Office of Civil Rights
The EEO Complaints Processes FAQ's
- Who pursues a discrimination complaints?
- What is the first step?
- What is the role of the EEO Counselor?
- How is a formal complaint filed?
- What constitutes an investigation of a formal complaint?
- Who conducts the hearing?
- Who issues the final decision?
- Where to appeal
- When to resolve
- Retaliation
Q: Who pursues a discrimination complaints?
In accordance with 29 C.F.R. Part 1614, any International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) employee, or applicant for IBB employment, who believes his or her employment rights have been violated, or who believes reprisal has occurred because of prior involvement in an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint, may pursue a complaint.
The complaint may be filed pursuant to section 717 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination against applicants and employees based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin; Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of disability; section 15 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, which prohibits employment discrimination based on age; and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits sex-based wage discrimination.
Return to the TopThe first step for an IBB employee or an applicant for IBB employment who believes that he or she has been discriminated against is to contact the IBB Office of Civil Rights (OCR) within 45 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory action or the date when the employee or applicant for employment became aware of the alleged discriminatory action.
OCR will assign an EEO Counselor who will contact the complainant to begin the informal or pre-complaint stage of the process and attempt resolution within 30 calendar days.
Q: What is the role of the EEO Counselor?
The EEO Counselor is a trained, neutral third party whose primary responsibilities are fact‑finding and attempting to resolve informally the complaint at the earliest stage of the process.
The EEO Counselor will:
- advise the complainant of his or her rights and responsibilities under EEO statutes
- inquire into the facts of the case
- attempt resolution
The counseling period may be extended for an additional 60 calendar days if both the complainant and OCR agree. If the complainant initially elects to pursue his or her complaint through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), the pre-complaint processing period shall be 90 calendar days.
If resolution is reached at the informal stage, the terms of the resolution are incorporated into a written Settlement Agreement and signed by all appropriate parties.
If resolution is not reached during the informal stage, the EEO Counselor conducts a final interview with the complainant to inform the complainant of his or her right to pursue the matter through the formal complaint stage.
Upon the completion of the final interview, the complainant is issued a Notice of Right to File a Discrimination Complaint. This concludes the informal stage. It is the complainant, not the EEO Counselor, who must decide whether to file a formal complaint of discrimination at this time.
Q: How is a formal complaint filed?
A formal complaint must be in writing and be signed by the complainant. The complaint must be filed by the complainant (or that person's attorney) within 15 calendar days of receipt of the EEO Counselor's issuance of the Notice of Right to File a Discrimination Complaint. It must be submitted to the Director, Office of Civil Rights, IBB.
The employee or applicant may file a complaint based on race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual harassment, sexual preference or reprisal because of prior involvement in EEO activity. The employee or applicant may also file a complaint based on equal pay.
As soon as the formal complaint is received by the Director, Office of Civil Rights, an EEO Specialist will acknowledge receipt of the complaint, in writing, and review the issues to determine if the complaint will be dismissed or accepted for further processing by the Agency.
If the complaint is dismissed, the complainant will be notified, in writing, and provided with the appropriate appeal rights. If the complaint is accepted for processing, the complainant will receive a written notification and an EEO investigator, under contract to the Agency, will be assigned to investigate the accepted issues.
If a formal complaint is not received within 15 calendar days of the date of the complainant's final interview with the EEO Counselor and receipt of the Notice of Right to File an EEO complaint, OCR will consider the matter closed.
Q: What constitutes an investigation of a formal complaint?
An authorized EEO investigator conducts an investigation of a formal complaint of discrimination. The investigator takes formal depositions under oath from all relevant parties and collects factual information concerning the allegations or issues in the formal discrimination complaint. The investigator then prepares a Report of Investigation (ROI), a document that may be used in a formal hearing or court of law.
To ensure the integrity of the investigative process, all persons interviewed by the EEO investigator are enjoined from disclosing their sworn statements to anyone (except a legal representative). The EEO Investigator is required to complete the investigation and the ROI within 180 calendar days of the date the formal discrimination complaint was filed.
Upon receipt of the ROI, OCR will forward a copy of the report with a letter to the complainant (and the complainant's representative, if applicable). The letter will request that, within 30 calendar days (of receipt of the ROI), the complainant advise OCR of his/her decision to:
- request Final Decision (FD) or a hearing conducted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or
- request a Final Decision based solely on the information contained in the ROI
If, after receipt of the ROI, the complainant requests a hearing, the entire complaint file is forwarded to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Within 180 calendar days of receipt of the request, an EEOC Administrative Judge (AJ) will conduct the hearing.
The AJ will then issue a finding of fact and conclusion of law, and forward a final decision to the Agency and the complainant. The AJ may also make a determination, in writing, that good cause exists for extending this 180-day period. The EEOC will continue to encourage resolution of the complaint during this period.
ADR may be requested at any time during the formal processing of your complaint prior to the issuance of the final decision.
Q: Who issues the final decision?
If, after receipt of the ROI, the complainant request a Final Decision, OCR has 60 calendar days from receipt of the notification from the complainant to review the entire complaint file, including the ROI, and issue the Final Decision including the appropriate appeal rights.
If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the Final Decision, an appeal may be filed with the EEOC within 30 calendar days of receipt of the decision. Within 90 calendars days of the receiving the Final Decision, the complainant may file a civil action in an appropriate United States District Court.
Resolution of a Discrimination Complaint may be reached at any time during the complaint process. If this occurs the resolution is summarized in a written confidential settlement agreement signed by all parties. The complaint is closed, and all further processing terminated.
Retaliation under this process is against the law and will not be tolerated by IBB. Any retaliation actions should be immediately reported to the Office of Civil Rights. Managers and Supervisors will be held accountable for any retaliation that is proven through a formal investigation.
