Did you know that employees of the federal government have special rules to sue their employer for employment discrimination? For example, these employees only have 45 days to initiate their complaint after the discriminatory event or they are foreclosed from bringing a case.

Now, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is proposing an amendment to the regulation that governs these types of discrimination cases, 29 CFR 1614.

The proposed amendment is a step forward by embracing the EEOC's Electronic Public Portal, but it's not nearly enough for these employees who are often a day late and a dollar short in bringing their claims. What really needs to happen is to provide federal sector employees with extended timelines to bring their cases, which match that available to private sector employees (180 days or 300 days depending on local discrimination laws). 

That said, the proposed regulatory change is designed "to authorize the Commission to transmit its hearing and appellate decisions and other documents to registered complainants through the EEOC Electronic Public Portal," which makes sense. 

To comment on this proposed rule, identified by RIN Number 3046-AB23, go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for submitting comments.