General EEO Complaint Procedure
The Railroad
Retirement Board is an equal opportunity employer. It is illegal to
discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the
bases of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or
mental disability, or age. A person who files a complaint or
participates in an investigation of an EEO complaint, or who opposes
an employment practice made illegal under any of the statutes
enforced by EEOC, is protected from retaliation.
Who May File a Complaint of
Discrimination
If you are an RRB employee, former employee or applicant for
employment and you believe you have been discriminated against on
the basis of one or more of the above categories, you have the right
to file a complaint of discrimination.
How to File
Your first step is to contact the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO)
to make a request for an EEO Counselor. The request must be made
within 45 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory act or, if the
matter involves a personnel action, it must be made within 45 days
after the effective date or the date you became aware of, or
reasonably should have become aware of, the alleged discriminatory
personnel action.
A member of the OEO staff will assign and refer your complaint to
a trained EEO Counselor for an
informal inquiry. You may be provided the option of
participating in the agency's Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Program. If offered, you may choose either counseling or ADR. If
counseling is elected, the EEO Counselor will attempt to resolve the
complaint, ordinarily within 30 days. An election for ADR will
normally conclude within 90 days. At the end of counseling, or if
ADR is unsuccessful, you will be provided an opportunity to file a
formal complaint of
discrimination.
You should also be aware that there are federal protections from
discrimination on other bases including sexual orientation, status
as a parent, and marital status. OEO can provide information about
the procedures for filing a complaint on these bases.
Executive Order 13160 Complaint
Procedure
This Executive Order provides that “No individual, on the basis
of race, sex, color, national origin, disability, religion, age,
sexual orientation and status as a parent, shall be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination in, a Federally conducted education or training
program or activity.”
Definitions
Federally conducted education
and training programs and activities include programs and
activities conducted, operated, or undertaken by an executive
department or agency.
Status as a parent refers
to the status of an individual who is:
- a biological parent;
- an adoptive parent;
- a foster parent;
- a stepparent;
- a custodian of a legal ward;
- in loco parentis over such an individual; or
- actively seeking legal custody or adoption of such an
individual.
To be covered by this procedure, the claimed parental status must
relate to a child or other individual who is under the age of 18 or
who is 18 or older but is incapable of self-care because of a
physical or mental disability.
Who may file a complaint under EO
13160
Any individual who believes that s/he has been discriminated
against by the RRB in violation of EO 13160 or its implementing
regulations, rules, or policies may, personally or through a
representative, file a written complaint with the RRB.
How to file a complaint under EO
13160
Complaints must be addressed, within 180 calendar days of the
alleged noncompliance or the date the complainant became aware of
the noncompliance, in writing, to the address below:
Henry Valiulis, Director
Office of Administration
Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092
The Director of Administration (DA) will forward all complaints
to the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) for processing. The
Director of Equal Opportunity (DEO), or his/her designee, will
accept and arrange for investigation of all complete complaints for
which the agency has jurisdiction.
Complete Complaints under EO
13160
In order to be accepted by the RRB, all written complaints must
be “complete complaints.” A complete complaint must:
- include the name, address, and telephone number of the
complainant;
- identify whether the complainant is a federal employee and
whether the complainant's involvement in the relevant education
program was related to his/her employment;
- describe the alleged discriminatory conduct in sufficient
detail to inform the agency as to the nature and approximate date
of the alleged violation; and
- be signed by the complainant or by someone authorized by the
complainant to sign on his/her behalf.
Acceptance and processing of incomplete complaints will be
delayed pending receipt of additional information.
Time Limits for Filing Complaints
under EO 13160
As a general matter, all complaints must be filed within 180 days
of the alleged discrimination. However, the RRB may extend this time
limit for the reasons cited below:
- if the complainant can demonstrate that s/he had no notice of
the time limit and was not otherwise aware of it; or
- if the complainant can demonstrate that s/he was prevented by
circumstances beyond his/her control from submitting the complaint
in a timely fashion; or
- for other reasons, or under other circumstances, considered
sufficient by the RRB.
For purposes of determining when a complaint is timely filed, a
complaint mailed to the RRB will be deemed filed on the date that it
is postmarked. Any other complaint will be deemed filed on the date
that it is received by the DA, OEO or any other RRB office, or by
the RRB mailroom, whichever is earlier.
If a complaint is filed within 180 days of the alleged
discrimination, but the RRB subsequently determines that the
complaint is not a “complete complaint,” the complainant's claims
shall nevertheless be deemed filed in a timely manner, and the
complainant shall be given an appropriate opportunity to amend
his/her original complaint.
If a complaint is rejected as untimely filed, the complainant
will be so notified within 10 work days of receipt of the complaint
and will be afforded an opportunity to present any mitigating
reasons for the untimely filing of the complaint.
EO 13160 Class Complaints
Any individual who believes that any specific class of persons
has been subjected by the RRB to discrimination prohibited by EO
13160 or any of its implementing regulations, rules, policies, or
guidance, including DOJ's Guidance Document, may file a class
complaint with OEO, provided that the individual is either a member
of the allegedly aggrieved class of persons or a representative of a
member of the allegedly aggrieved class of persons.
If a claim of class discrimination is employment related and the
individual bring-ing the claim has not already filed an EEO claim,
OEO will give the individual the option of having the claim handled
in the EEO complaint forum (provided such a complaint would be
timely filed). This procedure will provide the most structured
manner of adjudicating the claim and will maximize the class
members' ability to obtain relief if the claim is sustained.
Class complaints filed solely under EO 13160 will be handled in a
manner similar to individual complaints, relying on EEOC guidance
and applicable case law relative to processing and adjudicating
class complaints of discrimination.
Section 501/504/508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Complaint Procedure
- Section 501 – prohibits discrimination and requires
affirmative action in Federal employment for individuals with
disabilities
- Section 504 – prohibits discrimination on the basis of
disability in Federally conducted programs
- Section 508 – requires accessibility of electronic and
information technology for Federal employees and individuals with
disabilities who are members of the public seeking information or
services from a Federal agency. Section 508 also requires that
individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public
seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access
to and use of information and data that is comparable to that
provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities,
unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.
- Reasonable Accommodation – RRB procedure for providing
reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental
limitations of a qualified applicant or employee with a disability
Who may file a complaint under Section 501/504/508
Any individual with a disability who believes that the Railroad
Retirement Board (RRB) has failed to comply with these requirements
may file a complaint regarding the allegation(s).
Complaints from RRB employees will be processed in accordance
with existing procedures set forth in
29 CFR Part 1614, pursuant to
Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act.
All other complaints will be processed in accordance with the
procedures set forth below.
Responsibility for this procedure is
vested in the RRB's Director of Administration and delegated to the
Director of Equal Opportunity for implementation.
How to file a complaint under
Section 501/504/508
Complaints alleging noncompliance must be addressed, in writing,
to the address below, within 90 calendar days of the alleged
noncompliance or the date the complainant became aware of the
noncompliance.
Henry Valiulis, Director
Office of Administration
Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092
The Director of Administration will forward all complaints to the
Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) for processing. The Director of
Equal Opportunity, or his/her designee, will accept and arrange for
investigation of all complete complaints for which the agency has
jurisdiction.
Complete Complaint under
Section 501/504/508
A "complete complaint" is a written statement that contains the
complainant's name and address and describes the agency's actions in
sufficient detail to inform the agency of the nature and date of the
alleged violation. A complaint filed on behalf of a class or third
party(s) must describe or identify (by name, if possible) the
alleged victims of the noncompliance.
- it must be signed by the complainant or by someone authorized
to do so on his/her behalf.
- it must describe the date of the alleged noncompliance; the
identity and location (as applicable) of the office, program or
activity where the alleged noncompliance occurred; the nature of
the alleged noncompliance; the identity (if known) of any agency
official(s) responsible for the alleged noncompliance; and the
relief sought.
- acceptance and processing of incomplete complaints will be
delayed pending receipt of additional information.
Reasonable Accommodation
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires federal agencies to
provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees or
applicants with disabilities, unless to do so would cause undue
hardship. This policy does not pertain to the general or railroad
public whom the RRB provides service.
The RRB is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to
its employees and applicants for employment in order to assure that
individuals with disabilities enjoy full access to equal employment
opportunity at the RRB.
If you are an employee or applicant who needs reasonable
accommodation, please see the
Reasonable Accommodation Procedures to view the agency
procedures for providing reasonable accommodation.
Further Information
For further information regarding laws, regulations, EO's, AFGE
Bargaining Agreements, complaint processing procedures, appeals or
other questions regarding any of the aforementioned complaint
procedures, contact:
Lynn Cousins, Director
Office of Equal Opportunity
U.S. Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street, Room 844
Chicago, IL 60611-2092
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