DENVER EEO ATTORNEY REPRESENTING FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
Pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16, persons have the right to equal federal employment opportunities regardless of their race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, or prior EEO activity.This includes protection against illegal harassment.
45 Days to File a Discrimination Claim
The federal government’s EEO process differs sharply from the private sector’s.See the EEOC’s website for more information at http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/index.cfm
A federal employee has only 45 calendar days to contact a designated EEO counselor at their agency to file an informal complaint of discrimination from the date of discrimination. The regulations provide that initial EEO counseling is to be completed within 30 days unless the employee agrees to an extension of time or agrees to submit their complaint to an agency alternative dispute resolution process, which will extend the EEO counseling process for an additional 60 days. If the complaint isn’t resolved within that time, then the employee will be issued a written notice of the right to file a formal EEO complaint within 15 calendar days of receiving that notice.
Once a formal EEO complaint is filed, the employee’s agency will accept or dismiss the complaint, in whole or in part. If accepted, the agency will conduct an investigation into the accepted issues.The regulations provide that the investigation is to be completed within 180 calendar days from the date on which the formal complaint was filed. The agency investigation consists of some sort of fact-finding.At the conclusion of the investigation, the agency will issue a report of investigation that includes all the evidence gathered by the EEO investigator.The employee has three options:
- request a hearing before an EEOC administrative judge;
- have the employing agency issue a written final decision; or
- opt out of the administrative process and file a civil action in federal district court
The employee may appeal the final agency decision (issued either after or instead of the EEOC hearing) to the EEOC headquarters in Washington, D.C. and may file their civil action in federal court at any time after the formal complaint has been pending for more than 180 days (even after the EEOC’s final appellate decision is issued).
Since 1995 Attorney Gregory Hall has represented federal employees before the EEOC.He has represented clients throughout the EEO process, from filing complaints with the EEO counselor to filing complaints in Federal District Court. The information on this blog or website is not legal advice.Contact Mr. Hall to set up an appointment to evaluate your case.
Denver EEO Attorney: http://www.denvereeolawyer.com
Gregory A. Hall
A Colorado Civil Rights Attorney
3570 E. 12th Avenue, Suite 200
Denver, CO 80206
Phone: 303-320-0584
Email: gregory@federallaw.com
