BOP Program Statement 3713.34 § 2

a. EEO Counselors. Staff will have access, either in person or virtually, to an EEO Counselor

assigned to their facility. EEO Counselors will make efforts to resolve allegations of

discrimination during the informal, pre-complaint stage.

b. Responsibilities.

(1) The Bureau’s Central Office EEO Office is responsible for:

■ Informing EEO Counselors of policy changes.

■ Providing technical assistance to EEO Counselors.

■ Ensuring all EEO Counselors receive the mandatory training set forth in EEOC Management

Directive 110.

■ Providing guidance to staff regarding the EEO process.

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(2) The CEO is responsible for:

■ Ensuring a work environment free of discrimination, based on any established protected

class, and all forms of unlawful harassment.

■ Ensuring each current staff member and new staff members in their organizational units have

access to this program statement.

■ Providing an office and/or space for the EEO counselor, in a private location to ensure

confidentiality and anonymity for staff.

■ Maintaining official bulletin boards and intranet sites in locations easily accessible to all

staff, including staff who work in offices, contract facilities, etc., notifying them of the

following information: names, titles, telephone numbers, and locations of EEO counselors

and procedures for filing an individual or class complaint of employment discrimination.

■ Making available to the EEO Counselor all documents and information necessary for

informal resolution of the complaint. These documents include official personnel files,

promotion board packages, all performance records, lieutenants’ logs, and any other material

relevant to the complaint. In accordance with the Privacy Act, 5 USC 552a(b)(1) EEO

Counselors will have routine access to these records.

(3) EEO Counselors are responsible for:

■ Serving as a liaison between management and staff to attempt to resolve disputes informally.

■ Submitting their pre-complaint counseling reports to the EEO Officer, via upload to the EEO

Office’s complaint tracking system, and to the aggrieved person and his or her representative

via email within five days of the conclusion of counseling.

■ Issuing the Notice of Right to File a Discrimination Complaint (Notice of Right to File) to

the complainant at the conclusion of counseling unless the matter has been informally

resolved. When counseling is performed telephonically, the EEO Counselor will send the

Notice of Right to File, and all other appropriate notices and forms, to the complainant via

email. A formal complaint must be filed with the EEO Office within 15 calendar days after

receipt of the notice of the right. The filing deadline can occasionally be extended when

equitable considerations demand. However, unreasonable delays attributed to complainants

do not warrant a waiver.

■ Interviewing aggrieved persons who come to the EEO Counselor with workplace disputes, as

well as others involved in the inquiry.

■ Explaining to all involved in the inquiry the EEO Counselor’s role and the purpose of the

inquiry.

■ Making all reasonable efforts to resolve complaints informally by conducting a thorough

inquiry into the matters.

■ Maintaining confidentiality of privileged information from personnel or other staff’s records.

If the individual wants to remain anonymous during the counseling stage, the EEO Counselor

will not release the name of the person seeking assistance nor any information that would

disclose that person’s identity. The EEO Counselor is under obligation, however, to report

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staff activities that are considered a serious and imminent threat to life or may result in bodily

harm or are in violation of the law. Allegations such as these will be reported to the CEO of

the facility. All allegations of harassment, including sexual harassment, will be reported in

accordance with Program Statement Standards of Employee Conduct.

■ Explaining to the aggrieved person each of the rights and responsibilities in the EEO process,

as outlined in the BP-A1060, Notice of Rights and Responsibilities – EEO Process, which

includes the option to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

■ Explaining to the aggrieved person the Bureau’s ADR program and the differences between

ADR and traditional counseling.

■ Determining the claim(s) and basis(es) raised by the potential complaint and assisting the

aggrieved person in articulating the claim.

■ Conducting an inquiry, during the initial interview with the aggrieved person to determine for

the purpose of determining if the matter is covered by the EEO laws and regulations. If the

matter is not covered by EEO laws and regulations, the Counselor will notify the aggrieved,

conduct a final interview and issue a Notice of Right to File; however, the case may be

subject to dismissal.

■ Advising the aggrieved person of the applicable official duty status provisions in 29 CFR §

1614.605.