### 60571 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 2014 / Notices

**DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION**

**Office of the Secretary**

**[Docket No. DOT–OST–2012–0165]**

**Notice of Rights and Protections Available Under the Federal**  **Antidiscrimination and Whistleblower Protection Laws** 

**AGENCY :**  Office of the Secretary, DOT.

**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 :**  Yvette Rivera, Associate Director of Equal Employment Opportunity Programs, S–32, Departmental Office of Civil Rights, Office of the Secretary, U.S. 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 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, genetic information, or political affiliation. 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 and 2000ff.

If you believe you were a victim of unlawful discrimination on the bases of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, genetic information, 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.

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


### 60572 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 2014 / Notices

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).

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 1,
2014. Camille Hazeur, Director, Departmental Office of Civil Rights, United States Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2014–23886 Filed 10–6–14; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION**

**Federal Aviation Administration**

**[Summary Notice No. PE–2014–89]**

**Petition for Exemption; Summary of Petition Received** 

**AGENCY :**  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. **ACTION :**  Notice of petition for exemption received.

**SUMMARY :**  This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public’s awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA’s regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

**DATES :**  Comments on this petition must identify the petition docket number and must be received on or before October 27, 2014.

**ADDRESSES :**  You may send comments identified by Docket Number FAA– 2014–0736 using any of the following methods:

• Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your comments electronically.

• Mail: Send comments to the Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC
20590.

• Fax: Fax comments to the Docket Management Facility at 202–493–2251.

• Hand Delivery: Bring comments to the Docket Management Facility in Room W12–140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Privacy: We will post all comments we receive, without change, to http:// www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. Using the search function of our docket Web site, anyone can find and read the comments received into any of our dockets, including the name of the individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477–78).

Docket: To read background documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time or to the Docket Management Facility in Room W12–140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Jake Troutman, (202) 267–9521, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20951. This notice is published pursuant to 14 CFR 11.85.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 1,
2014. Lirio Liu, Director, Office of Rulemaking. Petition for Exemption

Docket No.: FAA–2014–0736. Petitioner: First Flight Photography, LLC.

Section of 14 CFR: Parts 21 Subpart H, 45.23(b), 91.7(a), 91.9(b)(2), 91.103(b), 91.109, 91.119, 91.121, 91.151(a), 91.203(a) and (b), 91.405(a), 91.407(a)(1), 91.409(a)(2), and 91.417(a) and (b).

Description of Relief Sought: The petitioner is seeking an exemption to commercially operate their small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), weighing less than 55 pounds, in the service of aerial photography.

[FR Doc. 2014–23824 Filed 10–6–14; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 4910–13–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION**

**Federal Aviation Administration**

**[Summary Notice No. PE–2014–91]**

**Petition for Exemption; Summary of Petition Received** 

**AGENCY :**  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

**ACTION :**  Notice of petition for exemption received.

**SUMMARY :**  This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public’s awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA’s regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

**DATES :**  Comments on this petition must identify the petition docket number and must be received on or before October 27, 2014.

**ADDRESSES :**  You may send comments identified by Docket Number FAA– 2014–0732 using any of the following methods:

• Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your comments electronically.

• Mail: Send comments to the Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC
20590.