Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 173 / Wednesday, September 7, 2011 / Notices 55457 

(g) Transparency: enhancing and 

promoting public participation in 

economic policy formulation; and 

(h) SMEs: improving support systems 

and access to export opportunities. 

L. Daniel Mullaney, 

Assistant United States Trade Representative 

for Europe and the Middle East. 

[FR Doc. 2011–22804 Filed 9–6–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W1–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

[DOT–OST–2011–0165] 

Notice of Rights and Protections 

Available Under the Federal 

Antidiscrimination and Whistleblower 

Protection Laws 

AGENCY: Department of Transportation, 

Office of the Secretary. 

ACTION: No FEAR Act Notice. 

SUMMARY: This Notice implements Title 

II of the Notification and Federal 

Employee Antidiscrimination and 

Retaliation Act of 2002 (No Fear Act of 

2002). It is the annual obligation for 

Federal agencies to notify all employees, 

former employees, and applicants for 

Federal employment of the rights and 

protections available to them under the 

Federal Anti-discrimination and 

Whistleblower Protection Laws. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Caffin Gordon, Associate Director of 

Policy and Quality Control Division, S– 

35, Departmental Office of Civil Rights, 

Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Room W78–312, 

Washington, DC 20590, 202–366–4648 

or by e-mail at caffin.gordon@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

You may retrieve this document 

online through the Federal Document 

Management System at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Electronic 

retrieval instructions are available under 

the help section of the Web site. An 

electronic copy is also available for 

download from the Government 

Printing Office’s Electronic Bulletin 

Board at http://www.nara.gov/fedreg 

and the Government Printing Office’s 

Web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/ 

nara. 

No Fear Act Notice 

On May 15, 2002, Congress enacted 

the ‘‘Notification and Federal Employee 

Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act 

of 2002,’’ now recognized as the No 

FEAR Act (Pub. L. 107–174). One 

purpose of the Act is to ‘‘require that 

Federal agencies be accountable for 

violations of antidiscrimination and 

whistleblower protection laws.’’ (Pub. L. 

107–174, Summary). In support of this 

purpose, Congress found that ‘‘agencies 

cannot be run effectively if those 

agencies practice or tolerate 

discrimination’’ (Pub. L. 107–174, Title 

I, General Provisions, section 101(1)). 

The Act also requires the United States 

Department of Transportation (USDOT) 

to provide this Notice to all USDOT 

employees, former USDOT employees, 

and applicants for USDOT employment. 

This Notice is to inform you of the 

rights and protections available to you 

under Federal antidiscrimination and 

whistleblower protection laws. 

Antidiscrimination Laws 

A Federal agency cannot discriminate 

against an employee or applicant with 

respect to the terms, conditions, or 

privileges of employment because of 

race, color, religion, sex, national origin, 

age, disability, marital status, or 

political affiliation. Discrimination on 

these bases is prohibited by one or more 

of the following statutes: 5 U.S.C. 

2302(b)(1), 29 U.S.C. 631, 29 U.S.C. 

633a, 29 U.S.C. 206(d), 29 U.S.C. 791, 

and 42 U.S.C. 2000e–16. 

If you believe you were a victim of 

unlawful discrimination on the bases of 

race, color, religion, sex, national origin, 

age, and/or disability, you must contact 

an Equal Employment Opportunity 

(EEO) counselor within 45 calendar 

days of the alleged discriminatory 

action, or in the case of a personnel 

action, within 45 calendar days of the 

effective date of the action to try and 

resolve the matter informally. This must 

be done before filing a formal complaint 

of discrimination with USDOT (See, 

e.g., 29 CFR part 1614). 

If you believe you were a victim of 

unlawful discrimination based on age, 

you must either contact an EEO 

counselor as noted above or give notice 

of intent to sue to the Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission 

(EEOC) within 180 calendar days of the 

alleged discriminatory action. As an 

alternative to filing a complaint 

pursuant to 29 CFR part 1614, you can 

file a civil action in a United States 

district court under the Age 

Discrimination in Employment Act 

(ADEA), against the head of an alleged 

discriminating agency, after giving the 

EEOC not less than a 30 day notice of 

the intent to file such action. You may 

file such notice in writing with the 

EEOC via mail at P.O. Box 77960, 

Washington, DC 20013, personal 

delivery, or facsimile within 180 days of 

the occurrence of the alleged unlawful 

practice. 

If you are alleging discrimination 

based on marital status or political 

affiliation, you may file a written 

discrimination complaint with the U.S. 

Office of Special Counsel (OSC) (See 

Contact information below). In the 

alternative (or in some cases, in 

addition), you may pursue a 

discrimination complaint by filing a 

grievance through the USDOT 

administrative or negotiated grievance 

procedures, if such procedures apply 

and are available. Form OSC–11 is 

available online at the OSC Web site 

http://www.osc.gov/index.htm, under 

the filing tab (Contact Information). 

Additionally, you can download the 

form under the same filing tab, under 

OSC Forms. Complete this form and 

mail it to the Complaints Examining 

Unit, U.S. Office of Special Counsel at 

1730 M Street, NW., Suite 218 

Washington, DC 20036–4505. You also 

have the option to call the Complaints 

Examining Unit at 800–872–9855 for 

additional assistance. 

If you are alleging compensation 

discrimination pursuant to the Equal 

Pay Act (EPA), and wish to pursue your 

allegations through the administrative 

process, you must contact an EEO 

counselor within 45 calendar days of 

the alleged discriminatory action as 

such complaints are processed under 

EEOC’s regulations at 29 CFR part 1614. 

Alternatively, you may file a civil action 

in a court of competent jurisdiction 

within two years, or if the violation is 

willful, three years of the date of the 

alleged violation, regardless of whether 

you pursued any administrative 

complaint processing. The filing of a 

complaint or appeal pursuant to 29 CFR 

part 1614 shall not toll the time for 

filing a civil action. 

Whistleblower Protection Laws 

A USDOT employee with authority to 

take, direct others to take, recommend, 

or approve any personnel action must 

not use that authority to take, or fail to 

take, or threaten to take, or fail to take 

a personnel action against an employee 

or applicant because of a disclosure of 

information by that individual that is 

reasonably believed to evidence 

violations of law rule, or regulation; 

gross mismanagement; gross waste of 

funds; an abuse of authority; or a 

substantial and specific danger to public 

health or safety, unless the disclosure of 

such information is specifically 

prohibited by law and such information 

is specifically required by Executive 

Order to be kept secret in the interest of 

national defense or the conduct of 

foreign affairs. 


emcdonald on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
55458 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 173 / Wednesday, September 7, 2011 / Notices 

Retaliation against a USDOT 

employee or applicant for making a 

protected disclosure is prohibited (5 

U.S.C. 2302(b)(8)). If you believe you are 

a victim of whistleblower retaliation, 

you may file a written complaint with 

the U.S. Office of Special Counsel at 

1730 M Street, NW., Suite 218, 

Washington, DC 202–036–4505 using 

Form OSC–11. Alternatively, you may 

file online through the OSC Web site at 

http://www.osc.gov. 

Disciplinary Actions 

Under existing laws, USDOT retains 

the right, where appropriate, to 

discipline a USDOT employee who 

engages in conduct that is inconsistent 

with Federal Antidiscrimination and 

Whistleblower Protection laws up to 

and including removal from Federal 

service. If OSC initiates an investigation 

under 5 U.S.C. 1214 according to 5 

U.S.C. 1214(f), USDOT must seek 

approval from the Special Counsel to 

discipline employees for, among other 

activities, engaging in prohibited 

retaliation. Nothing in the No FEAR Act 

alters existing laws, or permits an 

agency to take unfounded disciplinary 

action against a USDOT employee, or to 

violate the procedural rights of a 

USDOT employee accused of 

discrimination. 

Additional Information 

For more information regarding the 

No FEAR Act regulations, refer to 5 CFR 

part 724, as well as the appropriate 

office(s) within your agency (e.g., EEO/ 

civil rights offices, human resources 

offices, or legal offices). You can find 

additional information regarding 

Federal antidiscrimination, 

whistleblower protection, and 

retaliation laws at the EEOC Web site at 

http://www.eeoc.gov and the OSC Web 

site at http://www.osc.gov. 

Existing Rights Unchanged 

Pursuant to section 205 of the No 

FEAR Act, neither the Act nor this 

notice creates, expands, or reduces any 

rights otherwise available to any 

employee, former employee, or 

applicant under the laws of the United 

States, including the provisions of law 

specified in 5 U.S.C. 2302(d). 

Date Issued: August 30, 2011. 

Camille Hazeur, 

Director, Departmental Office of Civil Rights, 

United States Department of Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2011–22802 Filed 9–6–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[Docket No. FHWA–2011–0085] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Notice of request for 

approval of a new information 

collection 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of request for approval of 

a new information collection. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public 

comments about our intention to request 

the Office of Management and Budget’s 

(OMB) approval of a new information 

collection that is summarized below 

under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We 

are required to publish this notice in the 

Federal Register by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Please submit comments by 

November 7, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT Docket ID Number 

2011–0085 by any of the following 

methods: 

Web Site: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. 

Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. 

Department of Transportation, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori 

Fields, 850–553–2204, Florida Field 

Office, Federal Highway 

Administration, Department of 

Transportation, 545 John Knox Road 

Suite 200, Tallahassee, FL 32310, 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: FHWA Exceptional Partnership 

Workshop Climate Survey. 

Type of request: New information 

collection requirement. 

Background: The Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) values the 

long-standing relationship it shares with 

the State Departments of Transportation 

(DOT) throughout the country. These 

relationships provide significant and 

considerable benefits to citizens of the 

respective States in the form of a worldclass transportation system. There have 

been substantial changes to our business 

including funding, the workforce, State 

and National policy dynamics and the 

systems used to deliver products and 

services to the public. What has not 

changed is the compelling need for a 

strong and enduring partnership 

between the FHWA and the State DOTs 

to ensure the safety and integrity of our 

highways and bridges. 

The FHWA has initiated a series of 

workshops entitled ‘‘Exceptional 

Partnerships’’ that are designed to assist 

its Division Administrators to create and 

sustain ‘‘exceptional’’ partnerships with 

their State DOTs. As part of these 

workshops, the FHWA proposes to use 

a short pre-workshop climate survey to 

assess the partnership of FHWA 

Division Administrators and their 

counterparts at State DOTs, the result of 

which will be used in the design and 

delivery of these workshops. The 

purpose of the short climate survey is to 

determine: (1) The perspective of the 

State DOT partners regarding the 

effectiveness of the partnerships with 

FHWA Divisions, (2) the factors that 

contribute to successful relationships, 

(3) the successes of and challenges to 

these partnerships, and (4) 

recommendations for improvements. 

FHWA will hire independent 

contractors to conduct informal phone 

interviews, approximately thirty 

minutes in length, with the State DOT 

counterpart to the participating FHWA’s 

Division Administrators. The contractor 

will manage the documentation of 

interview notes. Individual responses 

will be held in strict confidence. A 

summary of aggregate data will be 

provided to the Workshop Design Team 

to assist in the preparation of workshop 

content and materials. Quantitative and 

qualitative data will be gathered and 

analyzed to show averages, ranges, and 

trends. A general report of findings will 

be shared with participants in the 

workshop, but no specific answers will 

be shared. 

Respondents: 42 State DOT’s Chief 

Executive Officers (8 participants were 

interviewed previously). 

Frequency: 14 respondents will be 

interviewed annually for three years. 

This is a one-time collection. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: It will take approximately 30 

minutes per participant. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: Approximately 7 hours annually 

(21 hours total over 3 years). 

Public Comments Invited: You are 

asked to comment on any aspect of this 

information collection, including: (1) 


emcdonald on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES