Page 46 - Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual

Augusta, Georgia employees formally being accused of an EEO violation in writing have a right to the
following:

1. To not receive: an assumption of violation, disciplinary actions, unjustified job relocations,
unjustified assignment changes, a demotion or a termination merely based on an initial EEO
accusation and/or a written complaint that has not yet been investigated and had a case finding
issued;

2. To see the actual written charges submitted in the complaint;

3. To have seven days from the date of receipt of the written charges, to submit a response to the EEO
Office and have this data included as part of the case investigation; and

4. To receive the final case findings in writing and to have a date of final case closure.

EEO investigations are an internal-agency fact-finding process, not a formal hearing or a court trial.
Therefore, no part of the EEO inquiry may be recorded (by the accused, charging party or third party
witnesses) either by audio recording, transcription, or any other form. The EEO Office maintains the right
to keep the official record of all inquiry data. All related parties shall receive a complete version of the final
case finding. Usually, complete case findings are issued within thirty days of the filing of a formal written
complaint.

Section 200.012 Employee Relocation In Connection With A Pending EEO Case

If the matter under EEO investigation is not impacting the job duties of the work group at issue, managers
should allow employees (both the complaining party and the accused) to remain situated in the same
physical work location, job assignment and department during an EEO inquiry. At the request of either
party or if it becomes apparent the parties cannot remain in the same work environment during the course
of the EEO investigation, all reasonable efforts will be made to modify the work environment pending the
EEO investigation, including, but not limited to, shift change, relocation, or position modification.

Affected employees should be returned to their previous work environment, job, and/or department within
five days after a case is resolved, if appropriate. In cases where the employee will not be relocated back to
their same work assignment or location, both the employee and the EEO Office should be notified in writing
outlining the details of why the changes are being made. In such cases, the employee who initially made
the EEO complaint has a right to file an appeal with the EEO Office if the employee feels that the changes
are being made in retaliation to filing an EEO claim.

Section 200.013 Confidentiality

This section is intended to protect the rights of individuals who file a written EEO charge with the EEO
Office. Managers and all involved parties are expected to maintain the confidentiality of employees and
other individuals directly involved in the EEO complaint process, to the extent possible. This includes
confidentiality in relation to conversations, meetings, e-mails, written correspondence, final case-findings,
and resolutions. Confidentiality does not mean that the accused will not be informed of the pending charges
as the accused will be allowed to respond to allegations made by the complainant.

Confidentiality during an investigation will be kept as much as possible and to the extent that it does not
impede the investigation or a directive from the Augusta, Georgia Commission. Management, Human

All Rights Reserved – As approved by the Commission on 05-07-2019 46 | P a g e