A complaint does not need to be in any specific form but must be signed by the employee and contain the following:

(a) A statement specifically describing

(1) The alleged retaliation taken against the employee and

(2) The disclosure, participation, or refusal covered under §708.5 that the employee believes gave rise to the retaliation;

(b) A statement that the complainant is not currently pursuing a remedy under State or other applicable law, as described in §708.16 of this subpart;

(c) A statement that all of the facts that the complainant has included in his complaint are true and correct to the best of his knowledge and belief; and

(d) An affirmation, as described in §708.14 of this subpart, that the complainant has exhausted all applicable grievance or arbitration procedures.