Justice Management Division...Serving Justice - Securing Results

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has revised its federal sector complaint processing regulations found at Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1614. The EEOC revised the regulations in an effort to make the complaint process more efficient. The majority of the changes became effective on November 9, 1999. The purpose of this memorandum is to highlight several changes that will most likely have a significant impact on complainants and others within the Department.

The revised regulations require all federal agencies to establish or make available an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program for its employees. ADR encompasses a range of problem solving processes whose basic purpose is to resolve disagreements without litigation. Under the revised regulations, these programs must be made available to persons during both the pre-complaint process and the formal complaint process. However, agencies will decide on a case-by-case basis whether it is appropriate to offer ADR to individual aggrieved persons. Within the Department, each bureau will be responsible for establishing or making available an ADR program for its employees. In accordance with the revised regulations, these programs must be established or made available no later than January 1, 2000. Several bureaus within the Department currently have their own ADR programs.

The revised regulation includes several provisions designed to ensure that agencies properly process claims that involve a number of different allegations. Examples of these changes are listed below:

• The revised regulations eliminate interlocutory (i.e., immediate) appeals from partial dismissals of complaints. The agency's decision to dismiss part of a complaint is reviewable by an EEOC administrative judge, however, appeals will be preserved until the rest of the case is ready for appeal.
• Administrative judges will no longer remand issues to agencies for counseling or other processing. Once a case is before an administrative judge, he or she will be fully responsible for processing it.
• Complaining parties will have greater rights to amend their complaints with like or related claims and independent claims brought by the same complaining party will be consolidated for processing so they will be handled together.
• The revised regulations include a provision for the dismissal of spin-off complaints (i.e., complaints that allege dissatisfaction with the processing of a previously filed complaint). Under the revised regulations, these complaints will be addressed during the processing of the original complaint.

The EEO hearing process has been modified as well. Complainants are now required to deliver their hearing requests directly to the EEOC (with a copy to the agency). Administrative judges have also been granted the authority to dismiss complaints during the hearing process. Moreover, once an administrative judge issues a decision on the case the agency will have 40 days after its receipt of the decision to take final action on the complaint by issuing a final order on the complaint. The final order will notify the complainant whether or not the agency will fully implement the administrative judge's decision and it will fully inform the complainant of his or her appeal rights. The agency is required to appeal the administrative judge's decision to the EEOC's Office of Federal Operations if it determines that it will not fully implement the administrative judge's decision.

The regulations have also been modified in the area of class complaints. For example, in the past, persons who had filed an individual complaint and later attempted to seek class certification were required to go back to the counseling stage of the process for additional pre-complaint counseling. Currently, an individual complainant may make a motion for class certification at any reasonable point in the process, and need not go back for additional counseling. If a motion for class certification is made unduly late in the process, the administrative judge must deny it. Moreover, administrative judges are now authorized to make final decisions regarding whether or not to accept or dismiss a class complaint.

The EEOC has also revised Management Directive 110. This document provides federal agencies with the EEOC's policies, procedures, and guidance relating to the processing of employment discrimination complaints. We strongly suggest that you contact your bureau's EEO office if you have specific questions regarding the revised regulations or other questions about EEO policies and programs. You may also visit the EEOC's website at www.eeoc.gov or visit "Complaint Process" on this website.