(a) The Board shall maintain a continuing affirmative program to promote equal opportunity and to identify and eliminate discriminatory practices and policies. In support of this program, the Board shall:

(1) Provide sufficient resources to its equal opportunity program to ensure efficient and successful operation;

(2) Provide for the prompt, fair and impartial processing of complaints in accordance with this part and the instructions contained in the Commission's Management Directives;

(3) Conduct a continuing campaign to eradicate every form of prejudice or discrimination from the Board's personnel policies, practices and working conditions;

(4) Communicate the Board's equal employment opportunity policy and program and its employment needs to all sources of job candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age disability, or genetic information, and solicit their recruitment assistance on a continuing basis;

(5) Review, evaluate and control managerial and supervisory performance in such a manner as to insure a continuing affirmative application and vigorous enforcement of the policy of equal opportunity, and provide orientation, training and advice to managers and supervisors to assure their understanding and implementation of the equal employment opportunity policy and program;

(6) Take appropriate disciplinary action against employees who engage in discriminatory practices;

(7) Make reasonable accommodation to the religious needs of employees and applicants for employment when those accommodations can be made without undue hardship on the business of the Board;

(8) Make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of qualified applicants and employees with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operations of the Board's program;

(9) Provide recognition to employees, supervisors, managers and units demonstrating superior accomplishment in equal employment opportunity;

(10) Establish a system for periodically evaluating the effectiveness of the Board's overall equal employment opportunity effort;

(11) Provide the maximum feasible opportunity to employees to enhance their skills through on-the-job training, work-study programs and other training measures so that they may perform at their highest potential and advance in accordance with their abilities;

(12) Inform its employees and recognized labor organizations of the Board's affirmative equal opportunity policy and program and enlist their cooperation; and

(13) Participate at the community level with other employers, with schools and universities and with other public and private groups in cooperative action to improve employment opportunities and community conditions that affect employability.

(b) In order to implement its program, the Board shall:

(1) Develop the plans, procedures and regulations necessary to carry out its program.

(2) Establish or make available an alternative dispute resolution program. Such program must be available for both the precomplaint process and the formal complaint process.

(3) Appraise its personnel operations at regular intervals to assure their conformity with the Board's program, this part and the instructions contained in the Commission's management directives relating to advice for ensuring compliance with the provisions of title VII, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, GINA, and the Rehabilitation Act.

(4) Designate a Director for Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO Programs Director), EEO Officer(s), and such Special Emphasis Program Managers/Coordinators (e.g., People with Disabilities Program, Federal Women's Program and Hispanic Employment Program), clerical and administrative support as may be necessary to carry out the functions described in this part in all organizational units of the Board and at all Board installations. The EEO Programs Director shall be under the immediate supervision of the Chair. The EEO Programs Director may also serve as the Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

(5) Make written materials available to all employees and applicants informing them of the variety of equal employment opportunity programs and administrative and judicial remedial procedures available to them and prominently post such written materials in all personnel and EEO offices and throughout the workplace.

(6) Ensure that full cooperation is provided by all Board employees to EEO Counselors and Board EEO personnel in the processing and resolution of pre-complaint matters and complaints within the Board and that full cooperation is provided to the Commission in the course of appeals, including, granting the Commission routine access to personnel records of the Board when required in connection with an investigation.

(7) Publicize to all employees and post at all times the names, business telephone numbers and business addresses of the EEO Counselors (unless the counseling function is centralized, in which case only the telephone number and address need be publicized and posted), a notice of the time limits and necessity of contacting a Counselor before filing a complaint and the telephone numbers and addresses of the EEO Programs Director, EEO Officer(s) and the Special Emphasis Program Managers/Coordinators.

(c) The EEO Programs Director shall be responsible for:

(1) Advising the Board of Governors with respect to the preparation of national and regional equal employment opportunity plans, procedures, regulations, reports and other matters pertaining to the policy in §268.101 and the Board's program;

(2) Evaluating from time to time the sufficiency of the total Board program for equal employment opportunity and reporting to the Board of Governors with recommendations as to any improvement or correction needed, including remedial or disciplinary action with respect to managerial, supervisory or other employees who have failed in their responsibilities;

(3) When authorized by the Board of Governors, making changes in programs and procedures designed to eliminate discriminatory practices and to improve the Board's program for equal employment opportunity;

(4) Providing for counseling of aggrieved individuals and for the receipt and processing of individual and class complaints of discrimination; and

(5) Assuring that individual complaints are fairly and thoroughly investigated and that final action is taken in a timely manner in accordance with this part.

(d) Directives, instructions, forms and other Commission materials referenced in this part may be obtained in accordance with the provisions of 29 CFR 1610.7.

[68 FR 18085, Apr. 15, 2003, as amended at 84 FR 27029, June 11, 2019]