Administrator Michael Regan Message to EPA Employees - Commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity, April 14, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

The EPA is committed to a workplace free of discrimination. As Administrator, I am honored to reaffirm the agency’s commitment to the principles of equal employment opportunity in the workplace.

The EPA will not tolerate discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sex stereotyping, gender identity, gender expression or transgender status), national origin, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, age, protected genetic information, status as a parent, marital status, political affiliation, or retaliation based on prior protected EEO activity. In addition, the EPA will not permit harassment – sexual or nonsexual – of any employee or applicant for employment. The EPA must make employment decisions in accordance with merit system principles contained in 5 U.S.C. §2301.

EPA management is expected to provide first-class leadership in supporting its EEO program by taking steps to promote EEO in all facets of employment, including recruitment, hiring, retention, promotion, performance assessment, awards, and career-development opportunities. All EPA employees, including managers and staff, must take responsibility for reporting and addressing discriminatory conduct and preventing all types of discrimination, including workplace harassment.

Employees or applicants for employment who believe they were subjected to discrimination and elect to seek redress for discrimination must initiate the EEO complaint process within 45 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory event by contacting the EPA’s Office of Civil Rights at (202) 564-7272 or an EEO Officer at the regional or laboratory level. See also 29 C.F.R. Part 1614, Federal Sector Equal Employment Opportunity or EPA Order 1000.31A4, Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Status as a Parent, Marital Status, or Political Affiliation.*

Persons who believe the agency has subjected them to workplace harassment can review EPA Order 4711, Procedure for Addressing Allegations of Workplace Harassment, for information on how to report allegations of workplace harassment.

To resolve workplace disputes and EEO complaints, the EPA promotes the use of alternative dispute resolution methods. Managers are reminded that their participation in agency-approved Alternative Dispute Resolution efforts to resolve informal EEO complaints is required absent extraordinary circumstances as determined by the Director of the Office of Civil Rights or designee.

EPA recognizes that commitment to EEO principles and practices provides a workplace that strengthens employees’ dedication to the agency’s mission to protect human health and the environment.

Michael S. Regan
Administrator

* In light of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, S.Ct. Petition No. 17-1618 (2020) (holding Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on transgender status and sexual orientation), discrimination claims based on transgender status and sexual orientation will continue to be fully processed under 29 C.F.R. Part 1614, unless the employee or applicant requests that a complaint be processed under EPA Order 1000.31A4. See also Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.