency that involves race, color, national origin, sex, religion or disability discrimination, the agency is covered by the laws we enforce if it has 15 or more employees who worked for the agency for at least twenty calendar weeks (in this year or last). If your complaint involves age discrimination, the state or local government agency is covered by the law no matter how many employees it has.

Almost all state and local governments are covered by the Equal Pay Act (EPA), which makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace.

Figuring out whether or not a state or local agency is covered can be complicated. If you aren’t sure whether coverage exists, you should contact one of our field offices as soon as possible so we can make that decision. It is also important to keep in mind that, if an employer is not covered by the laws we enforce, the employer still may be covered by a state or local anti-discrimination law. If it is, we can refer you to the state or local agency that enforces that law.

Topic: COVERAGE OF BUSINESSES/PRIVATE EMPLOYERS

Discussion: If you have a complaint against a business (or some other private employer) that involves race, color, national origin, sex, religion or disability discrimination, the business is covered by the laws we enforce if it has 15 or more employees who worked for the agency for at least twenty calendar weeks (in this year or last). If your complaint involves age discrimination, the business is covered by the laws we enforce if it has 20 or more employees who worked for the agency for at least twenty calendar weeks (in this year or last).

Virtually all employers are covered by the Equal Pay Act (EPA),which makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace.

Figuring out whether or not an employer is covered can be complicated. If you aren’t sure about whether coverage exists, you should contact one of our field offices as soon as possible so we can make that decision. It is also important to keep in mind that, if an employer is not covered by the laws we enforce, the employer still may be covered by a state or local anti-discrimination law. If it is, we can refer you to the state or local agency that enforces that law.

Topic: COVERAGE OF LABOR UNIONS AND JOINT APPRENTICESHIP COMMITTEES

Discussion: The laws prohibiting race, color, national origin, sex, religion or disability discrimination apply to all labor organizations that either operate a hiring hall or have at least 15 members. The law that prohibits age discrimination applies to all labor organizations that either operate a hiring hall or have at least 25 members.

Virtually all labor organizations are covered by the Equal Pay Act (EPA), which makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace.

All of the laws we enforce cover joint labor management committees (which control apprenticeship and training programs) no matter how many employees they have.

If you aren’t sure whether coverage exists, you should contact one of our field offices as soon as possible so we can make that decision. It is also important to keep in mind that, if a labor union or joint apprenticeship committee is not covered by the laws we enforce, it still may be covered by a state or local anti-discrimination law. If it is, we can refer you to the state or local agency that enforces that law.

Topic: COVERAGE OF EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES

Discussion: An employment agency, such as a temporary staffing agency or a recruitment company, is covered by the laws we enforce if the agency regularly refers employees to employers. This is true even if the employment agency doesn’t receive payment for this service, and the agency is covered no matter how any employees it has.

If you aren’t sure about whether coverage exists, you should contact one of our field offices as soon as possible so we can make that decision. It is also important to keep in mind that, if an employment agency is not covered by the laws we enforce, it still may be covered by a state or local anti-discrimination law. If it is, we can refer you to the state or local agency that enforces that law.

Time Limits for Filing a Charge

Topic: TIME LIMITS FOR FILING A CHARGE

Discussion: The anti-discrimination laws give you a limited amount of time to file a charge of discrimination. In general, you need to file a charge within 180 days from the day the discrimination took place. However, the deadline may be extended to 300 days if the discrimination occurred in a place that has a state or local anti-discrimination law (although only a state law will extend the deadline for an age discrimination charge).

Do you want me to help you figure out the filing deadline in your case?

[If yes: I will need to ask some additional questions. First, where did the discrimination take place? [enter state and locality into database] Second, what type of discrimination are you alleging? [Enter basis of discrimination into database] Based on the information you have given me, you have [_______] days to file a charge. Then continue with script.]

[If no, continue with script.]

The 180 or 300-day period starts the day you first find out about the discriminatory employment decision (such as a demotion or discharge), regardless of the effective date of the decision. For example, if your employer told you today that you are being terminated effective four weeks from now, the deadline for filing a charge will be 180 or 300 days from today and not your last day of work.

Also, if more than one discriminatory event took place, we usually can only investigate the events that are filed by the deadline and the deadline applies to each event. For example, let’s say you were demoted and then fired a year later. You believe the employer based it’s decision to demote and fire you on your race, and you file a charge the day after your discharge. In this case, only your claim of discriminatory discharge is timely, unless you filed an earlier charge challenging the discriminatory demotion. In other words, you must have filed a charge challenging the demotion within 180/300 days from the day you were demoted. If you didn’t, we would only investigate your discharge. There is one exception to this general rule and that is if you are alleging ongoing harassment. In harassment cases, you must file your charge within 180 or 300 days of the last incident of harassment, although we will look at all incidents of harassment when investigating your charge, even if the earlier incidents happened more than 180/300 days earlier.

Holidays and weekends are included in the calculation, although if the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, you will have until the next business day. Figuring out how much time you have to file a charge is complicated. If you aren’t sure how much time is left, you should contact one of our field offices as soon as possible so we can assess whether you still have time.

If you plan to file a charge alleging a violation of the Equal Pay Act (which prohibits sex discrimination in wages and benefits), different deadlines apply. Under the Equal Pay Act, you don’t need to file a charge of discrimination with EEOC. Instead, you are allowed to go directly to court and file a lawsuit. The deadline for filing a charge or lawsuit under the EPA is two years from the day you received the last discriminatory paycheck (this is extended to three years in the case of a willful violation).

Keep in mind, Title VII also makes it illegal to discriminate based on sex in the payment of wages and benefits. What this means is, if you have an Equal Pay Act claim, you may also want to file a Title VII claim. In order to pursue a Title VII claim, you must file a charge with EEOC first. Filing a Title VII charge will not extend the deadline for filing an EPA lawsuit. Figuring out how much time you have to file a charge is complicated. It also can be difficult to figure out the pros and cons of filing a charge under the EPA instead of a lawsuit. Our field office staff would be happy to sit down with you to explore your options.

Topic: WHEN A CHARGE IS COVERED BY BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE OR LOCAL LAW

Discussion: Many states, counties, cities and towns have their own laws prohibiting discrimination, as well as agencies responsible for enforcing those laws. We call these state and local agencies "Fair Employment Practices Agencies" (FEPAs). Usually the laws enforced by these agencies are similar to those enforced by EEOC. In some cases, these agencies enforce laws that offer greater protection to workers, such as protection from discrimination because you are married or unmarried, have children or because of your sexual orientation. There also may be different deadlines for filing a charge.

You can file your charge with either EEOC or a Fair Employment Practice Agency. Once a charge is filed with either EEOC or a FEPA, the agency that took the charge will automatically file the charge with the other agency. Usually, the agency that took the charge initially will investigate it.

I can help you figure out if there is a state or local fair employment practice agency in your area. Would you like that information?

[If yes: I need to know where the alleged discrimination took place before I can determine whether there is a state and local fair employment practice agency in your area. [Enter information in database]. In that location, there is/is not a state or local fair employment practice agency.

[If there is a fair employment practice agency, provide name and contact information.]

[If there is not: While there isn’t a fair employment practice agency in that location, there may be other state or local agencies that can help you. Would you like me to refer you to another agency that may be able to help you? Go to referral list or end call.]

Topic: WHAT IS MEDIATION?

Discussion: Mediation is an informal and confidential way for people to resolve disputes with the help of a neutral mediator who is trained to help people discuss their differences. The mediator does not decide who is right or wrong or issue a decision. Instead, the mediator helps the parties work out their own solutions to problems.

Topic: OVERVIEW OF EEOC’S MEDIATION PROGRAM

Discussion: Our National Mediation Program is one of the largest workplace mediation programs in the country. Our program allows people to talk about the issues raised in the charge, clear up any misunderstandings, find areas of compromise, and ultimately, reach an agreement that is then put into writing.

We use mediators employed by EEOC, as well as mediators who are not EEOC employees. All mediators are trained in mediation techniques and in the laws enforced by EEOC.

We look at each charge when it is first filed to see if it is appropriate for mediation. If we decide that a charge lacks merit, we will dismiss it and not refer the charge to mediation. If we offer mediation to the parties, we usually will offer it soon after the charge is filed and before an investigation is started. But either party can request mediation at any stage of the investigation. As long as both parties agree to mediation, we will give careful consideration to whether the charge should be mediated.

Our mediation program is strictly confidential. Before the mediation, both parties and the mediator must sign an agreement to keep everything revealed during the mediation confidential. Mediation sessions are not tape‑recorded or written down. Notes taken by the mediator are destroyed. Also, our mediation program is completely separate from our investigation and litigation programs. Investigators and lawyers are not given information revealed in mediation. Our mediators only mediate charges and do not work on cases that are under investigation or in court.

Topic: HOW AN EEOC MEDIATION WORKS

Discussion: Shortly after a charge is filed, we may contact both the employee and employer to ask if they are interested in participating in mediation. The decision to mediate is completely voluntary. If either party turns down mediation, the charge will be forwarded to an investigator. If both parties agree to mediate, we will schedule a mediation, which will be conducted by a trained and experienced mediator. If the parties do not reach an agreement at the mediation, the charge will be investigated like any other charge.

A mediation session usually lasts from 3 to 4 hours, although the time can vary depending on how complicated the case is. There is no charge to either party to attend the mediation. Any agreement reached during mediation is enforceable in court just like any other contract.

All parties to the charge should attend the mediation session. If you are representing the employer, you should be familiar with the facts of the charge and have the authority to settle the charge on behalf of the employer. Although you don’t have to bring an attorney with you to the mediation, either party may choose to do so. The mediator will decide what role the attorney will play during the mediation.

Topic: THE BENEFITS OF MEDIATION

Discussion: One of the greatest benefits of mediation is that it allows people to resolve the charge in a friendly way and in ways that meet their own unique needs. Also, a charge can be resolved faster through mediation. While it takes 85 days on average to resolve a charge through mediation, it can take 160 days or longer for a charge to be investigated. Mediation is fair, efficient and can help the parties avoid a lengthy investigation and litigation.

Topic: LEARN MORE ABOUT EEOC'S MEDIATION PROGRAM

Discussion: If you have questions about our mediation program, contact the EEOC field office nearest you or visit our website at www.eeoc.gov.

Topic: WHAT IS A UNIVERSAL AGREEMENT TO MEDIATE?

Discussion: A Universal Agreement to Mediate (UAM) is an agreement between EEOC and an employer to mediate all charges filed against the employer before an investigation begins. The program is designed to help the parties get to the mediation table and resolve a charge faster.

Because mediation is always voluntary, both the employer and the employee can turn down mediation after it is offered. Also, if we feel that a particular charge is not appropriate for mediation, we can decide not to mediate the charge.

We have entered into Universal Agreements to Mediate with employers locally, regionally, and nationally. For example, an employer that signs a national Universal Agreement to Mediate agrees to mediate any charge filed against it anywhere in the country.

You can learn more about Universal Agreements to Mediate on our website at www.eeoc.gov or by contacting the EEOC office nearest you.

Topic: FILING A LAWSUIT

Discussion: If you plan to file a lawsuit alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability or retaliation, you first have to file a charge with one of our field offices (unless you plan to bring your lawsuit under the Equal Pay Act, which allows you to go directly to court without filing a charge). Once we have finished investigating your charge, we will give you what is called a “Notice of Right-to-Sue.” This notice gives you permission to file a lawsuit in a court of law.

If you plan to file an age discrimination lawsuit, you won’t need a Notice of Right-to-Sue to file in court. You can file anytime after 60 days have passed from the day you filed your charge (but no later than 90 days after you receive notice that our investigation has concluded). If you plan to file a lawsuit under the Equal Pay Act, you don’t have to file a charge or obtain a Notice of Right-to-Sue before filing. Rather, you can go directly to court, provided you file your suit within two years from the day the discrimination took place (3 years if the discrimination was willful). Keep in mind, though, Title VII also makes it illegal to discriminate based on sex in the payment of wages and benefits. If you have an Equal Pay Act claim, there may be advantage to also filing your claim under Title VII. In order to pursue a Title VII claim in court, you must have filed a charge with EEOC and received a Notice-of-Right-to-Sue.

Once you receive a Notice of Right-to-Sue, you must file your lawsuit within 90 days. We cannot extend this deadline, so if you don’t file in time, you may be prevented from going forward with your lawsuit.

If you want to file a lawsuit before we have finished our investigation, you can request a Notice of Right-to-Sue. If more than 180 days have passed from the day you filed your charge, we are required by law to give you the notice. If fewer than 180 days have passed, we will only give you the notice if we can’t finish our investigation within 180 days. You should request the Notice of Right-to-Sue in writing and send it to the Director of the EEOC office where your charge is filed. Include in your request the names of the parties and, if possible, your charge number. Once you have been given a Notice of Right-to-Sue, we will close the case and take no further action. So if you want EEOC to continue investigating your charge, don’t request the Notice of Right-to-Sue.

EEOC files about 300 new employment discrimination lawsuits every year. Because of limited resources, though, we can’t file a lawsuit in every case where discrimination has been found. When deciding whether to file a lawsuit, we consider several factors, including the seriousness of the violation, the type of legal issues in the case, and the wider impact the lawsuit could have on our efforts to combat workplace discrimination.

Topic: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OVERVIEW

Discussion: The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives you the right to obtain federal agency records, including records at EEOC. If you request records from us in writing, we will give them to you, except when the law requires us to withhold certain records from the public. We will answer your request within twenty working days, and if we decide to withhold records, we will tell you which ones we have not given to you and why. You also have the right to appeal our decision.

Topic: HOW TO REQUEST RECORDS UNDER FOIA

Discussion: In order to obtain records under FOIA, you must ask for them in writing. Simply write us a letter that says you are requesting records under FOIA, and describe the records you are looking for. If you are looking for records about a specific case, please tell us the names of the parties or a charge or file number. If a lawsuit has been filed in the case and you are the employer named in a charge (or the person who filed the charge and more than 90 days have passed since you received your Notice of Right to Sue), you should include a copy of the lawsuit with your request.

If your request is for records from one of our field offices, you should send your request to the Regional Attorney for that office. If your request is for records from our headquarters office in Washington, D.C., or if your aren’t sure where the records are located, you should send your request to the Legal Counsel, Office of the Legal Counsel, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1801 L Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20507. Also, you can e-mail your request to us at foia@eeoc.gov, and we will forward it to the appropriate office for you.

Topic: WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT AFTER YOU SEND YOUR REQUEST

Discussion: After the appropriate agency official (either a Regional Attorney or the Legal Counsel) receives your FOIA request, we will gather and review the requested documents and then send you a letter that tells you whether your request has been granted or denied. If we deny any part of your request, we will tell you in the letter which records were withheld and why. If we grant any part of your request and do not charge a fee, we will send copies of the documents with the letter. If a fee is charged, we will send you the documents after the fee has been paid.

Usually you will receive our letter responding to your FOIA request within 20 business days, although there are occasions when we may have to extend our response time by up to ten additional business days. For example, we may have to extend the time if a response requires us to contact another agency, if we need to gather records from more than one office, or if we have to review a large number of records. If we need to extend our response time, we will tell you in writing and also let you know when you should expect our response.

Topic: DOES IT COST MONEY TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST?

Discussion: Although it doesn’t cost anything to make a FOIA request, there may be times when we will charge a fee for search and review services and for photocopying. If you are a member of the public, a representative of the news media, or an educational or scientific institution, you will receive the first 100 pages of photocopies for free. After 100 pages, we charge fifteen cents per page for photocopying. Members of the public also receive up to two hours of free search and review services. After two hours, we charge $7.00 per hour for these services. The news media and educational and scientific institutions are not charged for search and review. We charge businesses for all search and review services and for all photocopies.

Topic: WHEN ARE DOCUMENTS WITHHELD?

Discussion: After we gather and review the documents you asked for, we will send you a letter that tells you whether your request has been granted or denied. If we deny any part of your request, we will tell you which records were not provided and why.

We are required to disclose all records, except those that are protected from disclosure by FOIA. Under FOIA, records that are protected from disclosure include: material prohibited from disclosure by another law; trade secrets and other confidential business information; certain agency communications; personnel, medical and other files involving personal privacy; and certain records compiled for law enforcement purposes. For these reasons, we usually won’t give out information from an open investigative file, internal EEOC memos containing analysis or recommendations, or personal information about people who aren’t parties to the charge.

Topic: MAY I REQUEST RECORDS FROM AN EEOC CHARGE FILE?

Discussion: If you are asking for records from a charge file, you must be a party to the charge to get those records. Usually we don’t give out charge-related records to anyone other than the parties to a charge because of confidentiality and privacy concerns. If you filed a charge with one of our offices and want to obtain copies of records in your charge file, you may request the documents after we have given you a Notice of Right to Sue, so long as the deadline for filing a lawsuit has not expired. You may not obtain records from your charge file before we have finished investigating or litigating the charge or after the deadline for filing a lawsuit has passed. If you are an employer and want records contained in a charge to which you are a party, you can request the records after a lawsuit has been filed.

To request a copy of your file, send a letter to the Director of the office where your charge was investigated. Your letter should state that you want a copy of your file and give the names of the parties to the charge. It is always helpful if you can give us the charge number, as well. If a lawsuit has been filed in the case and you are the employer named in a charge (or the person who filed the charge and more than 90 days have passed since you received your Notice of Right to Sue), you should include a copy of the lawsuit with your request.

Even if you are a party to a charge, there may be occasions when we will not give you certain records from your charge file, including records that are privileged, would reveal the identity of a confidential witness, or would invade the privacy of another person if disclosed.

Topic: HOW TO APPEAL WHEN YOUR FOIA REQUEST HAS BEEN DENIED

Discussion: If we deny any part of your FOIA request, you can file an appeal. Your appeal must be in writing and must be sent to us within 30 days from the date you received our letter denying your request.

You don’t need to use a special form to file an appeal. Simply write us a letter saying you want to appeal our denial of your request. You also may want to explain why you disagree with our decision to withhold certain records. If you believe there are records related to your request that we did not give you, tell us why you believe the records exist and where they may be located. Also, send a copy of our letter with your appeal letter. You don’t have to us send copies of documents that you received with our letter, though, unless they relate to an issue you are raising in your appeal.

Our Office of Legal Counsel will review your appeal and then decide whether your request was properly denied. We will send you this decision within 20 business days. If the Office of Legal Counsel decides that some or all of the documents should have been given to you, that office will send the documents to you or send your request back to the appropriate office with instructions for further processing.

You should send your appeal to: Assistant Legal Counsel/FOIA Programs, Office of Legal Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1801 L Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20507.

Topic: CHALLENGING A FOIA DETERMINATION IN COURT

Discussion: If you don’t agree with our decision to withhold records you requested, you have the right to file a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court. Before you can do so, though, you first have to appeal to EEOC’s Office of Legal Counsel. After you have received a decision from the Office of Legal Counsel on your appeal, you will have six years to file suit. Your lawsuit can be filed with a U.S. District Court in one of four places: 1) where you reside; 2) where you have your principal place of business; 3) in the District of Columbia; or 4) where the records are located.

Topic: EEOC RECORDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

Discussion: You can access many of our records without ever having to make a FOIA request. Most of these records are on our website at www.eeoc.gov, and they include statutes, regulations, interpretative guidance, enforcement and litigation statistics, appellate and amicus briefs, transcripts of commission meetings and public hearings, agency task force reports, and our annual reports to Congress.

You can also find many EEOC records through the Government Information Locator Service (GILS), which contains an extensive electronic listing of our information resources. GILS can be located at the following uniform resource locator address: www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/gils/gils.html.

We have public reading areas at our headquarters office in Washington, D.C. and in each district office. You can find the following records available in all of our public reading areas: 1) EEOC forms; 2) reports to Congress; 3) the EEOC Compliance Manual and Index; 4) Federal Register notices; 5) agency directives, internal orders, supplements, and notices; and 6) the equal employment decisions looseleaf service and bound volumes.

You can also find the following information at our headquarters library in Washington, D.C.: 1) Commission Precedent Decisions and index; 2) EEOC budgets submitted to Congress; and 3) commercially published indexes to our Compliance Manual.

Topic: CONTACTING AN EEOC OFFICE

Discussion: We have 51 field offices throughout the country, and our headquarters office is located in Washington, D.C. We can give you with the following information about our field offices:

· address;

· telephone and TTY number;

· fax number;

· hours of operation;

· directions;

· name and contact information for the Office Director and Regional Attorney;

· charge filing procedures for the office;

· the geographical coverage of the office;

· time limitations for filing a charge in the jurisdictions served by the office;

· information about the office’s public reading area;

· the names of any state or local Fair Employment Practice Agencies or Tribal Employment Rights Offices that work with the office;

· the EEOC representative in charge of training and outreach programs;

· the Small Business Liaison;

· the Mediation Coordinator; and

· the EEOC representative in charge of federal sector programs.

If you have a disability and need an accommodation (such as a sign language interpreter) while visiting one of our offices, please let the office know in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements for you.

If you have difficulty speaking English, you should feel free to ask a friend, family member or co-worker for help contacting our offices. Many of our offices have staff who speak other languages in addition to English, and we can also arrange for professional interpreter services.

You can contact our headquarters office at:

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission1801 L Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20507Phone: (202) 663-4900TTY: (202) 663-4494

Topic: JOB OPENINGS AT EEOC

Discussion: If you are interested in working for EEOC, go to our website and view our job vacancy announcements nationwide. You can even sign up to have us send you an electronic notice whenever a new job vacancy is posted.

All job applicants must apply online, unless the position you are applying for is a Senior Executive Service or excepted service position. You can use our on-line application system to create and update an electronic resume that can be sent directly to us. After a vacancy announcement closes, candidates are automatically rated and ranked, and the best qualified candidates are then referred to selecting officials.

If applying online causes extreme difficulty for you, we will help you submit your application by inputting the data into our computer system. You will have to answer the same questions as all other applicants, and you will need to make sure we have a signed copy of your application before the vacancy announcement closes.

If you don’t have access to a computer, you can contact our Human Resources Office, which has computers that you can use to apply for a job. Also, most resource centers, unemployment offices, public libraries, college placement centers and job search agencies have computers that you can use for this purpose.

Topic: PUBLICATIONS

Discussion: We produce a variety of fact sheets, brochures and other publications that are designed to help job applicants, employees and employers understand their rights and responsibilities under the laws we enforce. Some of these publications are even available in foreign languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

You can access many of these publications free-of-charge on our website, www.eeoc.gov or by writing or calling the EEOC office nearest you.

Topic: WEBSITE CONTENT

Discussion: You can find all kinds of helpful information about EEOC and the work we do on our website at www.eeoc.gov. Our website is fully accessible to people with disabilities through a wide range of web access devices, including screen readers, PDAs and web-enabled phones.

The information you will find on our website includes:

· fact sheets about the laws we enforce;

· fact sheets about how to file a charge or respond to a charge;

· information about our investigation process;

· information about our mediation program;

· information about federal sector discrimination complaints;

· information for small businesses;

· information about the Freedom of Information Act;

· on-line filing of EEO-1 Information Reports;

· select Enforcement Guidance materials;

· full texts of the laws enforced by EEOC;

· current and proposed regulations;

· Federal sector appellate decisions (including the Digest of EEO law);

· select EEOC appellate and amicus briefs;

· enforcement and litigation statistics;

· employment statistics and census information;

· history of EEOC;

· select EEOC Task Force Reports;

· EEOC’s annual reports;

· information about our field offices, including contact information and hours of operation;

· information about EEOC Commissioners;

· information about Commission meetings;

· information about our initiatives;

· recent EEOC press releases;

· job openings at EEOC; and

Topic: CALLS NOT ANSWERED OR RETURNED

Discussion: I’m sorry you are having trouble reaching our office, and we apologize for any inconvenience. What I suggest you do is contact the supervisor of the person you are trying to reach. I would be happy to help figure out who the supervisor is. Also, I will contact the supervisor myself to report the problem you’re experiencing.

[Refer caller to supervisor. E-mail complaint and caller’s contact information to the supervisor and the Director of the office. If the complaint concerns an Office Director, refer caller to the Office of Field Programs, Field Management Programs, 202-663-4814].

Topic: CALLER DISSATISFIED WITH SOME ASPECT OF THE INVESTIGATION

Discussion: Thank you for calling us with this concern. We take each charge very seriously and want to make sure we do the best job we can as quickly as possible. What I suggest you do is contact the Investigator’s supervisor. I would be happy to help figure out who the supervisor is. Also, I will contact the supervisor myself to report your concern.

Topic: CONCERNS THAT THE INVESTIGATION IS TAKING TOO LONG

Discussion: Thank you for calling us with this concern. Some investigations take longer than others. It usually takes us about 160 days to investigate a charge. We can’t say exactly how long it will take to investigate a charge because each case is different. If your case is complicated, or if we need to gather a lot of information, the investigation will take longer to finish.

What I suggest you do is contact the Investigator’s supervisor to discuss the status of your case and what your choices are. The supervisor may be able to give you a better idea when our investigation will be finished. I would be happy to refer you to the supervisor. Also, I will contact the supervisor myself to report your concern.

Also, you can ask us to stop processing your charge at any time if you would rather take your case to court on your own. If 180 days have passed from the date you filed your charge, we are required to grant your request and give you your Notice-of-Right-to-Sue. If 180 days have not yet passed, we will only grant your request if it looks like we won’t be able to complete our investigation within 180 days. If your charge involves a claim of age discrimination, you can file a lawsuit anytime after 60 days have passed. If your charge involves a violation of the Equal Pay Act, you don’t have to wait at all. You can go straight to court.

[Refer caller to supervisor. E-mail complaint and caller’s contact information to the supervisor and the Director of the office.]

Topic: COMPLAINTS ABOUT STAFF CONDUCT

Discussion: Thank you for calling us with this concern. What I suggest you do is contact the supervisor of the person you have raised concerns about. I would be happy to help figure out who the supervisor is. Also, I will contact the supervisor myself to report your concern.

Topic: HOW DO I FIND OUT ABOUT THE STATUS OF MY CHARGE?

Discussion: You can find out the status of your charge by calling the EEOC field office where your charge is filed. May I transfer you to that office?

Do you know where you filed your charge? If you don’t, I can help you figure out where it is.

· If you give me your name or charge number, I will look it up for you.

– or –

· Do you remember which city or state you filed your charge in?

· Have you received any correspondence from us? Which of our offices did it come from?

· Where is the employer located?

Topic: MY ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER HAVE CHANGED

Discussion: Thank you for calling us to update your contact information. It’s important that we know how to contact you while we are investigating your charge.

You need to send a letter to the EEOC office where your charge is filed telling them about this change. In your letter, you should tell us the name of the parties to the charge and the charge number, if you have one.

Do you know where you filed your charge? If you don’t, I can help you figure out where it is.

· If you give me your name or charge number, I will look it up for you.

– or –

· Do you remember which city or state you filed your charge in?

· Have you received any correspondence from us? Which of our offices did it come from?

· Where is the employer located?

Topic: WHAT IS THE STATUS OF MY CORRESPONDENCE?

Discussion: You can check on the status of your letter by calling the EEOC office where you sent your letter. May I transfer you to that office?

Topic: CHECKING CASE STATUS VIA THE INTERNET

Discussion: I’m sorry. To protect your privacy, we don’t allow anyone to access charge information on the internet. You can find out the status of your charge by calling the EEOC field office where your charge is filed. May I transfer you to that office?

Do you know where you filed your charge? If you don’t, I can help you figure out where it is.

· If you give me your name or charge number, I will look it up for you.

– or –

· Do you remember which city or state you filed your charge in?

· Have you received any correspondence from us? Which of our offices did it come from?

· Where is the employer located?

Topic: OVERVIEW OF OUTREACH, TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

Discussion: We offer a variety of outreach, technical assistance, and training programs on all of the laws we enforce. These programs are available to workers, employers, and the public. Some of these programs are free-of-charge, while others are available for a small fee.

We also publish a variety of written training and technical assistance materials. These products are designed to provide technical and legal guidance to employees, employers and EEO professionals. If you would like a list of our publications, you can call ______________ or visit our website at www.eeotraining.eeoc.gov.

Topic: FREE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

Discussion: Our no-cost outreach and education programs provide participants with information about the laws we enforce and the investigation process. EEOC representatives are available on a limited basis at no cost to make presentations and participate in meetings with employees and employers, and their representative groups, as well as community organizations and other members of the general public. In addition, EEOC information materials and other publications are available at no cost.

Topic: SMALL BUSINESS TRAINING

Discussion: We have designed many of our training and technical assistance programs and materials with small businesses in mind. Some of these materials can be found in the small business section of our website. Also, all of our field offices have designated staff to answer questions and provide assistance to small businesses.

Topic: WILL EEOC REVIEW AN EEO POLICY OR EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION FOR MY COMPANY?

Discussion: If you are an employer, we will review your anti-harassment policy free-of-charge to ensure that your policy meets certain recommended minimum requirements. We will also review employment applications to ensure that they are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We will not vouch for any policy or application, but rather will provide you with feedback and offer suggestions for improvement.

[Refer callers to www.eeoc.gov/outreach/coordinators for local contact information.]

Topic: DOES EEOC OFFER TRAINING IN MEDIATION?

Discussion: No. We do not provide training in mediation. Usually you can find information about such training programs by contacting your state bar association.

Topic: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM SEMINARS (TAPS)

Discussion: Our Technical Assistance Program Seminars (TAPS) highlight the latest EEO topics and provide expert presentations on EEOC policies and procedures. The TAPS Schedule is posted on www.eeotraining.eeoc.gov.

These seminars are designed for human resource staff, business owners, managers, supervisors, state and local government officials, federal agency EEO staff, employment agency staff, union officials, attorneys and others.

Agendas for the seminars vary from location to location, although the topics covered often include harassment, disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation, legal developments and updates, and tips for preventing discrimination.

The seminars typically last between one and two days at a cost of $295 per day.

Participants can receive re-certification credits from the Human Resource Certification Institute for all seminars on an hour-for-hour basis. Also, attorneys can receive Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits for most of our seminars.

Topic: FEDERAL AGENCY TRAINING

Discussion: We offer a variety of training programs geared specifically for federal employees. Our training is ideal for federal supervisors and employees, EEO counselors and investigators, agency representatives and attorneys and anyone else interested in equal employment opportunity in the federal government. You can review course descriptions and agendas on our website at www.eeotraining.eeoc.gov.

Each year, we also hold the EXCEL Conference for federal managers, employees and their representatives. We showcase our top staff presenters and other nationally-known EEO professionals at this conference on federal agency EEO issues. For more information about this year’s EXCEL Conference, visit our website at www.eeotraining.eeoc.gov.

Topic: WHO IS PROTECTED?

Discussion: If you are a federal employee or job applicant, the law protects you from discrimination because of your race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability. The law also protects you from retaliation if you oppose employment discrimination, file a complaint of discrimination, or participate in the EEO complaint process (even if the complaint is not yours).

There are federal laws and regulations (which are not enforced by EEOC) that also prohibit discrimination because of your sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, political affiliation, genetic test or condition, or some other basis that does not adversely affect job performance.

Topic: OVERVIEW OF THE EEO COMPLAINT PROCESS FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND JOB APPLICANTS

Description: If you are a federal employee or job applicant and you believe that a federal agency has discriminated against you, you have the right to file a complaint. The first step is to contact an EEO Counselor at the agency where you work or where you applied for a job. You must contact the EEO Counselor within 45 days from the day the discrimination occurred. Each agency is required to post information about how to contact the agency’s EEO Office.

In most cases, the EEO Counselor will give you the choice of participating either in EEO counseling or in an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) program. Not all problems are covered by an agency’s ADR program, and the EEO Counselor should be able to tell you whether yours is the type of case that is covered. If you do not settle the dispute during counseling or through ADR, you can file a formal discrimination complaint against the agency with the agency’s EEO Office.

The agency will review the complaint and decide whether or not the case should be dismissed for a procedural reason (for example, your claim was filed too late). If the agency doesn’t dismiss the complaint, it will conduct an investigation. When the investigation is finished, the agency will give you two choices: either request a hearing before an EEOC Administrative Judge or ask the agency to issue a decision as to whether discrimination occurred. If you ask the agency to issue a decision and no discrimination is found, you can appeal the decision to EEOC or challenge it in federal district court.

If you request a hearing, an EEOC Administrative Judge will conduct the hearing, make a decision, and order relief if discrimination is found. Once the agency receives the Administrative Judge’s decision, the agency will issue what is called a “final order,” which will tell you whether the agency agrees with the Administrative Judge and will grant the relief ordered. If the agency disagrees with any part of the Administrative Judge’s decision, it must appeal to EEOC.

Once EEOC has issued a decision on the appeal, both you and the agency have the right to ask EEOC to reconsider that decision. You also will have the right to file a lawsuit in federal district court.

Topic: TIME FRAMES FOR CONTACTING AN EEO COUNSELOR

Discussion: If you believe that you have been the victim of discrimination, you have 45 days from the day the discrimination occurred to contact an EEO Counselor. If the discrimination involved a personnel action (for example, a demotion or firing), you must contact the EEO Counselor within 45 days of the day the personnel action takes effect.

Topic: HOW TO CONTACT AN AGENCY EEO COUNSELOR

Discussion: You can contact an EEO Counselor by calling the office responsible for the agency’s EEO complaints program. Each agency is required to post information about where its EEO Office is located and what number to call to reach someone there.

Topic: EEO COUNSELING PROCESS

Discussion: Once you contact the agency’s EEO Office, an EEO Counselor will talk to you about your rights and responsibilities and will take down some basic information about your situation. The Counselor will then try to settle the matter informally. The Counselor also may ask if you would like to participate in an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program, such as mediation.

If your concerns are not settled, the Counselor will hold a final interview with you and then give you a notice with instructions about how to file a formal complaint. This interview will take place within 30 days from the day you first contacted the EEO Office to request counseling (unless you participated in ADR or agreed to an extension). If you participate in ADR, the EEO counseling period is extended to 90 days. The agency can also extend counseling by up to 90 days if you agree to an extension.

Topic: ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Discussion: All agencies are required to have an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) program. EEOC has certain requirements that all agencies must follow when developing ADR programs. The most important ADR program requirement is fairness. Generally, an ADR program is fair if it is voluntary, confidential, enforceable by the parties (if an agreement is reached), and led by a neutral person, like a mediator, who has no personal interest in the dispute.

Most agencies use mediation in their ADR program. Mediation is an informal meeting between the parties that is run by a neutral mediator. A mediator is trained to help people who have disagreements talk to each other. The mediator does not decide who is right or wrong or issue a decision. Instead, the mediator helps the parties work out their own solutions to their dispute.

There are real advantages to participating in ADR. ADR offers both you and the agency the opportunity for a fast and informal settlement of the dispute. Rather than leaving the decision to a third party, such as an Administrative Judge, ADR gives you the opportunity to reach an agreement that works for both you and the agency.

Topic: FILING A COMPLAINT

Discussion: If you decide to file a discrimination complaint, you must do so within 15 days from the day you receive notice from your EEO Counselor about how to file a complaint. This notice will be sent to you after your final interview with the EEO Counselor.

You must file your complaint at the same EEO Office where you received counseling. The 15-day deadline for filing a complaint is calculated in calendar days starting the day after you receive the notice. If the 15th calendar day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, then the last day of the deadline is the next business day.

Your discrimination complaint must contain the following:

· your name, address, and telephone number;

· a short description of the events that you believe were discriminatory (for example, you were terminated, demoted, harassed);

· why you believe you were discriminated against (for example, because of your race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, age or retaliation);

· a short description of any injury you suffered; and

· your signature (or your lawyer’s signature).

The agency is required to give you a reasonable amount of time during work hours to prepare the complaint. If you feel that you have not been given a reasonable amount of time, contact the agency’s EEO Director or EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations.

After your complaint is filed, the agency will send you a letter letting you know it received your complaint. The agency will also review the complaint and decide whether your case should be dismissed for a procedural reason (for example, your claim was filed too late). If the agency doesn’t dismiss your complaint, it will investigate it. If the agency does dismiss your complaint, you will receive notice of what you can do if you disagree with the agency’s decision.

Topic: CAN I FILE A COMPLAINT BEFORE THE FINAL INTERVIEW?

Discussion: Usually, you must wait until the EEO Counselor has held a final interview with you before you can file a complaint. If, however, the counseling period ends and your EEO Counselor has not yet held the final interview, you have the right to file a complaint without having the interview. When you submit your complaint, you should include a short letter telling the EEO Office that the EEO counseling period has ended (including any extensions) and you have not yet been given a final interview.

Topic: ADDING NEW EVENTS TO YOUR COMPLAINT

Discussion: If new events take place after you file your complaint that you believe are discriminatory, you can add them to your complaint. This is called “amending” a complaint. To amend your complaint, you should write the agency’s EEO Office, describe what happened, and ask that the new events be included in your complaint. After your letter is received, the EEO Office will either add them to your complaint or send you to EEO counseling to discuss them with an EEO Counselor. If you are sent to counseling and the matter cannot be settled there, you have the right to file a new complaint that includes the new events. The new complaint will later be put together with the original complaint.

If your complaint has already been sent to an EEOC Administrative Judge, you must contact the Administrative Judge to add any new events to your complaint.

Topic: IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE COMPLAINT

Discussion: If you have more than one discrimination complaint against an agency, the agency’s EEO office must investigate your complaints together. The purpose of this is to be sure that they are investigated as quickly and efficiently as possible. The EEO Office will notify you before the complaints are put together.

If one of your complaints has been referred to an EEOC Administrative Judge, you may ask the Administrative Judge to join other complaints of yours that you feel are related to the complaint that the Administrative Judge is hearing.

Topic: HOW LONG DOES THE INVESTIGATION TAKE?

Discussion: The agency has 180 days from the day you filed your complaint to finish its investigation. The investigation may be extended by an another 180 days if new events are added to your complaint or if you file new complaints that must be added to your original complaint for investigation. You also have the right to agree to an extension of up to 90 days.

If more than 180 days pass and the agency has not yet finished its investigation, you can either ask for a hearing or file a lawsuit in federal district court. Once you ask for a hearing, the complaint will be handled by an EEOC Administrative Judge. You also have the right to file a lawsuit any time after the 180-day investigation period has passed, even if your complaint is before an EEOC Administrative Judge. Keep in mind, though, once you file a lawsuit, the EEOC will close your complaint and take no further action.

Topic: ROLE OF THE AGENCY INVESTIGATOR

Discussion: The role of the agency investigator is to gather information related to your complaint. Agency investigators do not decide your case. Instead, they are responsible for gathering the evidence needed to decide whether or not you were discriminated against.

Topic: REPRESENTATION DURING THE COMPLAINT PROCESS

Discussion: Although you don’t have to be represented by a lawyer during the complaint process, you have the right to have a lawyer if you want one. You can also ask someone who is not a lawyer to represent you, or you can represent yourself. The EEOC will not represent you during the complaint process, and we will not appoint a lawyer to represent you.

Topic: REACHING A VOLUNTARY SETTLEMENT

Discussion: At any time during the complaint process, the agency can offer to settle your complaint. You are not required to accept a settlement offer.

If your complaint is already before an EEOC Administrative Judge, the Administrative Judge may ask you and the agency to try to settle your complaint and may give you and the agency time to work out the terms of a possible agreement on your own.

If you and the agency settle your complaint, it will be dismissed and no further action will be taken. Both you and the agency will be required to do what you promised to do in the agreement.

Topic: CAN MY COMPLAINT BE DISMISSED WITHOUT ANY INVESTIGATION?

Discussion: If the agency or an EEOC Administrative Judge feels your complaint does not meet certain procedural requirements (for example, your claim was filed too late), the agency or Administrative Judge can dismiss your complaint without an investigation or a hearing.

You may appeal the agency’s decision to dismiss your complaint to EEOC. If an Administrative Judge dismisses your complaint, you must wait for the agency to send you an order saying it agrees with the dismissal before you can appeal to EEOC. You have 30 days from the day you receive the agency’s dismissal to appeal.

In some cases, an agency or an Administrative Judge will dismiss only part of the complaint and continue processing the rest. In this situation, you must wait until the agency issues its final order on all of the claims in your complaint before appealing the partial dismissal.

Topic: HOW DO I ASK FOR A HEARING?

Discussion: If you want to ask for a hearing, you must make your request in writing within 30 days from the day you receive notice from the agency about your hearing rights. The agency will send you this notice as soon as it has finished its investigation. If more than 180 days have passed since you filed your complaint and the agency still has not finished its investigation, you can ask for a hearing anytime.

You should send your hearing request to the EEOC field office that has jurisdiction over your complaint. The agency will tell you which EEOC office has jurisdiction when it sends you notice about your hearing rights or you can ask the agency’s EEO Office to give you this information. You must provide the agency’s EEO Office with a copy of your hearing request.

Once the appropriate EEOC field office receives your request, we will send you a docket number for your case and ask the agency to send us a copy of your file. We will also ask the agency to send a copy of the file to you, if the agency hasn’t done so already. Your case will then be assigned to an EEOC Administrative Judge.

Topic: HOW A HEARING WORKS

Discussion: The purpose of a hearing is to make a full and accurate record of the events you raised in your complaint. The EEOC Administrative Judge will then use this record to decide whether or not discrimination occurred. The Administrative Judge makes all decisions about how, when and where the hearing will take place. Where the hearing is held will depend on where you live and where witnesses and records are located. Because the hearing is closed to the public, the Administrative Judge will only allow people who have knowledge of the events raised in your complaint to come to the hearing.

Both you and the agency will have the opportunity to offer evidence that the Administrative Judge will use to decide the case. Before the hearing, both you and the agency will be able to ask for information and documents. The Administrative Judge also may ask you or the agency to offer evidence that he or she feels is important to the case. This exchange of information before the hearing is to make sure the investigation of your complaint is complete. If the Administrative Judge feels that evidence asked for by either party is not relevant, too difficult to provide, or has already been provided, he or she may deny the request or ask that the request be simplified.

At the hearing, you and other witnesses approved by the Administrative Judge will tell the Judge what happened. A court reporter will write down a transcript of everything said at the hearing. You will be able to ask questions of the witnesses, and the Administrative Judge may also ask questions.

After the hearing, the Administrative Judge will send you a decision and order any relief. The decision should be sent to you within 180 days from the day you asked for a hearing. The Administrative Judge will send both you and the agency a copy of the decision, along with the transcript of what was said at the hearing.

Topic: INQUIRING ABOUT CASE STATUS AFTER A HEARING HAS BEEN REQUESTED

Discussion: If you have requested a hearing and want to find out about the status of your case, contact the EEOC field office where you sent your request.

Topic: FEDERAL SECTOR REMEDIES

Discussion: Whenever discrimination is found, the EEOC Administrative Judge will order a remedy that puts the victim of discrimination in the same position (or nearly the same) that he or she would have been in had the discrimination never occurred. The types of relief will depend upon the discriminatory action and the effect it had on the victim. If you are not selected for a job or a promotion because of discrimination, for example, the remedy may include placement in the job, back pay and benefits you would have received, attorney’s fees if you had a lawyer, and a possible award of money for emotional distress caused by the discrimination.

Topic: THE AGENCY’S FINAL ORDER

Discussion: Once the EEOC Administrative Judge hands down a decision, the agency will then have 40 days to issue a final order, which either accepts or rejects the decision of the Administrative Judge. The agency’s final order will also contain information about your right to appeal to EEOC, your right to file a civil action in federal district court, and the deadline for filing both an appeal and a civil action.

If the agency doesn’t accept the decision of the Administrative Judge, the agency must file an appeal with the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations.

If the agency doesn’t issue a final order in 40 days, the Administrative Judge’s decision becomes the agency’s final action in the compliant.

Topic: HOW DO I APPEAL THE AGENCY’S FINAL ORDER?

Discussion: You have the right to appeal an agency’s final order (including a final order dismissing your complaint) to EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations. You must file your appeal no later than 30 days after you receive the final order. If you send your appeal by mail, the date postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service is the date we use as the day your appeal was filed.

You should mail your appeal to: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Federal Operations, P.O. Box 19848, Washington, DC 20036. If your appeal is 10 pages or less, you can fax it to the Office of Federal Operations at (202) 663‑7022. You can also hand-deliver your appeal to: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Federal Operations, 1801 L Street N.W., Washington, DC 20507. You must give a copy of your appeal to the agency and certify how and when you delivered this copy to the agency.

To file your appeal, you should use EEOC Form 573, Notice of Appeal/Petition. This form is located at Appendix K to the EEOC’s Management Directive 110 and is available on EEOC’s web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/md110/appendixk.html.

Topic: CAN I SUBMIT A STATEMENT EITHER SUPPORTING OR OPPOSING AN APPEAL?

?Discussion: You are not required to send a statement in support of (or opposition to) an appeal, but you can if you want to. If you do decide to send us a statement, you must do so within 30 days of the day you file your appeal. If you send your appeal by mail, the date postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service is the date we use as the day your statement was filed.

Mail your statement to: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Federal Operations, P.O. Box 19848, Washington, DC 20036. If your statement is 10 pages or less, you can fax it to EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations at (202) 663‑7022. You can also hand-deliver your statement to: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Federal Operations, 1801 L Street N.W., Washington, DC 20507.

If you need more time to send us your statement, you can ask for more time in writing. Your request must be sent (postmarked or faxed and received) before the 30 days pass. In your request, you should describe why you need more time. You may fax your request for more time to the Office of Federal Operations.

Topic: HOW DOES EEOC DECIDE AN APPEAL?

Discussion: EEOC lawyers review the entire file, including the agency’s investigation, the decision of the Administrative Judge, the transcript of what was said at the hearing (if there was a hearing), and any appeal statements. If there was a hearing, we will assume that the facts decided by the Administrative Judge were correct. EEOC will decide the appeal by using the most current law. As a general rule, EEOC will not consider new evidence on appeal unless you can show that the evidence was not reasonably available when the decision was made.

Topic: HOW DO I FIND OUT ABOUT THE STATUS OF MY APPEAL?

Discussion: If you want to find out the status of your appeal, contact our Office of Federal Operations at (202) 663‑4599. Please have your eight-digit EEOC appeal number when you call to make it easier for us to serve you.

Topic: WHAT IF I DON’T AGREE WITH EEOC’S DECISION ON APPEAL?

Discussion: If you don’t agree with the EEOC’s decision on your appeal, you can ask for a reconsideration of that decision. A request for reconsideration is only granted if you can show that the decision is based on a mistake about the facts of the case or the law applied to the facts. The agency also has the right to request reconsideration.

Once we have made a decision on your request for reconsideration, the decision is final. If we decide to send a complaint back to the agency for further action, you still will have the right to appeal and the right to ask for a review of any agency order or Administrative Judge decision.

You must ask for reconsideration no later than 30 days after you receive our decision on your appeal. Send your request for reconsideration to: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Federal Operations, 1801 L Street N.W., Washington, DC 20507.

You should send with your request all supporting documents and any statement you would like to make in support of your request. You must also give a copy of your request to the agency and include with your request proof that you have done this. The agency will then have 20 days from the day it receives your request to send a statement opposing your request, and the agency is required to give you a copy of any statement they send.

Topic: FILING A LAWSUIT IN FEDERAL COURT

Discussion: Generally, the law requires that you first try to settle your discrimination complaint by going through the administrative complaint process before you file a lawsuit. In other words, you generally can’t go directly to court to sue an agency. Rather, you first need to try and resolve your complaint through the administrative complaint process set up by Congress.

There are two exceptions to this general rule. If your complaint involves age discrimination, you can skip the administrative complaint process altogether and go directly to court (as long as you give EEOC at least 30 days written notice of your intent to go to court). Also, if your claim involves gender-based pay discrimination and you wish to bring an action under the Equal Pay Act, you can skip the administrative complaint process and file a lawsuit anytime within two years of the day the discrimination occurred (three years if the discrimination is willful). Keep in mind, though, Title VII also makes it illegal to discriminate based on sex in the payment of wages and benefits. If you have an Equal Pay Act claim, there may be advantage to also filing your claim under Title VII. Before you can pursue a Title VII claim in court, though, you must go through the administrative complaint process.

For all other cases, you must go through the administrative complaint process before you can file a lawsuit. There are several different points during the process, however, when you will have the opportunity to quit the process and file a lawsuit in court, including:

· after 180 days have passed from the day you filed your complaint, if the agency has not issued a decision and no appeal has been filed;

· within 90 days from the day you receive the agency’s decision on your complaint, so long as no appeal has been filed.

· after 180 days from the day you filed your appeal if the EEOC has not issued a decision; or

· within 90 days from the day you receive the EEOC’s decision on your appeal.

Topic: EFFECT OF FILING A CIVIL ACTION ON AN EEO COMPLAINT

Discussion: If you file a lawsuit, the agency or EEOC will stop processing your complaint.

Topic: WHAT CAN I DO IF THE AGENCY DOESN’T FOLLOW IT’S OWN FINAL ORDER OR EEOC’S DECISION ON APPEAL?

Discussion: If the agency doesn’t follow its final order, you should contact the agency’s EEO Director. You have 30 days from the day you became aware of the agency’s failure to follow its order to report to the agency’s EEO Director. If the agency doesn’t respond after 35 days, you can file an appeal with EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations alleging noncompliance. If the agency does respond, you will have 30 days from the day you receive the agency’s response to file an appeal.

If the agency fails to follow an EEOC appeal decision, you can send a petition for enforcement to: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Federal Operations, 1801 L Street N.W., Washington, DC 20507.

Topic: HOW LONG DOES THE AGENCY HAVE TO PROVIDE ME WITH ANY RELIEF AWARDED?

Discussion: In most cases, agencies must give you the relief awarded within the time frame discussed in the agency’s final order or no later than 60 days from the day the agency received a decision from an EEOC Administrative Judge or an appeal decision from EEOC. If the agency fails to give relief within these time frames, you can either file a petition for enforcement or file a lawsuit in court for enforcement of the award.

There is one exception to this general rule. An agency does not have to provide the relief awarded by an Administrative Judge or EEOC on appeal while the agency’s appeal of that award is being decided by EEOC. In such cases, if the agency loses its appeal, the agency will generally have to pay you interest on any money you are entitled to as part of the award.

Topic: WHAT CAN I DO IF THE AGENCY DOESN’T COMPLY WITH THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT?

Discussion: If an agency doesn’t comply in some way with the terms of your settlement agreement, notify the agency’s EEO Director. You have 30 days from the day you first learned of the agency’s failure to comply to give the EEO Director this notice.

The agency must respond to you in writing to try and settle the conflict. If the agency doesn’t respond, or if you aren’t satisfied with the agency’s response, you can appeal to EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations for a decision about whether the agency has complied with the terms of the settlement agreement. You must file your appeal within 30 days from the day you receive the agency’s response or, if the agency doesn’t respond, after 35 days have passed from the day you notified the agency’s EEO Director of the agency’s failure to comply. You must give the agency a copy of your appeal. The agency will then have 30 days to respond.

Topic: REFERRAL TO A LAWYER

Discussion: If you are trying to find a lawyer to represent you, you may want to contact your local bar association, an area law school (for clinic programs that may offer help in this area), or your local EEOC office, which sometimes keep lists of attorneys who specialize in employment discrimination matters.

Topic: WHAT CAN I DO IF MY DISCRIMINATION CLAIM IS ALSO COVERED BY A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT?

Discussion: If you are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that covers claims of discrimination, you must decide whether you want to file an EEO complaint or a grievance. You cannot file both (unless you are an employee of the U.S. Postal Service or the Tennessee Valley Authority). If you want your complaint processed through the administrative complaint process, you should file an EEO complaint. If you want to proceed under the collective bargaining agreement’s grievance procedures, you should file a grievance. If you choose to file a grievance, you will be allowed to appeal the final grievance decision to EEOC, unless the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) also has authority over the claim. If MSPB has authority, you can appeal to MSPB.

Topic: WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY DISCRIMINATION CLAIM ALSO FALLS WITHIN THE AUTHORITY OF THE MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD?

Discussion: Some allegations of employment discrimination also fall within the authority of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). You can pursue your claim either through the administrative complaint process or through an action filed with the MSPB, but not both. If you decide to have your discrimination complaint handled under the administrative complaint process, you will file what is called a “mixed case complaint.” If you decide to file a complaint with the MSPB, you will file what is called a “mixed case appeal.” Your decision to file with one agency or the other is considered your decision to proceed with that agency.

A mixed case complaint is generally processed the same way as all other federal sector EEO discrimination complaints, except that:

· you will not have the right to ask for a hearing before an EEOC Administrative Judge;

· the agency has only 120 days from the date the complaint was filed to issue a final order;

· if the agency does not issue a final order within 120 days, you may appeal to MSPB or file a civil action; and

· you may appeal a final order on your complaint only to MSPB (not EEOC), and you must do so within 30 days of receipt of the order.

Once you have received a final appeal decision from MSPB, you can petition the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations to review the decision.

You also have the right to file a mixed case complaint in court by filing a civil lawsuit in United States District Court. You can file your lawsuit:

· within 30 days from the day you receive the agency’s final order, the MSPB’s final decision, or the decision of the EEOC on a petition to review;

· after 120 days have passed from the day you filed the mixed case complaint; or

· after 180 days have passed from the day you filed a petition for review of MSPB’s final decision with EEOC, if EEOC has not issued a decision on your petition.

Topic: HOW DO I PETITION EEOC TO REVIEW AN MSPB FINAL DECISION?

Discussion: If you have received a final decision from MSPB in a mixed case complaint or appeal, you can petition EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations to review that decision. File the petition by sending it via certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Office of Federal Operations, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, P.O. Box 19848, Washington, D.C. 20036 and to the Clerk of MSPB, 1120 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20419. You must send a copy of the petition to the agency and to all of the people and organizations listed on MSPB’s service list by certified mail.

The agency can oppose the petition by filing a statement in opposition. The Office of Federal Operations has 30 days from the day it receives your petition to decide whether to review the decision. If your petition is granted, it will take up to 60 days to review the entire record. Once the record has been reviewed, the Office of Federal Operations will do one of three things:

· issue a written decision that differs with MSPB (if we find that the MSPB decision is based on an incorrect interpretation of the law or is not supported by the evidence); or

If we disagree with MSPB’s decision, we will return the case to MSPB. If MSPB agrees with EEOC, it will issue a new decision. If MSPB doesn’t agree, your case will be sent to a Special Panel, comprised of a Chairman appointed by the President and members of EEOC and MSPB. After receiving the decision of the Special Panel, MSPB will order the agency to carry-out the Panel’s decision.

Discussion: Thank you for calling us with this concern. What I suggest you do is add your concerns to the formal EEO complaint you filed with the agency. Write a letter to the agency’s EEO Director describing your concerns and ask that they be added to the EEO file or record. You also should ask the agency to note in your file any steps they take to try and resolve your concerns. If you aren’t happy with the agency’s response, you can tell the EEOC Administrative Judge assigned to your case or, if you do not have a hearing, tell our Office of Federal Operations on appeal. You can also simply contact EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations, Federal Sector Programs Division, at P.O. Box 19848, Washington, DC 20507. You should raise all concerns before the processing of your complaint is finished.

Discussion: Thank you for calling us with this concern. What I suggest you do is contact our Office of Field Management Programs at (202) 663-4814.