MCIEAST EEO - Statutes & Regulations

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It also prohibits reprisal or retaliation for participating in the discrimination complaint process or for opposing any employment practice that the individual reasonably and in good faith believes violates Title VII. Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity including transgender status. Lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals alleging sex-stereotyping may also state a claim of discrimination based on sex under Title VII. As such, these types of complaints will be processed under 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 as claims of sex discrimination, unless complainant specifically requests to use a different process. Employees claiming discrimination based on sexual orientation may seek redress from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), or the Administrative Grievance Procedure.

Federal employees under the supervision of a commanding officer or officer in charge may use Title 10, United States Code, Section 1561 as an alternate procedure for raising allegations of sexual harassment. This procedure is separate from the aforementioned EEO complaint process and does not waive the time limits for filing an EEO complaint nor exhausts the administrative remedies under 29 CFR 1614. However, the two procedures may be pursued simultaneously.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), as amended, prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of age (40 years or older). It also prohibits retaliation against individuals exercising their rights under the statute. Unlike Title VII and the Rehabilitation Act, the ADEA allows persons claiming age discrimination to go directly to court, after giving the Commission 30 days’ notice of the intent to file such an action, without utilizing an agency’s administrative complaint procedures. If, however, an individual chooses to file an administrative complaint, he/she must exhaust administrative remedies before proceeding to court. As with Title VII complaints, a complainant exhausts administrative remedies 180 days after filing a formal complaint, if the agency has not taken a final action, or 180 days after filing an appeal with the Commission if the Commission has not issued a decision.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of mental and physical disabilities, as well as retaliation for exercising rights under the Act. This Act requires that agencies make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an applicant or qualified employee with a disability unless the agency can demonstrate that the accommodations would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program. Amended in October 1992, the Act provides the standards used to determine whether non-affirmative action employment discrimination has occurred as per Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Rehabilitation Act was amended again in 2008 by the American with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) by introducing broad interpretations of the definition of disability by adding “major bodily functions” as a major life activity and by directing that the determination of whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity should be determined based on the impairment’s effect in its active state (for impairments that are episodic or in remission) and should be determined without taking into account the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures, such as medication.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) prohibits sex-based wage discrimination. It prohibits federal agencies from paying employees of one sex lower wages than those of the opposite sex for performing substantially equal work. Substantially equal work means that the jobs require equal skills, effort, and responsibility, and that the jobs are performed under similar working conditions. Sex-based claims of wage discrimination may also be raised under Title VII; individuals so aggrieved may thus claim violations of both statutes simultaneously. EPA complaints are processed under Part 1614. In the alternative, an EPA complainant may go directly to a court of competent jurisdiction on the EPA claim. The EPA also prohibits retaliation for exercising rights under the Act.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide that an individual subjected to compensation discrimination under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 may file a complaint within forty-five (45) days of any of the following:

  1. When a discriminatory compensation decision or other discriminatory practice affecting compensation is adopted;
  2. When the individual becomes subject to a discriminatory compensation decision or other discriminatory practice affecting compensation; or
  3. When the individual’s compensation is affected by the application of a discriminatory compensation decision or other discriminatory practice, including each time the individual receives compensation that is based in whole or in part on such compensation decision or other practice.

The Act also has a retroactive effective date of May 28, 2007, and applies to all claims of discriminatory compensation pending on or after that date.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) prohibits discrimination by federal agencies based on an individual’s genetic information, which includes the results of genetic tests to determine whether the individual is at increased risk of acquiring a condition in the future, as well as an Individual’s family medical history. Specifically, the law prohibits the use of genetic information in making employment decisions, restricts the acquisition of genetic information by federal agencies, imposes strict confidentiality requirements, and prohibits retaliation against individuals who oppose actions made unlawful by GINA. The remedies available under GINA are the same as those available under Title VII and the Rehabilitation Act.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued regulations that address the application of federal nondiscrimination law to the federal government. The regulations governing the processing of federal sector discrimination complaints are contained in Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Part 1614. Other Commission regulations and guidelines address the substantive provisions of federal nondiscrimination law. For example, 29 C.F.R. Part 1630 sets forth Commission regulations applicable to the Rehabilitation Act.