§2000e–16c Coverage of Previously Exempt State Employees

Summary

Gives people picked or hired by someone elected to state or local office the same workplace protections and ways to get help as other covered employees. It covers three kinds of jobs: a member of the elected official’s personal staff, someone serving at the policymaking level, and an immediate advisor on how the official uses the office’s legal or constitutional powers. Those people can file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) no later than 180 days after the problem happened. The EEOC will decide the case using the procedures in sections 554–557 of title 5 and will issue a final order and provide relief if it finds a violation. The rules in section 2000e–5(d) about referral to state or local authorities apply, and a complaint filed here counts as the kind of charge that section refers to. Anyone unhappy with the EEOC’s final order can ask a court to review it under chapter 158 of title 28; the EEOC is treated as an “agency” for that review. The court will decide legal questions and can overturn the EEOC order if it was unreasonable, violated required procedures, or lacked solid evidence, after looking at the whole record. If the employee wins, the court may award attorney’s fees under the standards in section 2000e–5(k).