EEO Investigations Course

Module 1: The 1614 Process and Its Time Frames

• Trace a complaint from first EEO contact through final agency action and appeal
• Identify the controlling time frame at each stage of the process
• Explain when an EEO Counselor is barred from investigating a complaint
• Describe what arrives on your desk when a complaint reaches investigation

Module 2: The Investigator's Role, Authority, and Independence

• Explain why the investigator develops a record rather than reaching a finding
• Apply the authority granted by 29 C.F.R. 1614.108(c), including administering oaths
• Identify conflicts of interest and appearance problems that disqualify you from an assignment
• Select the appropriate response when a party or witness will not cooperate

Module 3: The Governing Statutes

• Identify the protected bases created by each governing statute
• Determine which statute or statutes govern a given set of allegations
• Explain coverage differences that change how an investigation is scoped

Module 4: Theories of Discrimination and Fragmentation

• Distinguish disparate treatment, adverse impact, and reasonable accommodation
• State what each theory requires the factual record to contain
• Recognize fragmentation and separate the claim from the evidence supporting it
• Convert a framed claim into an evidence plan

Module 5: Planning the Investigation and Case Management

• Convert accepted claims into an investigative plan with named evidence targets
• Choose among the fact-finding methods the regulation permits, and match them to claims
• Sequence an investigation to close inside 180 days
• Recognize when to seek an extension and how to document delay

Module 6: Evidence That Supports a Finding

• Apply the material, relevant, and reliable standard to candidate evidence
• Distinguish the administrative evidence standard from courtroom admissibility
• Identify the types and sources of evidence available in a federal EEO investigation
• Request, scope, and preserve documentary and electronic evidence defensibly

Module 7: Interviewing Witnesses and Taking Affidavits

• Plan and conduct an interview that develops both sides of an issue
• Select question types that produce usable testimony rather than conclusions
• Administer an oath and take a compliant affidavit
• Manage witness logistics, including official time, duty status, and representation

Module 8: Credibility Determinations

• Apply the Commission's credibility factors to conflicting testimony
• Explain why no single factor is determinative
• Document a credibility observation without reaching a conclusion
• Distinguish a credibility observation from a finding of discrimination

Module 9: Remedies and the Evidence That Supports Them

• Identify the categories of relief available in a federal sector EEO case
• Explain what a compensatory damages claim requires the record to contain
• Develop evidence on attorney's fees and costs while the investigation is open
• Recognize remedy evidence that cannot be reconstructed after the record closes

Module 10: The Complaint File and the Investigative Summary

• Assemble a complaint file that meets the Chapter 6 requirements
• Apply the redaction rules, including what must not be redacted
• Write an investigative summary that delineates the evidence on both sides of each issue
• Cite evidence and exhibits so a decision-maker can follow the record

Module 11: Capstone: Case File Assembly

• Assemble a complete complaint file from a week's investigative work
• Assess a record against the impartial and appropriate standard
• Identify the gaps a decision-maker would send back

Module 12: Assessment and Close

• Demonstrate the knowledge required by the six subject areas the directive names
• State the continuing training obligation that applies from here