It is the Department of Labor's (DOL) policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all employees of DOL and applicants for DOL employment.

Important aspects of an effective EEO program include a discrimination complaint processing system that facilitates the early informal resolution of complaints.

This poster provides information on how the EEO complaint process works.

Bases

Complaints of discrimination may be filed by a DOL employee or an applicant for DOL employment who believes that they have been discriminated against on any of these bases:

  • race
  • color
  • religion
  • sex
  • national origin
  • age
  • disability
  • genetic information
  • pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions
  • retaliation for engaging in protected EEO activity

Pre-Complaint Process

Filing

An aggrieved individual (a DOL employee or applicant for employment with DOL) must contact an EEO Counselor within 45 calendar days of an alleged discriminatory action, or in the case of a personnel action, within 45 calendar days of the effective date of action. You may initiate contact with a counselor by:

Although you may also call the CRC or one of the EEO Counselors directly, email is preferred to ensure that the date of contact is properly recorded.

Counseling

The EEO Counselor explains the EEO complaint process and informs the aggrieved individual about their rights and responsibilities. The Counselor makes whatever informal inquiry they believe is appropriate to define the issues and aids in resolving the complaint. An EEO Counselor will conduct fact-finding within 30 calendar days from the date of initial contact with the aggrieved individual. Counseling may be extended upon agreement of both CRC and the aggrieved individual up to 60 additional days if more time is needed to attempt a resolution. The aggrieved individual may elect, at the time of initial contact, a process which attempts resolution through mediation or alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Formal Complaint Process

Filing

If a resolution is not achieved during EEO counseling, and the aggrieved individual wishes to file a formal complaint, they must do so with within 15 calendar days of receiving the "Notice of the Right to file a Discrimination Complaint." When filing a formal complaint with CRC, please use CRC-FORMAL-COMPLAINTS@dol.gov.

Acceptance or Dismissal

After receiving a formal complaint, CRC will review the Counselor's Summary Report and the allegations in the formal complaint to decide if the complaint will be accepted for investigation. If the complaint or portions of it are dismissed, the Complainant will be provided, in writing, the reason(s) for dismissal and informed of their right to appeal. If the complaint is accepted, an investigator will be assigned by the CRC to conduct an impartial and appropriate investigation of the alleged discrimination.

Investigations

The investigator (a DOL employee or a contract investigator) will be authorized to conduct an investigation and may administer oaths to obtain sworn or affirmed testimony.

CRC must complete a fair investigation of the claims within 180 days of the date you filed your complaint. Both sides can agree in writing to extend the time by up to 90 more days. The time to complete the investigation will also be extended by 180 days, up to 360 days total, if you add new claims (amendments) to your complaint.

A complainant may request to amend a formal complaint to add new claims (without seeking EEO counseling) at any time prior to the dismissal of the complaint or the conclusion of the investigation. For new claims to be accepted as amendments depends on whether they are like or related to those raised in the original complaint. Amendments should be submitted to the CRC in writing by emailing CRC-FORMAL-COMPLAINTS@dol.gov. 

When CRC completes its investigation, it will send a Report of Investigation (ROI), which will include all the evidence gathered during the investigation. The ROI is not a decision on the complaint. Once the complainant receives the ROI, they have 30 days to choose either 1) a Final Agency Decision (FAD) based on the written record, or 2) a hearing with an EEOC administrative judge. If the complainant fails to choose within 30 days, CRC will prepare a FAD. Complainants are provided more information about these options with the ROI.

DOL's FAD

If complainant requests a FAD, the CRC Director or their designee will issue a decision based on information in the ROI within 60 calendar days.

EEOC Hearing

Except in certain circumstances, such as when a claim is appealable to the Merit Systems Protection Board, complainants may request a hearing by an EEOC Administrative Judge (AJ).  Requests must be received within 30 calendar days of receipt of the ROI. The AJ may in some cases allow the parties to engage in discovery to further develop the record. The AJ may also conduct a hearing. Ultimately the AJ will issue a decision on the case. After the AJ issues a decision, the agency has 40 days to issue a Final Agency Action (FAA), saying whether it will follow the judge's decision. The FAA will explain the right to appeal to the EEOC's Office of Federal Operations (OFO), which is separate from the part of the EEOC that handles hearings. The FAA will also explain the right to file a lawsuit in federal court. If the agency does not fully accept the judge's decision, it must appeal at the same time it issues the FAA. If DOL does not appeal the AJ's decision, or issue an FAA with 40 days, the AJ's decision becomes the final decision of the Department.

Appeals

If a complainant is dissatisfied with a FAD or FAA, the complainant may appeal to the EEOC's Office of Federal Operations (OFO) within 30 calendar days of receipt of the FAD or FAA. Appeals may be filed electronically by using the following link to the EEOC's Federal Sector EEO Portal (FedSEP): https://publicportal.eeoc.gov/Portal/Login.aspx. Additional information on how to file electronically may be found by using the link above.

Right to File A Civil Action

If complainant does not file an appeal with the OFO, they may file a civil action in an appropriate United States District Court within 90 calendar days of receipt of the FAD or FAA.

If complainant files an OFO appeal and is then dissatisfied with the OFO's decision, they can also file a civil action in a U.S. District Court within 90 calendar days of receipt of the OFO's decision. Complainants may also request OFO reconsideration within 20 calendar days of receipt of the OFO's decision. A civil action may also be filed if the OFO does not issue a decision within 180 calendar days from the date that the appeal was filed.

A complainant who raises a claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) may bypass the administrative process by filing a notice of intent to sue with the EEOC at least 30 calendar days before filing a civil action in court. A complainant also does not have to file an administrative complaint before filing a civil action under the Equal Pay Act (EPA), which prohibits discrimination based on sex in the payment of wages.

EEO Process vs. Union Process

Any employee within the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Local 12, or the National Union of Labor Investigators, Independent (NULI) bargaining units may file allegations of discrimination under the negotiated grievance procedures of their respective union. Employees within Local 12 or NULI must choose whether the allegations of discrimination will be processed under the negotiated grievance procedure or under the EEO complaint procedure. Election will be determined by whichever event comes first, the date of the grievance or the date of the formal complaint.

If employees represented by the National Council of Field Labor Locals (NCFLL) file a grievance and an informal EEO complaint on the same matter, the grievance will be held in abeyance. If a formal EEO complaint is filed, the grievance will be terminated. However, in the event that DOL dismisses the EEO complaint for reasons other than on the merits, the NCFLL represented employee has 30 days from receipt of the dismissal to resurrect the grievance.

Class Complaints

A class is a group of employees, former employees or applicants for employment who believe that a DOL policy or practice discriminates against members of the group (known as the "class") based on one or more of the protected bases listed above. A member of the group (the "class agent") may file a class complaint in writing with the CRC alleging discrimination against the class.

Following EEO counseling, a formal class complaint may be filed within 15 days of receipt of the Notice of Right to File. Within 30 days of receiving the complaint, the CRC will forward the complaint and the counseling record to the EEOC for a determination on whether the class may be "certified." For this to occur, the following conditions must be established:

  • The class contains so many members that consolidated processing of individual complaints is not practical;
  • There are questions of fact common to the class;
  • Claims by the class agent are typical of the claims of the class; and
  • The agent or representative of the class will fairly and adequately protect the interests of all class members.

A complainant may ask for EEOC class certification at any reasonable point in the process when it becomes apparent that there are class implications to the claim raised in an individual complaint.

Additional Information

If you have any questions about the complaint process, you can reach the OIE informal complaint team at CRC-INFORMAL-COMPLAINTS@dol.gov or the formal complaint team at CRC-FORMAL-COMPLAINTS@dol.gov. You can also reach the CRC with more general questions by calling (202) 693-6500 or emailing CivilRightsCenter@dol.gov.