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Civil Rights

The Office of Civil Rights serves over 30,000 employees, applicants and former employees across all 50 states and Puerto Rico. We are committed to developing and maintaining a work environment inclusive of all employees. The Office of Civil Rights supports solid public and employee trust by delivering prompt, accurate and effective services. Our service efforts are the foundation for improving connections to present and future generations.

The Office of Civil Rights encourages diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and respect in compliance with all statutes, regulations and directives. We strive to resolve all disputes at the earliest possible stage, correcting discriminatory actions or inactions that inhibit the positive progression and promotion of civil rights. The Office of Civil Rights provides training and targeted outreach to the most diverse and qualified talent sources available.

Office of the National Director
USDA Forest Service, Office of Civil Rights
Sidney R. Yates Federal Building
201 14th Street SW
Washington, DC 20250
202-205-8534

Acting National Director, Tracey D. Troutman
Acting Deputy Director, Jeffrey Patterson

 

Civil Rights Program Areas

Accountability and Compliance

The Accountability and Compliance Directorate is responsible for all informal and formal Equal Employment Opportunity complaints processing, as well as program discrimination complaints. The directorate manages the Resolving Official and EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Alternative Dispute Resolution programs and oversees the completion of Management Directive 715, the Notification and Federal Employee Anti-discrimination and Retaliation Act, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Form 462 reports. It also provides advice and guidance for Civil Rights Impact Analyses and the Limited English Proficiency program.

The directorate ensures all reporting requirements under Title VI, Equal Opportunity, and Title VII, Equal Employment Opportunity, are analyzed to identify barriers facing the agency and explore data in meaningful ways to define and set clear, measurable priorities; and interpret results that move toward reflecting a model organization. Through national reporting, civil rights impact analysis, and compliance reviews, the directorate uses these tools as proactive prevention measures. The directorate also highlights the agency’s civil rights accomplishments and operational successes and facilitates the submission of regulatory reporting to agency leadership and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The directorate also ensures that the agency has conducted an in-depth analysis of any potential impact of its policies, practices and procedures based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, disability, and marital or familial status.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Directorate collaborates with external diversity organizations and agency employee development staff to design and deliver diversity, equity, and inclusion awareness education and training. The directorate partners with Forest Service stakeholders to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion are considered and embedded in employee recruitment, hiring, performance management, retention, development, and other aspects of workforce management.

Additionally, this directorate engages recognized employee organizations and diversity-related councils and committees at the regional and forest levels, including Civil Rights Action Teams and Multicultural Advisory Committees. It serves as consultant to these groups and provides guidance, information and resources for Special Emphasis Programs focused on improving employment and advancement opportunities for minorities, women, veterans, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQI+ community in the federal service.

Special Emphasis Programs are essential to Civil Rights' diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts in the Forest Service. Each special emphasis program focuses on a specific group mandated by laws, regulations and executive orders. These programs provide guidance, oversight, employee training and outreach to our partners and customers.

National Special Emphasis Program Managers

USDA Forest Service, Office of Civil Rights
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
Sidney R. Yates Federal Building
201 14th Street SW
Washington, DC 20250

Equal Employment Opportunity (Title VII)

The Equal Employment Opportunity complaint program aims to ensure federal employees, former employees, contracted employees and applicants for employment are protected from discrimination under various Equal Employment Opportunity federal laws. The Office of Civil Rights offers Equal Employment Opportunity Alternative Dispute Resolution to aid in the resolution of Equal Employment Opportunity disputes at the earliest possible stage.

Equal Employment Opportunity discrimination is prohibited under the following laws:

  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended: Race, color, national origin, religion, and sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy), and reprisal or retaliation for engagement and/or opposition to Equal Employment Opportunity activity.

  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967: 40 years of age or older.

  • Equal Pay Act of 1963: Gender-based pay inequity.

  • Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2008: Genetic information/history.

  • Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2022: Reasonable accommodation provided for pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, absent undue hardship.

  • Sections 501 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Qualified mental or physical disability.

The regulations promote fairness in the workplace, including but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, firing, training, promoting, compensating and retaining employees. For more information or to speak with an Equal Employment Opportunity counselor, please call the Equal Employment Opportunity Pre-Complaints Branch, 404-347-1908.

USDA Forest Service, Office of Civil Rights
Equal Employment Opportunity
Sidney R. Yates Federal Building
201 14th Street SW
Washington, DC 20250
404-347-1908

Equal Employment Opportunity Pre-Complaints Counselors And Equal Employment Opportunity Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialists

Equal Employment Opportunity Formal Complaints and Compliance

Equal Opportunity Program (Title VI)

The Equal Opportunity Program provides nondiscriminatory programs and services to the public. The Forest Service has two types of equal opportunity programs: federally conducted and federally assisted.

Conducted programs include program services, benefits or resources delivered directly to the public by Forest Service employees.

Field Services

Zone service teams support employees in the regions, units and areas. Zone program specialists manage diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives and zone-level Special Emphasis Programs and report data to the Accountability and Compliance Directorate. Zone teams include equal opportunity specialists who are responsible for Title VI reporting, federally conducted and assisted programs training, pre-complaint counseling and formal complaint coordination. In addition, equal employment opportunity specialists support Title VII and information about the Equal Employment Opportunity complaint process, investigative process, and compliance activities. Zone staff do not process Equal Employment Opportunity complaints, but they do provide guidance on navigating the process.

Region and Station Service Areas

Zone I: Washington Office; Business Operations (including Albuquerque Service Center, Chief Information Office, Job Corps); Chief Financial Officer; Law Enforcement; National Forest System; Office of the Chief; Research & Development; State, Private, and Tribal Forestry. Brandy Billie-moore, Zone Civil Rights director.

Zone II: Rocky Mountain (R2), Southwest (R3), Intermountain (R4), Rocky Mountain Research Station. Amy Padilla, Zone Civil Rights director.

Zone III: Pacific Southwest Region (R5), Pacific Southwest Research Station. Lois Lawson, Zone Civil Rights director.

Zone IV: Northern (R1), Pacific Northwest (R6), Alaska (R10), Pacific Northwest Research Station. Harsheen Eady, Zone Civil Rights director.

Zone V: Southern (R8), Eastern (R9), Forest Products Laboratory, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Northern Research Station, Southern Research Station. Kelvin Roberts, Zone Civil Rights director.

Limited English Proficiency Program

The Limited English Proficiency program is committed to ensuring that individuals with limited English proficiency receive meaningful access to our federally conducted and federally assisted programs and activities. Meaningful access is language assistance that results in accurate, timely and effective communication at no cost to the individual with limited English proficiency. Forest Service language assistance includes: 

  • Providing vital documents, including website information, in languages other than English when needed by a significant number or percentage of customers with limited English proficiency, and

  • Providing oral language assistance by qualified interpreters, upon request, in both face-to-face and telephone encounters.

Submit inquiries to SM.FS.cr_lep@usda.gov.

Limited English Proficiency Translation Requests [internal link]

Other Civil Rights Information and Regulatory Reports
 

Architectural Barriers Act of 1968

The Architectural Barriers Act requires that buildings or facilities that were designed, built, or altered with federal dollars or leased by federal agencies after August 12, 1968, be accessible. The U.S. Access Board is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the ABA.

ABA Accessibility Standards

File an Architectural Barriers Act complaint.

Affirmative Action Plan for the Recruitment, Hiring, Advancement, and Retention of Persons with Disabilities

To capture an agency’s Affirmative Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities and Persons with Targeted Disabilities, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations 29 C.F.R. § 1614.203(e) and Management Directive 715 require agencies to describe how their AAP will improve the recruitment, hiring, advancement, and retention of applicants and employees with disabilities.

MD-715

The Management Directive 715 report is the standard federal agency civil rights “report card” the Forest Service prepares annually for submission to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Forest Service’s MD-715 report highlights our past year’s civil rights accomplishments towards establishing, maintaining, and sustaining effective diverse equal employment opportunity programs, plus plans to correct and sustain existing programs and build new opportunities in the coming year.

This federal agency reporting requirement was established pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, serving as both the “master plan” and “evaluation guide” for federal employee Equal Employment Opportunity programs.

No FEAR Act Notice

On May 15, 2002, Congress enacted the “Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002,” which is now known as the No FEAR Act. One purpose of the act is to “require that federal agencies be accountable for violations of antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws.” – Public Law 107-174, Summary. In support of this purpose, Congress found that “agencies cannot be run effectively if those agencies practice or tolerate discrimination.” – Public Law 107-174, Title I, General Provisions, section 101(1).

The act also requires this agency to provide this notice to federal employees, former federal employees, and applicants for federal employment to inform them of the rights and protections available to them under federal antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws.

Antidiscrimination Laws

A federal agency cannot discriminate against an employee or applicant with respect to the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, reprisal, marital status, parental status or political affiliation. Discrimination on these bases is prohibited by one or more of the following statutes: 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(1), 29 U.S.C. 206(d), 29 U.S.C. 631, 29 U.S.C. 633a, 29 U.S.C. 791 and 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16.

If you believe that you have been the victim of unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 years or older), disability, genetic information or reprisal, you must contact an Equal Employment Opportunity Pre-Complaints Counselor at 404-347-1908 within 45 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory action, or, in the case of a personnel action, within 45 calendar days of the effective date of the action, before you can file a formal complaint of discrimination with your agency. See 29 CFR 1614.105 for further information. If you believe that you have been the victim of unlawful discrimination on the basis of age, you must either contact an Equal Employment Opportunity counselor as noted above or give notice of intent to sue to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory action. If you are alleging discrimination based on parental status, marital status or political affiliation, you may contact an Equal Employment Opportunity Pre-Complaints Counselor as noted above or file a written complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (see contact information below). As an alternative (or in some cases, in addition), you may pursue a discrimination complaint by filing a grievance through your agency's administrative or negotiated grievance procedures, if such procedures apply and are available.

Whistleblower Protection Laws

A federal employee with authority to take, direct others to take, recommend or approve any personnel action must not use that authority to take or fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to take, a personnel action against an employee or applicant because of disclosure of information by that individual that is reasonably believed to evidence 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, unless disclosure of such information is specifically prohibited by law and such information is specifically required by executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or the conduct of foreign affairs. Retaliation against an employee or applicant for making a protected disclosure is prohibited by 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8). If you believe that you have been the victim of whistleblower retaliation, you may file a written complaint (Form OSC-11) with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel at 1730 M Street NW., Suite 218, Washington, DC 20036-4505, or online through the website.

Retaliation for Engaging in Protected Activity

A federal agency cannot retaliate against an employee or applicant because that individual exercises their rights under any of the federal antidiscrimination or whistleblower protection laws listed above. If you believe that you are the victim of retaliation for engaging in protected activity, you must follow, as appropriate, the procedures described in the antidiscrimination laws and Whistleblower Protection Laws sections above (including, if applicable, administrative, or negotiated grievance procedures) in order to pursue any legal remedy.

Disciplinary Actions

Under the existing laws, each agency retains the right, where appropriate, to discipline a federal employee for conduct that is inconsistent with federal antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws, up to and including removal. If the Office of Special Counsel has initiated an investigation under 5 U.S.C. 1214, however, according to 5 U.S.C. 1214(f), agencies must seek approval from the special counsel to discipline employees for, among other activities, engaging in prohibited retaliation. Nothing in the No FEAR Act alters existing laws or permits an agency to take unfounded disciplinary action against a federal employee or to violate the procedural rights of a federal employee who has been accused of discrimination.

Additional Information

For further information regarding the No FEAR Act regulations, refer to 5 CFR part 724, as well as the appropriate offices within your agency (e.g., Equal Employment Opportunity/civil rights office, human resources office, or legal office). Additional information regarding federal antidiscrimination, whistleblower protection and retaliation laws can be found at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website, and the Office of Special Counsel website.

Existing Rights Unchanged

Pursuant to Section 205 of the No FEAR Act, neither the act nor this notice creates, expands, or reduces any rights otherwise available to any employee, former employee, or applicant under the laws of the United States, including the provisions of law specified in 5 U.S.C. 2302(d).

No FEAR Act Quarterly Reports

No FEAR Act Annual Reports

Posting: 
Notice to Employees – Appeal/Equal Employment Opportunity Commission No. (Posted 0/0/0000)

Notices will be published for one year. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determines whether an appellate decision should be published. If the decision is published, it will be indicated above.

To find a published decision, visit Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Federal Sector Appellate Decisions website and enter the appropriate appellate number. If the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determines that a decision will remain unpublished, the Forest Service can provide no further information.

Reasonable Accommodations and Personal Assistance Services

A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done, including during the hiring process, to enable an individual with a disability to have an equal opportunity not only to obtain a job but also to successfully perform their job duties to the same extent as people without disabilities.

 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/civil-rights