Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

No. The 45-day limitation period begins when an aggrieved person should reasonably develop a suspicion of the discrimination but before all the supportive facts & evidence become apparent.
Additionally, participation in another remedial process (including the anti-harassment program and administrative grievance) does not pause or extend the time limit for initiating the EEO process.

It depends. If you suspect discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, or retaliation (for protected activity on these bases), you must first raise the matter to CISA EEO​​​​​​​ within 45 calendar days of your awareness of the discriminatory act or effective date of personnel action, before you can file a formal EEO complaint. Likewise, you must first file a formal EEO complaint before filing a civil action in federal court. See, e.g.29 CFR 1614. 

If you suspect discrimination on the basis of age, you may either raise the matter to R&E as outlined above or give notice of intent to sue to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory action.  Also, if you wish to bring a claim of pay discrimination under the Equal Pay Act, you may skip the EEO complaints process and file a lawsuit anytime within two years of the day the discrimination occurred (three years if the discrimination is willful).

Class complaints allow large numbers of affected individuals with a common protected EEO basis to challenge discriminatory agency policies and practices. They are similar to individual complaints in that both must begin by initiating the EEO Counseling process.

To raise a class complaint, there must be a class agent. The class agent acts as a representative for the class during the processing of the complaint. Aggrieved class members wishing to act as a class agent in a class complaint must raise the matter to the EEO Complaints Program within 45 calendar days of discriminatory action that affected the aggrieved class member initiating the class complaint. A class action brought by a class agent includes all unnamed and unidentified persons who are members of the class and have been subject to the same discriminatory policies and practices.

An individual may move to certify their complaint as a class complaint at any reasonable point in the process when it becomes apparent that there are class implications to the claim, or claims raised in an individual complaint. An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Administrative Judge will make the determination on whether or not the complaint meets the prerequisites of a class complaint.

The formal requirements for filing a class complaint are set forth at 29 C.F.R. § 1614.204(a):

(2) A class complaint is a written complaint of discrimination filed on behalf of a class by the agent of the class alleging that:

(i) The class is so numerous that a consolidated complaint of the members of the class is impractical; (ii) There are questions of fact common to the class; (iii) The claims of the agent of the class are typical of the claims of the class; (iv) The agent of the class, or, if represented, the representative, will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.

(3) An agent of the class is a class member who acts for the class during the processing of the class complaint.

For help filing a complaint on the basis of marital status, political affiliation, retaliation for whistleblower activity, or any other non-merit factor, contact the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) or the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Disclosure of wrongdoing involving violations of law, rule or regulation; gross mismanagement; gross waste of funds; an abuse of authority; or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety may also be reported to OSC. 

For help filing a complaint about discrimination on the basis of uniformed status, you may contact the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) at the Department of Labor, the Merit Systems Protection Board, or the Office of Special Counsel, depending on the circumstances.

For help filing a complaint about discrimination on the basis of membership in a labor organization, you may contact the Federal Labor Relations Authority or your union (if applicable)

• Step 1: Please download the EEO intake form, Informal Complaint Intake Form, complete the form, and save it to your computer before initiating a new EEO complaint. The attachment must be added to the email that is generated when clicking the “Initiate a New EEO Complaint” prompt in Step 2 below.
  • Download the EEO Intake Form (.pdf, 2.5MB)
• Step 2: Initiate the Request Email
  • Initiate a New EEO Complaint