Who Can File a Charge of
Discrimination?
Any employee, former employee, or applicant for employment with the
Unites States Navy, who believes that he or she has been discriminated against
because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental
disability, genetics, and/or reprisal in an employment matter subject to the
control of the Navy may file an individual complaint of discrimination. A
representative designated in writing by the complainant may also file the
complaint for the complainant. However, the complainant must sign the formal
complaint.
How Is a Charge of
Discrimination Filed?
A charge may be filed by mail or in person.
Where Do I Go to File a Charge
of Discrimination?
Your local Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Office or any EEO Office.
CNREURAFSWA EEO Office: DSN
314-626-5755
What Information Must Be
Provided to File a Charge?
The complaining party's name, address, and telephone number, the name,
address, and telephone number of the respondent employer, employment agency, or
union that is alleged to have discriminated, and number of employees (or union
members) if known, a short description of the alleged violation (the event that
caused the complaining party to believe that his or her rights were violated),
and the date(s) of the alleged violation.
What Are the Time Limits for
Filing a Charge of Discrimination?
Within 45 calendar days from the date of the matter, or the date the
individual became aware of, or reasonably should have become aware of, the
discriminatory event or personnel action.
What Remedies Are Available When
Discrimination Is Found?
The "relief" or remedies available for employment
discrimination, whether caused by intentional acts or by practices that have a
discriminatory effect, may include: back pay, hiring, promotion, reinstatement,
front pay, reasonable accommodation, or other actions that will make an
individual "whole" (in the condition he/she would have been but for
the discrimination). Remedies also may include payment of attorneys' fees,
expert witness fees, and court costs.
What Is EEOC and How Does It
Operate?
EEOC is an independent federal agency originally created by Congress in
1964 to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Commission is
composed of five Commissioners and a General Counsel appointed by the President
and confirmed by the Senate. Commissioners are appointed for five-year
staggered terms; the General Counsel's term is four years. The President
designates a Chair and a Vice-Chair. The Chair is the chief executive officer
of the Commission. The Commission has authority to establish equal employment
policy and to approve litigation. The General Counsel is responsible for
conducting litigation. EEOC carries out its enforcement, education and
technical assistance activities through 50 field offices serving every part of
the nation. The nearest EEOC field office may be contacted by calling:
1-800-669-4000 (voice) or 1-800-669-6820 (TTY). Information about EEOC and the
laws it enforces also can be found at the following internet address:
http://www.eeoc.gov.
What is Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR)?
Agencies and complainants have realized many advantages from utilizing
ADR. ADR offers the parties the opportunity for an early, informal resolution
of disputes in a mutually satisfactory fashion. The Department of the Navy uses
mediation. Mediation is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) that is
offered by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as an
alternative to the traditional investigative and litigation processes.
Mediation is an informal process in which a trained mediator assists the
parties to reach a negotiated resolution of a charge of discrimination. The
mediator does not decide who is right or wrong and has no authority to impose a
settlement on the parties. Instead, the mediator helps the parties to jointly
explore and reconcile their differences.
What is 29 Code of Federal
Regulation (CFR) 1614?
The civil rights laws enforced by the EEOC, which prohibit employment
discrimination on the bases of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age
and disability, as well as retaliation, apply to employment discrimination by
the federal government. The federal sector procedural rule approved by the EEOC
updates and improves the procedures which govern how the discrimination claims
of federal employees are processed administratively.
What is a Management Directive
110 (MD 110)?
The directive provides federal agencies with Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission policies, procedures, and guidance relating to the
processing of employment discrimination complaints governed by the Commission's
regulations in 29 C.F.R. Part 1614.
What are the goals of the Equal
Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program?
The goals are to provide a full and fair opportunity for all employees,
regardless of race, age, sex color, national origin, disability or genetics to
contribute to the extent of their abilities in pursuing a career in the federal
service; and to provide for the non-discriminatory treatment of all employees
in the course of carrying out their duties in the federal workplace.
Is the EEO Program only for
minorities and women?
No. The program is designed to provide equal opportunity for all
applicants and employees.
What efforts will be made to
resolve my complaint?
The EEO Office will attempt to resolve your complaint through
discussions with management, or other involved individuals or offices, if
appropriate. In addition, you will be offered an opportunity to submit your
complaint to mediation, in an attempt to resolve the problem at the lowest possible
level. If your complaint is resolved, you and the manager involved will be
asked to enter into a negotiated settlement agreement which will document what
was done to resolve the complaint and who entered into the agreement.
What are my rights if Alternative
Dispute Resolution (ADR) does not resolve the complaint?
You will be given a written notice of your right to file and formal
complaint which spells out the time-frames and provides instructions on what
must be done to file a formal EEO complaint.
May I be represented during the processing of an EEO Complaint?
Yes. You may choose anyone, an attorney, friend or fellow employee, to
be your representative. If you choose a fellow employee, both of you will be
granted a reasonable amount of duty time to process your complaint.
Doesn't Affirmative Employment
mean quotas?
No. Quotas are illegal. The purpose of the Affirmative Employment is to
increase the pool of qualified applicants by using aggressive recruitment and
outreach techniques to find well-qualified applicants from a wide variety of
sources.
What is Affirmative Employment?
Affirmative Employment is a powerful tool used to stop and correct
discrimination. The local Affirmative Employment Program describes how
management intends to overcome any workforce imbalances by means of training,
broader recruitment efforts, creation of upward-mobility positions, etc
Affirmative Employment is a program that seeks to ensure equal access to
opportunities for all people, not only women and minorities.