| Prompted by a concern that "chronic" problems with discrimination and retaliation against federal employees existed, Congress passed the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002, also known as the No Fear Act, to protect federal employees from these illegal practices. Essentially, the No Fear Act seeks to ensure that federal agencies are held accountable for violations of anti-discrimination and whistleblower protection laws.
Notification Requirements
Under the No Fear Act, federal agencies are required to provide their employees with:
- Written notification of the rights and protections available to federal employees,
- Internet postings of the same written notifications provided to the employees, and
- Employee training regarding employment rights and remedies.
Reporting Requirements
The No Fear Act imposes strict reporting requirements upon federal agencies. Every year, each federal agency is required to submit a report to the following entities:
- The Speaker of the House of Representatives,
- The President pro tempore of the Senate,
- The Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate,
- The Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives,
- Each committee of Congress with jurisdiction relating to the agency,
- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and
- The Attorney General
The report is to include much detailed information relating to the agency's handling of discrimination and whistleblower claims, including the following:
- The number of alleged discrimination or whistleblower cases;
- The status or disposition of the cases;
- The amount of money required to be reimbursed by the agency in connection with each case, separately identifying the aggregate amount of the reimbursements attributable to the payment of attorneys' fees, if any;
- The number of employees disciplined for discrimination, retaliation, harassment, or similar violations;
- A detailed description of the disciplinary policy implemented by the agency relating to appropriate discrimination against federal employees, the number of employees disciplined in accordance with the policy, and the specific nature of the discipline taken; and
- An analysis of the information, including an examination of trends, determination of causation, and actions planned to foster improvement.
The No Fear Act also requires agencies to post summary reports on their web sites. Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. |