About the No FEAR Act
The Notification and Federal Employee Anti-discrimination and Retaliation
(No FEAR) Act of 2002 (Public Law No. 107-174) was passed by both
houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Bush on May
15, 2002.
The No FEAR Act became effective on October 1, 2003.
The intent of the Act is to help ensure that Federal agencies:
- Pay more attention to their EEO and whistleblower activities;
and,
- Act
more expeditiously to resolve complaints at the administrative
level when it is appropriate to do so.
In addition, the No FEAR Act requires Federal agencies to:
- Notify employees and applicants for employment about their rights
under the discrimination and whistleblower laws;
- Post statistical
data relating to Federal sector equal employment
opportunity complaints on its public Web site;
- Ensure that their managers have adequate training in the management
of a diverse workforce, early and alternative conflict resolution,
and essential communications skills;
- Conduct studies on the trends and causes of complaints of discrimination;
- Implement new measures to improve the complaint process and the
work environment;
- Initiate timely and appropriate discipline against
employees who engage in misconduct related to discrimination or
reprisal;
- Reimburse the Judgment Fund for any discrimination- and
whistleblower-related settlements or judgments reach
in Federal court;
and
- Produce annual reports of status and progress
to Congress, the Attorney General, and the U.S. Equal Employment
Commission.
Statistical data relating to the Department of Health and Human Services equal employment opportunity complaints is available on the DHHS Web site.
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