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EEO Overview

NO FEAR Act

Nondiscrimination

 

General EEO Complaint Procedure

The Railroad Retirement Board is an equal opportunity employer. It is illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, or age. A person who files a complaint or participates in an investigation of an EEO complaint, or who opposes an employment practice made illegal under any of the statutes enforced by EEOC, is protected from retaliation.

Who May File a Complaint of Discrimination

If you are an RRB employee, former employee or applicant for employment and you believe you have been discriminated against on the basis of one or more of the above categories, you have the right to file a complaint of discrimination. 

How to File

Your first step is to contact the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) to make a request for an EEO Counselor. The request must be made within 45 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory act or, if the matter involves a personnel action, it must be made within 45 days after the effective date or the date you became aware of, or reasonably should have become aware of, the alleged discriminatory personnel action.

A member of the OEO staff will assign and refer your complaint to a trained EEO Counselor for an informal inquiry. You may be provided the option of participating in the agency’s Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program. If offered, you may choose either counseling or ADR. If counseling is elected, the EEO Counselor will attempt to resolve the complaint, ordinarily within 30 days. An election for ADR will normally conclude within 90 days. At the end of counseling, or if ADR is unsuccessful, you will be provided an opportunity to file a formal complaint of discrimination. 

You should also be aware that there are federal protections from discrimination on other bases including sexual orientation, status as a parent, and marital status. OEO can provide information about the procedures for filing a complaint on these bases.

Executive Order 13160 Complaint Procedure

This Executive Order provides that “No individual, on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation and status as a parent, shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in, a Federally conducted education or training program or activity.”

Definitions

Federally conducted education and training programs and activities include programs and activities conducted, operated, or undertaken by an executive department or agency.

Status as a parent refers to the status of an individual who is:

  • a biological parent;
  • an adoptive parent;
  • a foster parent;
  • a stepparent;
  • a custodian of a legal ward;
  • in loco parentis over such an individual; or
  • actively seeking legal custody or adoption of such an individual.

To be covered by this procedure, the claimed parental status must relate to a child or other individual who is under the age of 18 or who is 18 or older but is incapable of self-care because of a physical or mental disability.

Who may file a complaint under EO 13160

Any individual who believes that s/he has been discriminated against by the RRB in violation of EO 13160 or its implementing regulations, rules, or policies may, personally or through a representative, file a written complaint with the RRB.

How to file a complaint

Complaints must be addressed, within 180 calendar days of the alleged noncompliance or the date the complainant became aware of the noncompliance, in writing, to the address below:

Henry Valiulis
Director of Administration
Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092

The Director of Administration (DA) will forward all complaints to the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) for processing. The Director of Equal Opportunity (DEO), or his/her designee, will accept and arrange for investigation of all complete complaints for which the agency has jurisdiction.

Complete Complaints

In order to be accepted by the RRB, all written complaints must be “complete complaints.” A complete complaint must:

  • include the name, address, and telephone number of the complainant;
  • identify whether the complainant is a federal employee and whether the complainant’s involvement in the relevant education program was related to his/her employment;
  • describe the alleged discriminatory conduct in sufficient detail to inform the agency as to the nature and approximate date of the alleged violation; and
  • be signed by the complainant or by someone authorized by the complainant to sign on his/her behalf.

Acceptance and processing of incomplete complaints will be delayed pending receipt of additional information.

Time Limits for Filing Complaints under EO 13160

As a general matter, all complaints must be filed within 180 days of the alleged discrimination. However, the RRB may extend this time limit for the reasons cited below:

  • if the complainant can demonstrate that s/he had no notice of the time limit and was not otherwise aware of it; or
  • if the complainant can demonstrate that s/he was prevented by circumstances beyond his/her control from submitting the complaint in a timely fashion; or
  • for other reasons, or under other circumstances, considered sufficient by the RRB.

For purposes of determining when a complaint is timely filed, a complaint mailed to the RRB will be deemed filed on the date that it is postmarked. Any other complaint will be deemed filed on the date that it is received by the DA, OEO or any other RRB office, or by the RRB mailroom, whichever is earlier.

If a complaint is filed within 180 days of the alleged discrimination, but the RRB subsequently determines that the complaint is not a “complete complaint,” the complainant’s claims shall nevertheless be deemed filed in a timely manner, and the complainant shall be given an appropriate opportunity to amend his/her original complaint.

If a complaint is rejected as untimely filed, the complainant will be so notified within 10 work days of receipt of the complaint and will be afforded an opportunity to present any mitigating reasons for the untimely filing of the complaint.

Class Complaints

Any individual who believes that any specific class of persons has been subjected by the RRB to discrimination prohibited by EO 13160 or any of its implementing regulations, rules, policies, or guidance, including DOJ’s Guidance Document, may file a class complaint with OEO, provided that the individual is either a member of the allegedly aggrieved class of persons or a representative of a member of the allegedly aggrieved class of persons.

If a claim of class discrimination is employment related and the individual bring-ing the claim has not already filed an EEO claim, OEO will give the individual the option of having the claim handled in the EEO complaint forum (provided such a complaint would be timely filed). This procedure will provide the most structured manner of adjudicating the claim and will maximize the class members’ ability to obtain relief if the claim is sustained.

Class complaints filed solely under EO 13160 will be handled in a manner similar to individual complaints, relying on EEOC guidance and applicable case law relative to processing and adjudicating class complaints of discrimination.

Section 501/504/508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Complaint Procedure

  • Section 501 – prohibits discrimination and requires affirmative action in Federal employment for individuals with disabilities
  • Section 504 – prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in Federally conducted programs
  • Section 508 – requires accessibility of electronic and information technology for Federal employees and individuals with disabilities who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.
  • Reasonable Accommodation – RRB procedure for providing reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified applicant or employee with a disability

Who may file a complaint under Section 501/504/508

Any individual with a disability who believes that the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has failed to comply with these requirements may file a complaint regarding the allegation(s).

Complaints from RRB employees will be processed in accordance with existing procedures set forth in 29 CFR Part 1614, pursuant to Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act.

All other complaints will be processed in accordance with the procedures set forth below.

Responsibility for this procedure is vested in the RRB's Director of Administration and delegated to the Director of Equal Opportunity for implementation.

How to file a complaint

Complaints alleging noncompliance must be addressed, in writing, to the address below, within 90 calendar days of the alleged noncompliance or the date the complainant became aware of the noncompliance.

Henry Valiulis
Director of Administration
Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092

The Director of Administration will forward all complaints to the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) for processing. The Director of Equal Opportunity, or his/her designee, will accept and arrange for investigation of all complete complaints for which the agency has jurisdiction.

Complete Complaint

A "complete complaint" is a written statement that contains the complainant's name and address and describes the agency's actions in sufficient detail to inform the agency of the nature and date of the alleged violationA complaint filed on behalf of a class or third party(s) must describe or identify (by name, if possible) the alleged victims of the noncompliance.

  • it must be signed by the complainant or by someone authorized to do so on his/her behalf.
  • it must describe the date of the alleged noncompliance; the identity and location (as applicable) of the office, program or activity where the alleged noncompliance occurred; the nature of the alleged noncompliance; the identity (if known) of any agency official(s) responsible for the alleged noncompliance; and the relief sought.
  • acceptance and processing of incomplete complaints will be delayed pending receipt of additional information.

Further Information

For further information regarding laws, regulations, EO's, AFGE Bargaining Agreements, complaint processing procedures, appeals or other questions regarding any of the aforementioned complaint procedures, contact:          

Lynn Cousins
Office of Equal Opportunity
US Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street, Room 844
Chicago, IL  60611-2092
Telephone:    (312) 751-4942 
Facsimile:    (312) 751-7179
TDD:    (312) 751-4334
Email:    Lynn.Cousins@rrb.gov

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