Issuance Number: 205.16
Subject: Equal Employment Opportunity Officer
Issuance Date: 11/15/2024
Expiration Date: 11/15/2029
Responsible Office: Office of Diversity and Equal Employment; Office of the Director
Instruction: This supersedes Survey Manual (SM) chapter 205.16, dated August 15, 2001.
Approving Official: /s/ recertified by Dr. Ngozi Butler-Guerrier, DEO, in coordination with the Office of the Director
1. Purpose. This SM chapter redelegates authority to the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Officer to maintain an effective Equal Employment Opportunity Program for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
2. Authority. In the Departmental Manual (DM), 205 DM 17, the Secretary, Department of the Interior (DOI), redelegates through the Assistant Secretary - Water and Science, to the Director, USGS, authority to establish, maintain, and carry out an effective Equal Employment Opportunity Program. This authority is hereby redelegated to the EEO Officer for the USGS. The acceptance and investigation of complaints of discrimination delegated to the USGS effective October 1, 1986, are also redelegated to the EEO Officer. If an EEO complaint is filed against the USGS EEO Officer, the bureau will request that the DOI Director, Office for Equal Opportunity, or another DOI bureau EEO Officer, process the complaint.
3. Responsibility. The EEO Officer is responsible for the operations of the EEO Program as described in 112 DM 19. The EEO Officer is responsible for the initial acceptance and investigation, to the hearing process, of individual complaints of discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age (over 40), mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, and retaliation for bringing a complaint of discrimination under a protected class (in conformance with Federal and Departmental regulations). This responsibility extends to all USGS organizational units and locations.
4. Reporting. As part of the general responsibilities, the EEO Officer is responsible for providing an overall appraisal of the effectiveness of the USGS EEO Program. The EEO Officer reports to the USGS Director.
