Civil Rights Division - Home Page
OAH has moved to its new Raleigh location. Click here for more details.
|
NEW FORMS |
|||||||||
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the North Carolina General Assembly have designated OAH as a 706 Deferral Agency.
706 Deferral cases are investigated by the Civil Rights Division (CRD) in OAH.
This Division is responsible for charges alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin or disability in employment, or charges alleging retaliation for opposition to such discrimination brought by previous and current state employees or applicants for employment for positions covered by the State Personnel Act, including county government employees.
Employees alleging employment discrimination may file their complaints directly with the Civil Rights Division without exhausting in-house or agency grievance procedures. These employees include the following:
(1) Non-Exempt State Government employees;
(2) Non-exempt UNC employees; and
(3) Four categories of County employees
(a) Social Services
(b) Mental Health
(c) Public Health
(d) Civil Preparedness
Any person wishing to file a compliant of alleged discrimination in any of the categories set out in the preceding paragraph must file a charge with the Civil Rights Division or EEOC.
If a determination is made to investigate a case, CRD notifies the complainant (charging party) and the agency (respondent) against whom the charge is made then an investigation will begin.
The case is then assigned a Civil Rights Investigator.
The assigned Civil Rights Investigator conducts a comprehensive investigation of the charges, interviewing the charging party, appropriate agency personnel and any necessary witnesses.
Further, the Civil Rights Investigator obtains copies of pertinent policies and documents from the respondent and the charging party.
An investigative report is prepared examining the allegations and evaluating the evidence produced during the investigation.
The Civil Rights Division then determines whether there is probable "Cause" or "No Cause" to believe the alleged discrimination occurred.
At the conclusion of the investigation, both parties are provided with Notice of the Investigative Findings.
If the determination is a "No Cause" finding, the charging party may appeal to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
If the determination is a "Cause" finding, the charging party enters the conciliation and settlement phase in an attempt to resolve the charge.
In the conciliation and settlement phase, the Civil Rights Division contacts the charging party and respondent to discuss the findings of the investigation.
The Civil Rights Division attempts to bring about full compliance with applicable federal and state laws.
If conciliation is successful, a Conciliation Agreement is entered into by the parties.
If conciliation is unsuccessful, the following options are available to the charging party:
(1) file a petition with OAH for a contested case hearing before an ALJ;
(2) request a Letter of Right to Sue from EEOC;
(3) request further conciliation from EEOC; or
(4) take no further action.
POLITICAL DISCRIMINATION
The Civil Rights Division is also responsible for investigating charges alleging political discrimination in hiring or promotion decisions.
Any person wishing to file a complaint of political discrimination must file a charge with this Division.
After satisfying all filing requirements for the political discrimination charge, CRD notifies the complainant (charging party), the agency (respondent) against whom the charge is made and the individual hired or promoted that an investigation will begin.
The case is then assigned a Civil Rights Investigator.
The assigned Civil Rights Investigator conducts an investigation of the charges/allegations, interviewing the charging party, appropriate agency personnel and any necessary witnesses.
Further, the Civil Rights Investigator obtains copies of pertinent policies and documents from the respondent and the charging party.
An investigative report is prepared examining the allegations and evaluating the evidence produced during the investigation.
The Civil Rights Division then determines whether there is probable "Cause" or "No Cause" to believe the alleged discrimination occurred.
At the conclusion of the investigation, both parties and the individual hired or promoted are provided with notice of the investigative findings.
If the Initial Determination is a "No Cause" finding, the charging party has no further administrative appeals under GS 126-14.2.
If the Initial Determination is a "Cause" finding, the charging party may file a petition with OAH for a contested case hearing before an ALJ or take no further action.
NORTH CAROLINA ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
TITLE 26
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
CHAPTER 4
CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION
.0101 INTRODUCTION
.0102 CONTENT AND PROCEDURE
.0103 NOTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATION
.0104 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
.0105 INVESTIGATION
.0106 INVESTIGATION REPORT
.0107 CONCILIATION AND SETTLEMENT
.0108 CONTESTED CASE HEARING
.0109 AUTHORITY TO ADMINISTER OATHS OR AFFIRMATIONS
.0110 SUBPOENAS
SECTION .0200 - POLITICAL DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINTS
.0201 DEFINITIONS
.0202 CONTENT AND FILING PROCEDURES
.0203 TIME
.0204 FINAL DETERMINATION