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About the Civil Rights Program
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has established an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Complaint Process, which is available to employees (current and former) and applicants for employment with the agency, who believe they have been subjected to discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion (including reasonable accommodation for religious beliefs and practices), gender (including gender-based wage discrimination or harassment), age (40 and over), mental or physical disability (including reasonable accommodation), sexual orientation, status as a parent, and/or genetic information. For more information, see How to File an EEO Complaint.
The NRC's EEO complaint process is also available to employees (current and former) and applicants, who believe they have been subjected to reprisal or workplace harassment for participating in a protected activity or opposing practices made unlawful by the related Federal Civil Rights Statutes, Regulations, and Policies.
Note that discrimination based on sexual orientation and status as a parent are not bases covered by the regulations of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), set forth in Title 29, Part 1614, of the Code of Federal Regulations (29 CFR Part 1614). However, allegations of discrimination on that basis may be pursued with the NRC's Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR).
Contractor employees may qualify as “employees of the agency” within the context of the anti-discrimination statutes, and must contact an EEO counselor within 45 calendars days of alleged discrimination by the NRC. Contractor employees will qualify as “employees of the agency,” for the purpose of filing a complaint of employment discrimination, only if they meet specific criteria including that the NRC exercises control over the means and manner of their performance. Contractor employees should also pursue resolution of their complaint through their employer’s complaint process.