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

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 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
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. 


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