Under the Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation
Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act), agencies will have to reimburse
the Department of Treasury for judgments ruled in favor of
employees regarding discrimination or reprisal, the Office
of Personnel Management has announced.
The Treasury fund has a permanent appropriation that provides
little oversight on how much is being paid out. However,
requiring agencies to reimburse the fund out of their own
general appropriations will put pressure on managers cited
in those judgments, and will give new financial significance
to employee disputes.
OPM said it will continue to work with the Department of
Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
Treasury and the Office of Special Counsel to draft
regulations concerning the remaining features of the act,
namely, notification and training, annual reporting
requirements, and a study addressing workplace discrimination
in federal agencies.
The rule is effective immediately and will remain open to
public comment through March 26.
