Notification
and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Retaliation Act
of 2002
On May
15, 2002, President Bush signed legislation called the No
FEAR Act. This
act, which took effect on October 1, 2003, makes Federal
agencies individually accountable for violations of anti-discrimination
and whistleblower protection laws. Requirements and agency
responsibilities under the No FEAR Act include:
Payment of Settlements
and Judgments
Agencies that lose or settle discrimination and whistleblower cases
must pay judgments out of their individual budgets. In the past,
most of these settlements and judgments were paid from a governmentwide “judgment
fund.” Under the new law, agencies must now reimburse the fund
for court judgments and settlement payments to complainants.
Employee
Information and Education
Agencies must
give their employees, former employees, and applicants
for employment written notification of discrimination
and whistleblower protection laws. This written notification
must include posting the information on the agency’s
Web site. Agencies are also required to provide their
employees with training regarding the rights and remedies
applicable to them under these laws.
Training
for Managers
Agencies should
ensure that managers have adequate training in the management
of a diverse workforce and in dispute resolution and other
essential communication skills.
Annual
Reports to Congress
Each
agency must file an annual report with Congress, the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Attorney General
providing information about discrimination and whistleblower
cases filed against the agency, including details on how
cases were resolved and any disciplinary actions against
agency employees resulting from violations of discrimination
and whistleblower protection laws.
Online
Posting of EEO Complaint Data
Each Federal agency must post on its public Web site summary
statistical data relating to equal opportunity complaints
filed against the agency. The agency must post data for
the current fiscal year on a cumulative basis (year-to-date
information), updated quarterly. An agency also must post
year-end data for the five previous fiscal years for comparison
purposes. The posting of EEO data on agency public web
sites is intended to help Congress, Federal agencies, and
the public assess whether and the extent to which agencies
are living up to their equal employment opportunity responsibilities.
For additional information, please
contact the Equal Opportunity Office
at (202) 231-8178.
Equal
Employment Opportunity Data Posted Pursuant to the No FEAR
Act
