Founder & Managing Attorney
In February 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. From February to April of that year, the EEOC was open to public comments about the Federal EEO complaint process. Now, the EEOC has reviewed those comments and are ready to begin the process of assessing how they can reform, particularly in the areas of investigation and decision-making.
In asking for comments, the EEOC is hoping to make the complaint process more user-friendly and streamlined. Commissioner Chai Feldblum stated that there are currently “some administrative structures that hinder, rather than help,” and the EEO will begin to reform them. One of the changes that Feldblum hopes to make is introducing digital filing of documents to address tight filing deadlines and current technologies. This would make the process more timely and easier to track.
Another goal for the EEOC during this time is successfully executing Section 501 regulations, which aid in the employment of individuals with disability. Section 501 would achieve this by requiring agencies to hire more employees with disabilities and implementing personal assistance services (PAS), which would help those employees in daily tasks.
The EEOC is not yet ready to release its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, as it still must be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget. Once it has been reviewed, it will then be publicly released. If you are a federal employee who has filed an EEO complaint or is considering filing a complaint, schedule a consultation with a federal employment attorney in order to determine your best method of recourse.