Rostin Behnam 

Acting Chair 

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission 

Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581 

To: All CFTC Employees 

From: Acting Chair Rostin Behnam f p. 

Date: February 2, 2021 

Subject: CFTC Equal Employment Opportunity Statement 

(202) 418-5575 

R8ehnam@CFTC.gov 

As I stepped into the role of Acting Chair, President Biden-as one of his first 

priorities- issued an executive order announcing a policy that the Federal Government pursue a 

comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all and underscoring that we, as employees and 

representatives of our Government, have a role in affirmatively advancing equity, civil rights, 

racial justice, and equal opportunity. I agree with the President, and the several CFTC Chairs 

before me, who identified the diversity of our nation as reflected in the diversity of our 

employees as one of our greatest strengths. 

As Acting Chair, I strongly support the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission's Policy on maintaining a workplace free of discrimination and harassment based 

on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), age 

(40 or older), national origin, disability, genetic information, reprisal, or any other non-merit 

factors. I wish to emphasize my commitment to ensuring that the CFTC provides employees and 

applicants for employment equal employment opportunity ("EEO") across all personnel and 
employment programs, management practices, and. decisions including, but not limited to, 

recruitment, hiring, merit promotion, transfer, reassignment, training, career development, 

benefits, and separation. All employees must have the freedom to compete on a fair and level 

playing field with equal opportunity for competition. 

All CFTC employees are responsible for maintaining public trust and are held to high 

conduct standards in honesty, integrity, and impartiality while supporting the Commission in 

achieving its mission and serving as an exemplar in the markets we regulate and the financial 

industry we serve. Although we all share in the responsibility for making our workplace free of 

discrimination and harassment, CFTC supervisors and managers must take a lead role in 

advancing and embedding fairness in our decision-making processes and proactively identifying 

and rectifying inequities, unconscious bias, and barriers to EEO. I wish to emphasize that it is 

incumbent on all of us, regardless of our positions within the CFTC, to act responsibly in 

ensuring that the CFTC is a safe and fair workplace, where individual differences are respected 

and valued. This includes cooperating fully in any matter related to EEO. 

To foster and support employee engagement, inclusion, and teamwork, the Commission 

has established six internal employee affinity groups: the Association of Asian Americans & 

Pacific Islanders, the Hispanic Employee Association, the Association of African Americans, 

CFTC Pride, Women at Work, and the Veterans Affinity Group. The affinity groups are open to 

all employees and not only provide forums for discussion and development of some of the 

special emphasis programming regularly provided at the Commission, but they encourage 

networking and relationship building critical to our success as a model workplace. 

Workplace discrimination, harassment, or reprisal violates conduct standards and, if 

discovered, will not be tolerated. The agency will take prompt and appropriate action to address 

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misconduct, and will correct misconduct before it becomes severe or pervasive harassment. If a 

CFTC employee believes they have been unlawfully discriminated against based on their race, 

religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national 

origin, age ( 40 or older), disability, genetic information, or reprisal, the employee should contact 

the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) within 45 days of the alleged 

discriminatory action. Employees who believe they have been discriminated against have a right 

to file a complaint or grievance, or otherwise oppose unlawful discrimination, without fear of 

retaliation. Reprisal against employees who engage in protected activity will not be tolerated. 

The agency supports the rights of all employees to exercise their rights under the civil rights 

statutes. 

CFTC Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program 

Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) 

(202) 418-5151 

CivilRights@cftc.gov 

For more information about the CFTC's EEO program, please visit cftc.gov or contact 

CivilRights@cftc.gov. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to fulfilling the CFTC's 

mission. 

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