OFFICE OF EQUAL Opportunity AND FAIRNESS (OEOF)

FHFA EEO Policy Statement

FHFA EEO Anti-Harassment Policy Statement

FHFA EEO Affirmative Employment Plan​

About

The Office of Equal Opportunity and Fairness (OEOF) was established in January of 2020 and is a direct report to the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). This realignment signaled the critical importance of civil rights, harassment prevention, and conflict resolution, and equality of opportunity to FHFA. OEOF engages in workforce demographic analyses and research to examine agency policy, practices and procedures related to outreach, recruitment, retention and advancement of EEO populations. We believe in our agency values of Fairness, Accountability, Integrity, and Respect (F.A.I.R. Values) that are built on a foundation of Competency, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. OEOF, led by Debra C. Chew, is the focal point for fairness at FHFA and serves as a champion for our agency values and grounding principles.

Our OEOF Team includes:

• Debra C. Chew – Director, OEOF and Chief Culture Officer
• Treava Hopkins-Laboy – Director, Equity and Fairness Branch
  • Chigozie Ezirike – EEO Complaint Processing Specialist
    
  • Erin Foxworthy – EEO Complaint Processing Specialist​
  • Marcus Strother – Organizational Psychologist/Data Analysis
    
• Kendrick Gibbs – Director, Civility and Resolutions Branch
  • Yayra Akolly – Harassment Prevention Specialist
    
  • Tara Brown – Administrative Office Manager
  • Richard Luxemburg – Senior Harassment Prevention Specialist
  • Jennifer Pumphrey – Senior Program Manager
    

​To Contact OEOF:

• Telephone – 202.649.3500
• Email
  • OEOFInfo@fhfa.gov – General Inquiries and Reports
    
  • EEO@fhfa.gov – EEO Complaints of Discrimination
    
  • HarassmentPrevention@fhfa.gov – Harassment Prevention Inquiries
  • AlternativeDisputeResolution@fhfa.gov – Alternative Dispute Resolution Inquiries

Mission Statement

To cultivate civility, equality of opportunity, and fairness for the Federal Housing Finance Agency.​

OEOF ​Principle Responsibilities and Functions:

Civi​l Rights

• EEO Complaints filed by FHFA Employees and Applicants to FHFA
  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other pertinent anti-discrimination Statutes
  • 29 C.F.R. Section 1614 – EEO Counseling, Formal Complaint Processing, EEO Investigations (contractor led)
  • Equal employment Opportunity Commission Management Directive 110

Conflict Resolution Services

• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) - Mediation and/or Shuttle Diplomacy connected to EEO Complaints of Discrimination
  • 29 C.F.R. Section 1614
  • Equal employment Opportunity Commission Management Directive 110

Harassment Prevention Program

• Triage Harassment related concerns under FHFA Harassment Prevention Policy
• Conduct Administrative Inquiries into allegations of discriminatory harassment, and if appropriate, other allegations.
• Review of Report of Inquiry to determine whether a violation of the Harassment Prevention Policy occurred
• Recommend interventions to curtail harassing behavior

Policy

• Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy
• Anti-Harassment Policy
• Other relevant EEO policies

Federal Reporting

• Quarterly Reporting of FHFA formal EEO Complaint Activity for the fhfa.gov website
  • Pursuant to the No FEAR Act
• Annual Report to Congress on the FHFA formal EEO Complaint Activity
  • Pursuant to the No FEAR Act
• Annual Form 462 Report on Complaints Activity to the EEOC​
  
• Annual Data Driven Equity and Fairness Report and Plan to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
  • EEOC Management Directive 715
  • Annual leadership briefing on the state of equity and fairness issues
  • Development of Action plans

Equity and Fairness Analyses

• Workforce demographic data analyses to identify obstacles in the recruitment and employment life cycles for various FHFA populations
• Review applicable FHFA policies for equity and fairness
• Implementation of EEOC Recommendations on Agency EEO program

Values-Based Culture Initiative

FHFA has undertaken the Values-based Culture Initiative (VBCI) to look closely at its current culture and define a more unified future culture that is firmly grounded the F.A.I.R. core values of Fairness, Accountability, Integrity, and Respect. FHFA’s culture is driven by employees’ behaviors as we perform our work and interact with each other to further FHFA’s Mission and Vision. To achieve aa values-based culture, these behaviors must reflect on the Foundational Principles of Competence, Diversity, equity, and Inclusion and the F.A.I.R. core values. FHFA has created values-based behaviors to serve as guiding principles for how employees can demonstrate the F.A.I.R. values on day-to-day basis to achieve a values-based culture. These behaviors reflect the Foundational Principles of Competence, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Learning and Education

• Deploy a variety of new live and online trainings to educate FHFA on equity, fairness, civil rights, anti-discrimination, workplace harassment, and alternative dispute resolution
• Responsible for ensuring 100% compliance with the No FEAR Act training requirements

Further, OEOF advises and assists the FHFA Director and management in carrying out their responsibilities to achieve a Model EEO Program, promote alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and address harassment allegations. OEOF serves as a neutral resource designed to prevent, address, and resolve matters that fall under the auspices of anti-discrimination laws, rules, and regulations.

Wo​rkforce Ombuds Person

FHFA has an Inter-Agency Agreement with the McCammon Group to provide Ombuds-related services to the FHFA Workforce. According to the Charter, the McCammon Group Ombuds provides a confidential space in which any employee, supervisor, or leader can express concerns for any type of workplace issue, including concerns of behavior that are antithetical to the FHFA FAIR values. Ombuds use informal approaches to work with individuals, groups, and leaders while also continually assessing the culture and climate of their respective organizations by understanding how people communicate with each other; understanding how people and the organization are making sense of workplace conflict (e.g., identifying, addressing, and perceiving conflict); identifying trends and patterns; and helping the organization address systemic problems.

The Ombuds person is a designated systems leader serving as a confidential, independent, impartial/neutral, and informal resource for the FHFA community.

To contact the Workforce Ombuds Person: Ombuds@mccammongroup.com

​No fear act (as amended)

Equal Employment Opportunity Data Posted Pursuant to Title III of the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act), Public Law 107-174, and Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020, H.R. 6395, Title XI, Subtitle B (Sections 1131-1138).

The No FEAR Act is intended to increase the accountability of Federal agencies for acts of discrimination or reprisal against employees, former employees, and applicants. It became law on May 15, 2002, and became effective on October 1, 2003.

No FEAR Act Data Reporting

2023 No FEAR Act Notice 

The No FEAR Act requires each Federal agency to post on its website certain summary statistical data related to equal employment opportunity complaints filed against it. Section 301(b) of the No FEAR Act and 29 CFR 1614.704 describe the specific data to be posted.

Every quarter FHFA updates and publishes the No FEAR Act data. In addition, OEOF submits a yearly report to congress regarding NO FEAR.​

If you have questions or concerns about whistleblower rights, contact the Office of Special Counsel at www.osc.gov or call (202) 804-7000.

Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act Notice

Any nondisclosure policies, forms, or agreements between FHFA and its current or former employees do not supersede, conflict with, or otherwise alter the employee obligations, rights, or liabilities created by existing statute or Executive order relating to (1) classified information, (2) communications to Congress, (3) the reporting to an Inspector General (Hotline – 800-793-7724) of a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or (4) any other whistleblower protection.  The definitions, requirements, obligations, rights, sanctions, and liabilities created by controlling Executive orders and statutory provisions are controlling in the case of any conflict with an agency non-disclosure agreement:  Executive Order 13526; 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8); 10 U.S.C. 1034; 50 U.S.C. 421 et seq.; 18 U.S.C. 641, 793, 794, 798, 952 and 1924; 50 U.S.C. 783(b); 5 U.S.C. Appx. 3; and 5 U.S.C. 7211.​​

Page Last Updated: 9/12​​​/2023​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​