Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint Process

Discrimination against, or harassment of, any employee, former employee, or applicant because of their race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including equal pay, gender stereotyping, pregnancy, sexual orientation and transgender/gender identity), age (over 40), disability, or genetic information is a violation of federal laws and protections prohibiting employment discrimination. Retaliation for filing a discrimination or harassment complaint is also illegal and is in violation of federal laws and protections. Additionally, Exchange policy prohibits discrimination on status as a parent.

If you believe you have been discriminated against or harassed because of one or more of the above bases, you must consult a Counselor, prior to filing a complaint, to initiate the pre-complaint process in order to try and informally resolve the matter. You MUST bring individual or class complaints to the attention of the Equal Employment Opportunity Diversity & Inclusion (EEODI) office by requesting counseling within 45 CALENDAR DAYS of the date of the alleged discriminatory act; or if a personnel action is involved, within 45 CALENDAR DAYS of its effective date. If you bring an individual complaint and later believe your case has class-action implications, you may move for class certification at any reasonable point during the processing of your original complaint. *If you believe you have been subjected to discriminatory treatment because of your status as a parent, and are covered by a Collective Bargaining Unit (Union), you must file a grievance in accordance with the negotiated grievance procedure.

To file a complaint, contact 1-800-527-6790 (option 6, then option 1) or EEOCounseling@aafes.com and you will be provided the required documents. Once these documents are returned, an EEO Counselor will be assigned and will contact you.

EEO Counselor

The first step is to contact an AAFES EEO Counselor. Generally, you must contact the EEO Counselor within 45 days from the day the discrimination occurred.

The EEO Counselor will give you the choice of participating either in EEO counseling or in mediation.

If you do not settle the dispute during counseling or through mediation, you can file a formal discrimination complaint against AAFES with the Office of EEODI. You must file a formal complaint within 15 days from the day you receive notice from your EEO Counselor about how to file.

Filing a Formal Complaint

Once you have filed a formal complaint, AAFES will review the complaint and decide whether or not the case should be dismissed for a procedural reason (for example, your claim was filed too late).

If AAFES doesn't dismiss the complaint, it will conduct an investigation. AAFES has 180 days from the day you filed your complaint to finish the investigation.

When the investigation is finished, AAFES will issue a notice giving you two choices: either request a hearing before an EEOC Administrative Judge or ask AAFES to issue a decision as to whether the discrimination occurred.

AAFES Issues a Decision (Final Action)

If you ask AAFES to issue a decision and no discrimination is found, or if you disagree with some part of the decision, you can appeal the decision to EEOC or challenge it in federal district court.

Requesting a Hearing

If you want to ask for a hearing, you must make your request in writing within 30 days from the day you receive the notice from AAFES about your hearing rights. If you request a hearing, an EEOC Administrative Judge will conduct the hearing, make a decision, and order relief if discrimination is found.

Once AAFES receives the Administrative Judge's decision, AAFES will issue what is called a final order which will tell you whether AAFES agrees with the Administrative Judge and if it will grant any relief the judge ordered. AAFES will have 40 days to issue the final order. It will also contain information about your right to appeal to EEOC, your right to file a civil action in federal district court, and the deadline for filing both an appeal and a civil action.

Filing an Appeal of AAFES’ Final Order

You have the right to appeal AAFES' final order (including a final order dismissing your complaint) to the EEOC Office of Federal Operations. You must file your appeal no later than 30 days after you receive the final order.

EEOC appellate attorneys will review the entire file, including AAFES' investigation, the decision of the Administrative Judge, the transcript of what was said at the hearing (if there was a hearing), and any appeal statements.

If AAFES disagrees with any part of the Administrative Judge's decision, it must appeal to the EEOC.

Request for Reconsideration of the Appeal Decision

If you do not agree with the EEOC's decision on your appeal, you can ask for a reconsideration of that decision. A request for reconsideration is only granted if you can show that the decision is based on a mistake about the facts of the case or the law applied to the facts. You must ask for reconsideration no later than 30 days after you receive the EEOC decision on your appeal.

Once the EEOC has issued a decision on the appeal, AAFES also has the right to ask the EEOC to reconsider that decision.

Once the EEOC has made a decision on your request for reconsideration, the decision is final.

Filing a Lawsuit

You must go through the administrative complaint process before you can file a lawsuit. There are several different points during the process when you will have the opportunity to quit the process and file a lawsuit in court, including:

  • After 180 days have passed from the day you filed your complaint, if AAFES has not issued a decision and no appeal has been filed
  • Within 90 days from the day you receive AAFES' decision on your complaint, so long as no appeal has been filed
  • After the 180 days from the day you filed your appeal if the EEOC has not issued a decision, or
  • Within 90 days from the day you receive the EEOC's decision on your appeal.

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