80 FR 59852 - Notice of Rights and Protections Available Under the Federal Antidiscrimination and Whistleblower Protection Laws

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 191 (October 2, 2015)

This Notice implements Title II of the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act of 2002). It is an annual obligation for Federal agencies to notify all employees, former employees, and applicants for Federal employment of the rights and protections available to them under the Federal Antidiscrimination and Whistleblower Protection Laws.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 191 (Friday, October 2, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59852-59854]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24996]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2015-0172]


Notice of Rights and Protections Available Under the Federal 
Antidiscrimination and Whistleblower Protection Laws

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation.

ACTION: No FEAR Act Notice.

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[[Page 59853]]

SUMMARY: This Notice implements Title II of the Notification and 
Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No 
FEAR Act of 2002). It is an annual obligation for Federal agencies to 
notify all employees, former employees, and applicants for Federal 
employment of the rights and protections available to them under the 
Federal Antidiscrimination and Whistleblower Protection Laws.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvette Rivera, Associate Director of 
Equal Employment Opportunity Programs, S-32, Departmental Office of 
Civil Rights, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W78-306, Washington, 
DC 20590, 202-366-5131 or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    You may retrieve this document online through the Federal Document 
Management System at http://www.regulations.gov. Electronic retrieval 
instructions are available under the help section of the Web site. An 
electronic copy is also available for download from the Government 
Printing Office's Electronic Bulletin Board at http://www.nara.gov/fedreg and the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.access.thefederalregister.org/nara.

No FEAR Act Notice

    On May 15, 2002, Congress enacted the ``Notification and Federal 
Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002,'' now 
recognized as the No FEAR Act (Pub. L. 107-174). One purpose of the Act 
is to ``require that Federal agencies be accountable for violations of 
antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws'' (Pub. L. 107-
174, Summary). In support of this purpose, Congress found that 
``agencies cannot be run effectively if those agencies practice or 
tolerate discrimination'' (Pub. L. 107-174, Title I, General 
Provisions, section 101(1)). The Act also requires the U.S. Department 
of Transportation (DOT) to provide this Notice to all DOT employees, 
former DOT employees, and applicants for DOT employment. This Notice is 
to inform you of the rights and protections available to you under 
Federal antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws.

Antidiscrimination Laws

    A Federal agency cannot discriminate against an employee or 
applicant with respect to the terms, conditions, or privileges of 
employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, 
disability, genetic information, equal pay/compensation, marital 
status, or political affiliation. One or more of the following statutes 
prohibit discrimination on these bases: 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(1), 29 U.S.C. 
631, 29 U.S.C. 633a, 29 U.S.C. 206(d), 29 U.S.C. 791, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-
16 and 2000ff.
    If you believe you were a victim of unlawful discrimination on the 
bases of race, color, sex (gender, pregnancy, sexual harassment, sexual 
orientation, or gender identity), national origin, religion, age (40 
and over), disability (mental or physical), equal pay/compensation, 
genetic information, or retaliation, you must contact an Equal 
Employment Opportunity (EEO) counselor within 45 calendar days of the 
alleged discriminatory action, or in the case of a personnel action, 
within 45 calendar days of the effective date of the action to try and 
resolve the matter informally. This must be done before filing a formal 
complaint of discrimination with DOT (See, e.g., 29 CFR part 1614).
    If you believe you were a victim of unlawful discrimination based 
on age, you must either contact an EEO counselor as noted above or give 
notice of intent to sue to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 
(EEOC) within 180 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory action. 
As an alternative to filing a complaint pursuant to 29 CFR part 1614, 
you can file a civil action in a United States district court under the 
Age Discrimination in Employment Act, against the head of an alleged 
discriminating agency, after giving the EEOC not less than a 30 day 
notice of the intent to file such action. You may file such notice in 
writing with the EEOC via mail at P.O. Box 77960, Washington, DC 20013, 
personal delivery, or facsimile within 180 days of the occurrence of 
the alleged unlawful practice.
    If you are alleging discrimination based on marital status or 
political affiliation, you may file a written discrimination complaint 
with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) (See Contact information 
below). In the alternative (or in some cases, in addition), you may 
pursue a discrimination complaint by filing a grievance through the DOT 
administrative or negotiated grievance procedures, if such procedures 
apply and are available. Form OSC-11 is available online at the OSC Web 
site http://www.osc.gov/index.htm, under the filing tab (Contact 
Information). Additionally, you can download the form under the same 
filing tab, under OSC Forms. Complete this form and mail it to the 
Complaints Examining Unit, U.S. Office of Special Counsel at 1730 M 
Street NW., Suite 218 Washington, DC 20036-4505. You also have the 
option to call the Complaints Examining Unit at (800) 872-9855 for 
additional assistance.
    If you are alleging compensation discrimination pursuant to the 
Equal Pay Act, and wish to pursue your allegations through the 
administrative process, you must contact an EEO counselor within 45 
calendar days of the alleged discriminatory action as such complaints 
are processed under EEOC's regulations at 29 CFR part 1614. 
Alternatively, you may file a civil action in a court of competent 
jurisdiction within two years, or if the violation is willful, three 
years of the date of the alleged violation, regardless of whether you 
pursued any administrative complaint processing. The filing of a 
complaint or appeal pursuant to 29 CFR part 1614 shall not toll the 
time for filing a civil action.

Whistleblower Protection Laws

    A DOT employee with authority to take, direct others to take, 
recommend, or approve any personnel action must not use that authority 
to take, fail to take, or threaten to take, a personnel action against 
an employee or applicant because of a disclosure of information by that 
individual that is reasonably believed to evidence violations of law, 
rule, or regulation; gross mismanagement; gross waste of funds; an 
abuse of authority; or a substantial and specific danger to public 
health or safety, unless the disclosure of such information is 
specifically prohibited by law and such information is specifically 
required by Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of 
national defense or the conduct of foreign affairs.
    Retaliation against a DOT employee or applicant for making a 
protected disclosure is prohibited (5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8)). If you 
believe you are a victim of whistleblower retaliation, you may file a 
written complaint with the OSC at 1730 M Street NW., Suite 218, 
Washington, DC 202-036-4505 using Form OSC-11. Alternatively, you may 
file online through the OSC Web site at http://www.osc.gov.

Disciplinary Actions

    Under existing laws, DOT retains the right, where appropriate, to 
discipline a DOT employee who engages in conduct that is inconsistent 
with Federal Antidiscrimination and Whistleblower Protection laws up to 
and including removal from Federal service. If OSC

[[Page 59854]]

initiates an investigation under 5 U.S.C. 1214 according to 5 U.S.C. 
1214(f), DOT must seek approval from the Special Counsel to discipline 
employees for, among other activities, engaging in prohibited 
retaliation. Nothing in the No FEAR Act alters existing laws, or 
permits an agency to take unfounded disciplinary action against a DOT 
employee, or to violate the procedural rights of a DOT employee accused 
of discrimination.

Additional Information

    For more information regarding the No FEAR Act regulations, refer 
to 5 CFR part 724, as well as the appropriate office(s) within your 
agency (e.g., EEO/civil rights offices, human resources offices, or 
legal offices). You can find additional information regarding Federal 
antidiscrimination, whistleblower protection, and retaliation laws at 
the EEOC Web site at http://www.eeoc.gov and the OSC Web site at http://www.osc.gov.

Existing Rights Unchanged

    Pursuant to section 205 of the No FEAR Act, neither the Act nor 
this notice creates, expands, or reduces any rights otherwise available 
to any employee, former employee, or applicant under the laws of the 
United States, including the provisions of law specified in 5 U.S.C. 
2302(d).

    Issued on Washington, DC, on August 28, 2015.
Mary N. Whigham Jones,
Deputy Director, Departmental Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department 
of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2015-24996 Filed 10-1-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P