The EEOC has revised, for the first time since 1999, its policies relating to the federal sector complaint process, called Management Directive 110, to reflect developments in case law and in federal workplace and general EEO practices.
The changes primarily concern:
* conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts that can occur when EEO or senior-level agency officials are named in complaints;
* procedures for agencies to seek EEOC approval to conduct pilot projects in which the complaint processing procedures vary from standard policies; and
* the role of alternative dispute resolution.
“MD-110’s update should be very helpful as it provides a comprehensive overview of the federal administrative EEO complaint process including the enhancements, such as Commission approved pilots, which now will be possible,” EEOC said in releasing the updated guidance.
The revisions, which also incorporate certain procedural changes made separately in 2012, resulted from a public notice and comment period that started early last year.
