Arlington/Main Office
2200 Clarendon Blvd.
Ste. 1201
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 312-0410
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Fairfax County Office
6367 Rolling Mill Place
Ste. 102
Springfield, VA 22152
(703) 455-0046
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Norfolk/Hampton Roads Office
World Trade Center
101 West Main Street
Ste. 435
Norfolk, VA 23510
(757) 200-7900
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Roanoke/Salem Office
113 East Main Street
Salem, VA 24153
(540) 387-3476
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Staunton / Harrisonburg / Charlottesville Office
116 E. Beverley Street, Suite 2000
Staunton, VA 24401
(540) 886-0110
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Washington, D.C./Maryland Office
641 Indiana Avenue N.W.
Second Floor
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 386-7470
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Government Employee Rights
Q: Are there any differences between government and private sector employees when they assert a civil rights violation? Are the grievance procedures different, too?
A: Yes. The procedures available to employees of federal agencies are significantly different than the procedures that apply to private sector individuals. The proceedures for government employees are much more extensive and generous. For example, the EEOC, in many instances, permits an employee to have a full hearing to assert violations of their rights. Private sector employees do not have this forum.
An employee generally has forty-five days from the date of the alleged discriminatory incident to initiate EEO counseling. If the employee does not pursue his or her rights and files the necessary materials within forty-five days, he or she could be forever barred from pursuing his or her rights.
Within the deadline, the employee must initiate EEO counseling with the agency's equal opportunity employment counselor or counseling officer. That process ordinarily involves filing an Initial Contact for EEO Counseling Form. Shortly thereafter, an EEO Counselor meets with the employee and his or her representative and obtains background information regarding the alleged violation of civil rights. The Counselor will fill out an EEO Counseling Report and begin the informal complaint process. If the matter is not resolved amicably therein, the individual then institutes a formal complaint process with the agency.
Q: What other agencies exist to protect my rights as a federal agency employee?
A: Another agency that exists to protect certain rights of federal sector employees is the Merit Systems Protection Board, also known as the "MSPB" or the "Board." The MSPB has offices in the Washington, D.C. area and many regions located throughout the United States. The MSPB has jurisdiction to handle certain types of adverse actions, including removals and terminations. As a result, if you have been fired from your federal agency job, you generally have right to file an MSPB lawsuit, although you must do so within thirty days of the date that the adverse action took place. MSPB trials can be very efficient and are often completed within a few months after they are filed.
Q: I believe that my civil rights have been violated at an agency, should I consider hiring an attorney?
A: Yes, one should hire an attorney as soon as possible. Many individuals try to do it themselves, which is understandable, and certainly permitted, but perhaps not prudent. Once an individual pursues EEO counseling, he or she will then go through the "informal" and "formal" EEO complaint stage, and the formal stage will involve the agency via an investigation assembling a Report of Investigation ("ROI") that encompasses the facts and issues for the case. If the issues to be certified for investigation are not complete, or if the ROI is not checked for completeness, the scope of one's subsequent rights to litigate their case could be significantly limited. As a result, it is prudent to consider retaining an attorney as early in the process as possible.
Q: If I retain an attorney to represent me in a civil rights case and pay the lawyer to help me, is it possible for me to ultimately recover my attorney's fees?
A: Yes. The Civil Rights Act provides that a successful litigant may be entitled to recovery his or her attorney's fees from the agency. The agency may also be willing to consider reimbursement of attorney's fees in a settlement.
Q: If I want a trial in my case, where can I get one to prove that I am the victim of discrimination?
A: A federal agency employee may be entitled to a hearing before an EEOC judge, at which time the individual can present his or her case and present witnesses and other evidence to attempt to prove the alleged discrimination. Alternatively, once the "formal" stage of the EEO complaint process at the agency is completed, the agency will ordinarily give the person the right to request a final agency decision rather than seek an EEOC hearing. Under such a circumstance, the agency would review the file, issue a final decision (frequently adverse to the employee), and thereafter give the employee the right to proceed to federal court for a jury trial.
Q: Do different procedures apply to employees of state agencies, as opposed to federal agencies?
A: Yes. You should consult counsel to confirm the deadlines and procedures that apply to such cases.
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