Discrimination

NIH Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management

The NIH Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management(OEODM) is responsible for administering the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program, a multifaceted program designed to promote equal opportunity and to identify and eliminate discriminatory practices and policies. NIH employees. One facet of the program, available if you believe you have been discriminated against, is the EEO complaint process.

Who May File

Any NIH employee or job applicant who believes that he or she has been discriminated against because of race, sex, sexual orientation, color, national origin, religion, age, physical or mental disability, or reprisal, may file an EEO complaint. [Note: Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps Officers are covered by a separate PHS policy.]

Procedure for Filing

Any person who desires to file an informal complaint should contact the EEO Office of the IC in which the alleged discrimination occurred or the OEODM Division of Complaints Management and Resolution, within 45 days of the discriminatory action. The employee or applicant must file a precomplaint before a formal complaint can be accepted for processing. An EEO counselor will be assigned to conduct an inquiring into the allegations that are identified in the precomplaint.

The informal complaint period of 30 days can be extended up to 90 days, if you elect to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Contact Information

For more information contact the EEO office at your NIH Institute or the NIH OEODM at (301) 496-6301. You may also go to the NIH OEODM website at http://www1.od.nih.gov/oeo/.