Each year, we at USAID reaffirm our commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), to make clear that we are all responsible for addressing inequality and exclusion and helping create a workplace that is free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. At USAID, our ability to help create a safer, healthier, more democratic, and more prosperous world relies on our capability to foster a workforce culture that is respectful, inclusive, accessible, safe, equitable, and diverse—where everyone can thrive. For this to happen, we must ensure all employees and applicants have equal employment opportunities, including the freedom to compete on a fair and level playing field.
At USAID, our goal is to ensure equal employment opportunity by protecting all members of our workforce and all applicants from discrimination under federal discrimination laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of the following:
- race
- color
- religion
- sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, or transgender status)
- pregnancy accommodation
- national origin
- age (40 and over)
- physical or mental disability
- genetic information
- marital or parental status
- veteran status
- membership in an employee organization
- political affiliation, or
- involvement in protected EEO activity.
Additionally, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 791 of Title 29 of the United States Code (U.S.C.), et seq.) requires that, absent undue hardship, federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified individual with a disability.
Furthermore, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) (42 U.S.C. 2000gg-3(a)) requires a covered entity to provide pregnancy accommodation to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship.
Federal law and USAID policy prohibit discrimination, harassment, and EEO-related retaliation in the workplace in all employment-related decisions, including outreach, recruitment, hiring, training, development and advancement, benefits, employee engagement and retention, and separation.
Applicants for federal employment who believe they have been subjected to discrimination or retaliation—or who are seeking additional information about their EEO rights and responsibilities—should contact the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) or an EEO Counselor at EEOcomplaints@usaid.gov within 45 calendar days from the date the discrimination was believed to have occurred, or when they became aware of it, or, if the discrimination involved a personnel action, from the date the action took effect.
USAID does not tolerate workplace harassment, including sexual harassment, or reprisal against anyone who participates in protected EEO activity (e.g., by reporting or opposing harassment or participating in an investigation of harassment). USAID is committed to the proactive prevention of harassment and to taking immediate and appropriate corrective action, including where possible by addressing any misconduct before it becomes severe or pervasive. All members of USAID’s workforce should promptly report harassment to OCR at ocrharassment@usaid.gov or via the USAID Misconduct Reporting Portal, and the confidentiality of reports of harassment will be protected to the fullest extent possible. USAID management officials are required to report allegations of harassment within one business day to OCR. Reports of harassment will be processed with a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation. All members of USAID’s workforce may be subject to corrective or disciplinary action if found to have engaged in misconduct such as harassment. Management officials may be subject to corrective or disciplinary action if they fail to promptly report allegations of harassment. USAID’s anti-harassment policy, procedures, and program (including the Agency’s definition of harassment) are set forth in ADS Chapter 114.
USAID is fully committed to ensuring an environment where members of USAID’s workforce feel empowered to raise concerns about employment discrimination and to participate in the Agency’s EEO process. The Agency will not tolerate workplace harassment or reprisal against anyone who engages in protected activity. Maintaining a workplace that is free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation is essential to Agency success, wellness, and credibility when promoting democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law with our partner countries. By exemplifying these fundamental values, we are more effective as an Agency, as well as more inclusive, equitable, and accessible. Who we are inside USAID, and how we work with one another, reflects how we work and our commitment to who we serve.
—Administrator Samantha Power