The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) plans to publish new regulations governing Federal anti-discrimination and whistleblower protection, following a 2021 law to improve agency accountability and transparency in discrimination-related incidents.
The Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act, signed Jan. 1, 2021, encourages agencies to act against Federal employees who intentionally discriminate or retaliate against whistleblowers and encourage agencies to be more transparent with the public when such incidents are adjudicated.
OPM’s proposed rule would implement statutory changes and amend anti-discrimination regulations to incorporate technical revisions and other modifications to make it more efficient and effective. Per the rule, “agencies will be expected to post a notification on their public-facing websites within 90 days of the finalization of any case in which the agency was found to have discriminated or retaliated against a Federal employee.”
Additionally, the proposed rule required agencies to submit a report to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 120 days of taking final steps regarding any adverse actions taken against the employees responsible for the discrimination or retaliation.
Agencies were also tasked with developing a system to track all pending discrimination or retaliation complaints; the due date was Jan. 1.
OPM has published the proposed rule on the Federal Register, and it is subject to public comment between now and Feb. 4.
