Federal Employees Frequently Asked Questions

The initial communication to the EEO counselor where the employee discloses their belief of discrimination (also referred to as a pre-complaint). The informal complaint can be submitted via email, fax, telephone or in-person and must be made within 45 calendar days of the discriminatory act. There is no “official” template form for informal complaints.

The form you receive after EEO counseling ends notifying you of your right to pursue your complaint further via formal complaint. You have 15 calendar days starting the day after receipt of the notice to file your formal complaint. Carefully identify all harassing and/or discriminatory acts within the formal complaint and identify the basis for the discrimination (race, religion, disability, etc). Upon receipt of your formal complaint, the Agency will begin investigating your EEO allegations.

The Agency has 180 days to complete its investigation but can request an extension. Once complete you will receive a copy of the report of investigation (ROI) and a letter explaining that you can i)  do nothing and your complaint will be dismissed; ii) request a final agency decision (FAD) or iii) request a hearing before the EEOC where an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will make a decision. You have 30 calendar days after receiving the copy of the Report of Investigation (ROI) to decide.

The Acknowledgment and Order is a standardized form the EEOC uses to acknowledge they received your hearing request, identifies the ALJ appointed to your case, and identifies various deadlines by which you and the agency must complete certain tasks (e.g., initiate and complete discovery) and highlights various practices and procedures that will govern processing of your case.

You have 45 calendar days from the date of the discriminatory or harassing event to make EEO contact with an EEO counselor.

You can find your EEO counselor’s contact information on your Agency website. Email and phone call suffices to establish contact. We strongly recommend creating a written record to prove contact. Example, send an email with the subject “Smith – Informal EEO Complaint.” In the message summarize your allegations (discrimination, harassment, retaliation, reasonable accommodation denial); identify your protected class and identify the evidence to support your allegations.

EEO contact refers to the communication that you initiate with your EEO counselor disclosing your EEO allegations. This is known as an informal EEO complaint or a pre-complaint.  

Within 45 days of any harassing incident. The EEOC does not require separate EEO contact for every harassing incident (some hostile work environment claims can comprise of 20+ harassing incidents). Rather you need to make timely (45 days) EEO contact with respect to one harassing incident. Once you do this, the entire hostile work environment which may encompass numerous harassing incidents some of which could be 1 year old will be considered timely.

There are limited exceptions that may apply. Nonetheless, we recommend that you still make EEO contact.

EEO counselors remain neutral throughout the counseling process trying to resolve the workplace conflict. EEO counselors go between both parties gathering some basic information to learn more about the conflict and identify common ground. While well-intentioned, EEO counselors do not have legal authority to force parties to agree to anything.  Thus, expectations should be tempered during this process.

Up to 90 days at which point the EEO counselor may request an extension from the Complainant.

A structured approach the EEO counselor takes to find a mutually agreeable solution to the workplace conflict. Oftentimes, a specific date is set for the mediation. Any agreement reached is memorialized in writing, signed by both parties, and enforceable.

Up to 180 days, but the Agency can request an extension.

You will receive an Acknowledgement and Order and then engage in Discovery. Carefully read the Acknowledgement and Order as it contains important deadlines for both parties.

Pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages. Pecuniary damages represent out of pocket expenses you incurred as a result of the discrimination, e.g., attorney fees, medical costs, loss of pay, leave reimbursement. Non-pecuniary damages generally refer to pain and suffering damages.

No

Race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability and genetic information (including family medical history).

Treating an employee unfavorably because of their membership in a protected class.

Workplace behavior becomes unlawful harassment when i) the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment; or ii) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive

Treating an employee unfavorably because they participated in EEO activity. This is also known as reprisal.

An individual engages in EEO activity when they: (1) oppose a practice they consider to be discriminatory; (2) participate in an employment discrimination proceeding; or (3) engage in other protected EEO activity.

Communicating a reasonable, good faith belief that the agency is engaging in unlawful discrimination. Common examples include disclosing your belief that you or others are being subjected to discrimination; and refusing to follow an instruction reasonably believed to be discriminatory.

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Any request for a disability or disability reasonable accommodation constitutes EEO activity that you cannot be retaliated for.

Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) employees or job candidates with a qualified disability are entitled to a modification or adjustment to the job or work environment which enables them to successfully perform their job.

The short answer is yes. Job reassignment can be considered an accommodation of “last resort.” There are a few stipulations, the federal government does not have to “create” a new position for you, it only applies to existing vacant positions. You must be qualified for the position, and you likely will not receive any special consideration over other applicants for the position, but! it is conceivable to think you'd receive an "unspoken" advantage. Said differently, you still must compete for the job. It may be possible for an attorney to help negotiate a job reassignment in a possible settlement agreement.

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Injuries must have occurred during the performance of job duties. This includes injuries during meal and rest breaks that occur on the worksite. Benefits will not be given if injury or death is purposefully caused by the injured employee, or by the intoxication of the injured employee.

An injury or wound caused by external force, including stress or strain. The injury must occur at a specific time and place, and impair a specific bodily function. function of the body. The injury must be caused by a specific event or incident, or a series of events or incidents, within a single day or work shift. An example of a traumatic injury would be a correctional officer suffering an assault.

Any condition caused by the work environment over a period longer than one workday or shift, e.g., infection, repeated stress/strain, exposure to toxins/fumes, or other continuing conditions. An example is debilitating back pain from repeatedly lifting heavy objects. The length of exposure, not the cause of the injury or the medical condition which results, determines whether an injury is traumatic or occupational. For instance, if an employee injured their back from a single heavy lifting event, the incident constitutes a traumatic injury. If the employee strained their back after repeated days of heavy lifting that constitutes an occupational disease.

You have (3) three different avenues to challenge an unfavorable initial decision. Each avenue includes advantages/disadvantages and different timelines for filing which are strictly enforced. 1) you may request a hearing before an OWCP representative who works outside the District Office that initially denied your claim. 2) you can request reconsideration before the OWCP. 3) you may appeal to the Employees Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB).

This appeal option can be particularly useful to resolve any outstanding questions. Example, resolving factual questions about the circumstances of the incident.

A request for reconsideration must be supported by new and relevant evidence and/or a new legal argument not previously considered by OWCP in the initial decision.

The ECAB does not consider new evidence. ECAB appeals are a good option if there is no new evidence and/or you believe the OWCP did not follow its own procedures in arriving at its initial decision.

A request for reconsideration must be supported by new and relevant evidence and/or a new legal argument not previously considered by OWCP in the initial decision.

Your initial workers comp claim that you file via ECOMP. Form CA-1 pertains to all occupational diseases.

Federal employees complete this form when they suffered a traumatic injury within the last 48 hours. This form pertains to medical care expenses and guarantees the federal government pays for them.

Federal employees complete this form when suffering from an occupational disease or a non-traumatic work injury. This form pertains to medical care expenses, but unlike the Form CA-16 does NOT guarantee medical expenses.

A federal employee’s notice of recurrence of disability and claim for compensation. This form pertains to work injuries that healed but then become re-aggravated while working.

Known as a Claim for Compensation on Account of Traumatic Injury or Occupational Disease.  Used for the following purposes: i) to claim lost wages when continuation of pay expires on a traumatic injury, and to claim wage loss on occupational disease claims; ii) to initiate leave buy backs; iii) to claim a scheduled award (employee has reached maximum medical improvement but has suffered a permanent loss or impairment to a part of their body); or iv) to keep compensation for wage loss coming in on a regular basis for employees on leave without pay.

Known as a duty status report which permits your physician to keep your supervisor informed on work restrictions and/or duty status.

A work stoppage by: i) spontaneous return of a prior work-related injury without an intervening cause; ii) return or increase of disability due to a consequential injury (an injury that occurs due to a predisposed weakness relating to a work-related injury); or iii) withdrawal from a prior light duty assignment when the employee is unable to perform the full duty job.

The documented need for additional medical treatment after released from prior medical treatment for the work-related injury.