Resources
Federal Employees and Job Applicants
Your rights under federal anti-discrimination laws, and the steps to take if you believe a federal agency has discriminated against you.
Employment discrimination
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.
These laws protect you against employment discrimination when it involves:
- Unfair treatment because of your race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
- Harassment by managers, co-workers or others in your workplace because of your race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
- Denial of a reasonable workplace accommodation that you need because of your religious beliefs or disability.
- Retaliation because you complained about job discrimination, or assisted with a job discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
Discrimination by type
Facts and guidance from the EEOC.
Follow these steps
If you believe a federal agency has discriminated against you, you have the right to file a complaint with that agency.
Step 1
Contact an EEO Counselor
Contact an EEO Counselor at the agency within 45 days of the discriminatory action.
Step 2
Choose counseling or ADR
Take part in either counseling, which must be completed within 30 days, or Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) if the agency offers it, which must be completed within 90 days.
Step 3
File a complaint
If the issue is not resolved, you may then file a formal complaint with the agency.
The federal sector complaint process
Detailed guidance from the EEOC for each stage.