EQUAL
OPPORTUNITY DIRECTIVE 1999-09
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TO:
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Bureau/Office Equal
Opportunity Officers
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FROM:
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E. Melodee Stith, Director
Office for Equal opportunity
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SUBJECT:
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Processing of Alternate
EEO Cases
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This Directive revises EOD 1997-02 and EOD
1993-08. As EOD 1997-02 advised your Office, we have again received a large
number of EEO complaints from employees requesting alternate processing. Many
of these cases did not present a true conflict of interest for Bureaus to
process. We will continue to apply a strict interpretation of conflict of
interest in determining whether the complaint will be processed by the
Department. Complaints presenting a conflict of interest will typically
include complaints filed directly against the Bureau Director and/or the
Bureau Equal Opportunity Officer. There may be other instances where
complaints are filed against other managers who are directly involved in the
EEO Program; for example the Associate Director for Administration. A
complaint simply naming the Bureau Director or the Bureau EO Officer will not
be considered a conflict of interest. There must be a direct link between the
Bureau Director or Bureau EO Officer in the matters
being alleged. We will forward all complaints received in our office not
presenting a conflict of interest to the appropriate Bureau for processing.
If the Bureau receives a complaint from an
employee requesting alternate processing, we ask that you review the
complaint to determine whether, in fact, a true conflict of interest exists.
If a conflict of interest exists, it may be referred to the Department for
processing. Thus it is important that the transmittal letter of a complaint
from a Bureau to the Department fully state all the reasons why it would be a
conflict of interest for the complaint to be processed as such. Any issues
concerning the aggrieved employee's desire to have his/her complaint
processed outside the Bureau, not presenting a conflict of interest, must be
resolved at the Bureau level. You may make arrangements with other Bureaus,
to assist in processing complaints, in cases where processing issues can not
be resolved.
The alternate processing will include the
Departmental-level acceptance and/or dismissal of conflict of interest cases.
After the accept/dismissal it will be returned to
the Bureau for investigation and issuance of the report of investigation
(ROI). Please
refer the request for a hearing and/or a final agency
decision (FAD) as you do other cases, since the case will either go to EEOC
or to the Departmental OEO for a FAD.
Distribution: Bureau and Office Equal
Opportunity Officers
Inquiries: Carmen Santana, Staff
Assistant, Complaints Policy, 202-208-4016
Expires: When Superseded