Informal and Formal Complaint Process

➤ Acts of Harm

Writing a clear and effective complaint is half of the battle. You must know the Issues and Bases of your complaint. You must be able to count the number of allegations in your complaint. An allegation should contain no more than one act of harm.

An “act of harm” is what your supervisor did to you or failed to provide you. Removal, suspension, warning, low rating, negative employment reference, etc. are what your supervisor or the management official did to you in adverse “acts of harm.” There are positive “acts of harm.” Denied accommodation, denied leave, denied bonus, denied transfer request, denied telework, non-selection, non-referral for job interview, etc. are what your supervisor or selection official fail to provide. These are the negative “acts of harm.” Allegations of acts of harm must be factual. If any have no dates of occurrence, they are not factual. If any have no full names and job titles, they are unclear. Always provide a full name (unless repeated frequently). Always provide the year (unless repeated frequently).

When you contact EEO counselor, you must submit in writing a complete EEO complaint. If a complaint has the following elements, it is complete (whether they are written in the Agency’s EEO intake form or not): You name, your contact information, issues and bases (preceded by: “I want to file a complaint of discrimination as follows:”, your signature and date.

29 C.F.R. §1614.105(g) states: "The Counselor shall not attempt in any way to restrain the aggrieved person from filing a complaint."  Unfortunately, based on what my clients tell me, too many EEO counselors do "restrain the aggrieved person from filing a complaint." Despite this requirement, you will be surprise how many times the EEO counselor tries to undermine your allegations by delay or denial of receipt of your complaint and by misrepresenting your claim (so as to water it down or make it untimely, etc.). I surmise that more than half of the “informal” EEO complaints are ignored or dismissed by active restraints on the part of the EEO counselors in the federal agencies.

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➤ Initial Contact with EEO Office

Phone contact is not advisable. Contact via fax, email, or certified or priority mail with delivery confirmation. Make sure you identify issues and basis to avoid dismissal later on and to establish timeliness of your filing. 

• Within 45 days of the “act of harm,” the EEO office must be contacted (preferably by email with “issues” and “bases” articulated clearly and succinctly).

• Do not argue or prove your case to the EEO counselor. Simply submit a list of “acts of harm” with dates and names.

• Do not provide evidence to the EEO counselor. He or she has no authority to dismiss your claims.

• A sample of allegation: “Based on my race (Asian) on January 2, 2022 my first level supervisor, John Doe, denied my request for sick leave for the time period between January 10 and January 15, 2022.”

• Another sample, “Based on my prior EEO activity (request for accommodation based on my disability on January 2, 2022), on October 20, 2022 I was rated “Below Meets Standards” on my annual performance evaluation by my supervisor John Doe.”

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➤ EEO (final) Counseling/Notice of Right to File a Complaint of Discrimination

Mediation, if elected, will automatically extend the 30-day counseling period to a 90-day period. Mediation is not advisable, as Agency usually does not seriously negotiate at this point.  Choose “traditional counseling” to avoid mediation. See Settlement & Mediation.

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➤ File a formal discrimination complaint

• Within 15 days of receipt of the Notice of Right to File.

The 180-day formal investigation period begins.  Report of Investigation/Investigation File must be issued by EEO Office within the 180-day period, unless extended by Complainant (not advisable).  See Formal Complaint Process.

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➤ Acknowledgment of Receipt of the formal Complaint

• Within 15 days of filing a formal Complaint

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➤ Notice of Acceptance or Dismissal of Claims
Issued by the EEO Director/Analyst

Within 30 days of filing a formal complaint. This is the most important Notice, which will later be referred by the Investigator during the investigation and by Admin. Judge (AJ) at the hearing. Issues not accepted will not be investigated by the Investigator or heard by the AJ.

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➤ Rebuttal of Dismissal of Claims or Correction of Claims

• Within 5 or 7 days of receipt of Notice of Acceptance/Dismissal

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➤ Assignment of the Investigator

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➤ Notice of Fact-Finding Conference/Interview or Issuance of Affidavit Questionnaire

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➤ Fact-Finding Conference/Interview or
Response to the Affidavit Questionnaire
Submission of supporting documents

• Response to the Questionnaire must be submitted within 15 days of receipt.  Can be extended usually upon request with good cause.

Submit your supporting docs even if the investigator does not ask.  Leave a record of your submission with itemization of docs to ensure their inclusion into the Investigation File (IF), which will be compiled by the Investigator and by the EEO Office.  Sometimes crucial docs are scattered within the thick IF; or displaced, misplaced, or even omitted from the IF.

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➤ Issuance of Report of Investigation (ROI) and the Investigation File (IF)

Within 180 days of filing a formal complaint unless extended by Complainant (not advisable).

Investigator writes a summary of what is contained in the IF.  The summary is called Report of Investigation (ROI).  The exhibit tabs containing the records and affidavits are called the Investigation File (IF).  Both are referred to as ROI/IF or simply as ROI.  

Investigator does not, cannot, and should not render a decision.  If his or her role is presented otherwise, he or she is misleading you.  ROI is not a decision or a finding of facts.  It is only a summary of what has been gathered during the investigation.

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➤ Request EEOC Hearing or Final Agency Decision

• Within 30 days of receipt of the ROI. 

Mediation or withdrawal at this point is not advisable.