Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 213 / Monday, November 6, 2023 / Notices 76275 

conference facilities of the type often 

employed for board meetings and public 

hearings, businesses housed in transit 

facilities, and individual elements such 

as track crossings, ramps, parking lots 

and structures, fare vending machines 

and collection equipment, and 

accessible paths of travel. If the public 

has information on how these standards 

do or do not currently support equitable 

access, please submit comments to the 

docket for this rulemaking activity. 

All interested parties are encouraged 

to respond to this RFI. Submissions are 

strictly voluntary. Individuals or entities 

responding to this RFI should state their 

role as well as knowledge of and 

experience with the ADA in a 

transportation environment. DOT may 

request additional clarifying 

information from any or all respondents. 

If a respondent does not wish to be 

contacted by DOT for additional 

information, a statement to that effect 

should be included in the response. All 

information submitted should be 

unclassified and should not contain 

proprietary information, as it will be 

posted to www.regulations.gov without 

changes. 

DOT is not obligated to officially 

respond to the information received, but 

the responses will assist DOT in its 

consideration of whether to revise the 

ADA standards for transportation 

buildings and facilities. 

Comments may be submitted and 

viewed at Docket No. DOT–OST–2023– 

0166 at https://www.regulations.gov. 

Signed pursuant to authority delegated at 

49 CFR 1.27(a) on October 31, 2023. 

Subash S. Iyer, 

Acting General Counsel, Department of 

Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24422 Filed 11–3–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket No. DOT–OST–2023–0161] 

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). In doing so, the Department of 

Transportation notifies 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: 

Yvette Rivera, Associate Director, Equity 

and Access Division (S–32), 

Departmental Office of Civil Rights, 

Office of the Secretary, Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Room W78–306, 

Washington, DC 20590, 202–366–5131 

or by email at Yvette.Rivera@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 website. 

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). The No 

FEAR Act was amended on January 1, 

2021, by the ‘‘Elijah E. Cummings 

Federal Employee Antidiscrimination 

Act of 2020,’’ now recognized as the 

Cummings Act. One purpose of the No 

FEAR Act, which was strengthened by 

the Cummings 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 No FEAR Act also requires the 

Department of Transportation (DOT) to 

issue this Notice to all DOT employees, 

former DOT employees, and applicants 

for DOT employment. This Notice 

informs such individuals of the rights 

and protections available 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, gender 

identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, 

national origin, age, disability, marital 

status, genetic information, political 

affiliation, or in retaliation for a 

protected activity. One or more of the 

following statutes prohibit 

discrimination on these bases: 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, 42 

U.S.C. 2000e–16, 2000ff, 2000gg. 

If you believe you have experienced 

unlawful discrimination on the bases of 

race, color, religion, sex, gender 

identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, 

national origin, age, retaliation, genetic 

information, and/or disability and wish 

to pursue a legal remedy, you must 

contact a DOT 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. 

A directory of DOT EEO counselors is 

available on the DOT Departmental 

Office of Civil Rights website at http:// 

www.transportation.gov/civil-rights; you 

can also contact the Departmental Office 

of Civil Rights by phone at 202–366– 

4648 for more information. Once you 

contact the EEO counselor, you will be 

offered the opportunity to resolve the 

matter through the informal complaint 

process; if you are unable to resolve the 

matter through the informal complaint 

process, you can file a formal complaint 

of discrimination with DOT (see, e.g., 29 

CFR part 1614). Parties who complete 

the informal complaint process are 

provided with an electronic Individual 

Complaint of Employment 

Discrimination Form. The form can be 

submitted electronically at https://

secure.dot.gov/form/eeoc or by email at 

Patricia.Fields@dot.gov. You may also 

contact the EEO Complaints and 

Investigations Division, Departmental 

Office of Civil Rights by phone at 202– 

366–9370 or by email at DOCR_CMB@

dot.gov if you need additional 

assistance. 

If you believe you experienced 

unlawful discrimination based on age, 

you must either contact an EEO 

counselor as noted above or file a civil 

action in a United States District Court 

under the Age Discrimination in 

Employment Act against the head of the 

alleged discriminating agency. If you 

choose to file a civil action, you must 

give notice of intent to sue to the Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission 

(EEOC) within 180 days of the alleged 

discriminatory action, and not less than 

30 days before filing a civil action. You 

may file such notice in writing with the 

EEOC via mail at P.O. Box 77960, 

Washington, DC 20013, the EEOC Public 

Portal at https://www.eeoc.gov/ 

employees/charge.cfm, hand delivery at 

131 M St. NE, Washington, DC 20507, 

or Fax at 202–663–7022. 

If you are alleging unlawful 

discrimination based on marital status 

or political affiliation, you may file a 

written discrimination complaint with 

the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) 


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76276 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 213 / Monday, November 6, 2023 / Notices 

using Form OSC–14. Form OSC–14 can 

be submitted electronically at the OSC 

website http://www.osc.gov, under the 

tab ‘‘File a Complaint.’’ You also have 

the option to call the Case Review 

Division at 1–800–872–9855 for 

additional assistance. In the alternative 

(or in some cases, in addition), you may 

pursue a discrimination complaint by 

filing a grievance through the DOT 

administrative or negotiated grievance 

procedures, if such procedures apply 

and are available. 

If you are alleging unlawful 

compensation discrimination pursuant 

to the Equal Pay Act 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 can 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 DOT 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 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. 

Retaliation against a DOT 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 using 

Form OSC–14. Form OSC–14 can be 

filed electronically at http://

www.osc.gov. You may also contact the 

DOT Office of Inspector General Hotline 

by phone at 1–800–424–9071, by fax at 

202–366–7749, by email at hotline@

oig.dot.gov, online at https://

www.oig.dot.gov/hotline, or by mail at 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Bldg 

7th Floor, Washington, DC 20590. 

Retaliation for Engaging in Protected 

Activity 

A Federal agency cannot retaliate 

against an employee or applicant 

because that individual exercises their 

rights under any of the Federal 

antidiscrimination or whistleblower 

protection laws listed above. If you 

believe that you are the victim of 

retaliation for engaging in protected 

activity, you must follow, as 

appropriate, the procedures described in 

the Antidiscrimination Laws and 

Whistleblower Protection Laws sections 

or, if applicable, the administrative or 

negotiated grievance procedures in 

order to pursue any legal remedy. 

Disciplinary Actions 

Under existing laws, DOT retains the 

right, where appropriate, to discipline a 

DOT employee who engages in conduct 

that is inconsistent with Federal 

Antidiscrimination and Whistleblower 

Protection laws up to and including 

removal from Federal service. If DOT 

takes an adverse action under 5 U.S.C. 

7512 against an employee for a 

discriminatory act, it must include a 

notation of the adverse action and the 

reason for the action in the employee’s 

personnel record. If OSC initiates an 

investigation under 5 U.S.C. 1214, DOT 

must seek approval from the Special 

Counsel to discipline employees for, 

among other activities, engaging in 

prohibited retaliation (5 U.S.C. 1214). 

Nothing in the No FEAR Act alters 

existing laws or permits an agency to 

take unfounded disciplinary action 

against a DOT employee, or to violate 

the procedural rights of a DOT 

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 website at 

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

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

Existing Rights Unchanged 

Pursuant to section 205 of the No 

FEAR Act, neither the No FEAR 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). 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 26, 

2023. 

Irene Marion, 

Director, Departmental Office of Civil Rights, 

U.S. Department of Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24446 Filed 11–3–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

Agency Information Collection: 

Activity Under OMB Review; Electric 

Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey 

(eVIUS) 

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics (BTS), Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Research and Technology 

(OST–R), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice and Request for 

Comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, this notice 

announces the intention of the Bureau 

of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to 

request the Office of Management and 

Budget’s (OMB) approval of a new 

information collection related to the 

nation’s battery electric vehicles (BEVs) 

and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles 

(PHEVs)—collectively referred to 

electric vehicles (EVs). The information 

collected will be used to produce 

national statistics on the characteristics 

and uses of EVs as well as the charging 

patterns and preferences related to EVs. 

A summary report of survey findings 

will also be published by BTS on the 

BTS web page: www.bts.gov. 

DATES: Send comments on or before 

December 6, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jina 

Mahmoudi, VIUS/eVIUS Program 

Manager, (800) 853–1351, eVIUS@

dot.gov, BTS, OST–R, Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. 

SE, Room E34–471, Washington, DC 

20590. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 

5:30 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Electric Vehicle Inventory and 

Use Survey (eVIUS). 

Type of Request: Approval for a new 

information collection. 

Affected Public: Registered owners of 

battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 

plug-in hybrid electric vehicles 

(PHEVs). 

Background: As the pace of electric 

vehicles’ adoption and use increases on 

the nation’s roadways, the U.S. 


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