of discrimination subject to the procedures described in Subpart B or that the allegation be considered as an issue in the complaint at hand.

Subpart B-Processing Individual Complaints of Discrimination

§ 1225.8 Precomplaint procedure.

(a) An aggrieved person who believes that he or she has been subject to illegal dicrimination shall bring such allegations to the attention of the appropriate Counselor within 30 days of the alleged discrimination to attempt to resolve them. The process for notifying the appropriate Counselor is the following:

(1) Aggrieved applicants, trainees or Volunteers who have not departed for overseas assignments, or who have returned to Washington for any administrative reason shall direct their allegations to the EO Director for assignment to an appropriate Counselor.

(2) Aggrieved trainees or Volunteers overseas shall direct their allegations to the designated Counselor for that post.

(3) Aggrieved applicants, trainees, and Volunteers applying for, or enrolled in ACTION domestic programs shall direct their allegations to the designated Counselor for that Region.

(b) Upon receipt of the allegation, the Counselor or designee shall make whatever inquiry is deemed necessary into the facts alleged by the aggrieved party and shall counsel the aggrieved party for the purpose of attempting an informal resolution agreeable to all parties. The Counselor will keep a written record of his or her activities which will be submitted to the EO Director if a formal complaint concerning the matter is filed.

(c) If after such inquiry and counseling an informal resolution to the allegation is not reached, the Counselor shall notify the aggrieved party in writing of the right to file a complaint of discrimination with the EO Director within 15 calendar days of the aggrieved party's receipt of the notice.

(d) The Counselor shall not reveal the identity of the aggrieved party who has come to him or her for consultation, except when authorized to do so by the aggrieved party. However,

the identity of the aggrieved party may be revealed once the agency has accepted a complaint of discrimination from the aggrieved party.

§ 1225.9 Complaint procedure.

(a) EO Director. (1) The EO Director must accept a complaint if the process set forth above has followed, and the complaint states a charge of illegal discrimination. The agency will extend the time limits set herein (a) when the complainant shows that he or she was not notified of the time limits and was not otherwise aware of them, or (b) the complainant shows that he or she was prevented by circumstances beyond his or her control from submitting the matter in a timely fashion, or (c) for other reasons considered sufficiently by the agency. At any time during the complaint procedure, the EO Director may cancel a complaint because of failure of the aggrieved party to prosecute the complaint. If the complaint is rejected for failure to meet one or more of the requirements set out in the procedure outlined in § 1225.8 or is cancelled, the EO Director shall inform the aggrieved party in writing of this Final Agency Decision; that the Peace Corps or ACTION will take no further action; and of the right, to file a civil action as described in § 1225.21 of this part.

(2) Upon acceptance of the complaint and receipt of the Counselor's report, the EO Director shall provide for the prompt investigation of the complaint. Whenever possible, the person assigned to investigate the complaint shall occupy a position in the agency which is not, directly or indirectly, under the jurisdiction of the head of that part of the agency in which the complaint arose. The investigation shall include a thorough review of the circumstances under which the alleged discrimination occurred, and any other circumstances which may constitute, or appear to constitute discrimination against the complainant. The investigator shall compile an investigative file, which includes a summary of the investigation, recommended findings of fact and a recommended resolution of the complaint. The investigator shall forward

the investigative file to the EO Director and shall provide the complainant with a copy.

(3) The EO Director shall review the complaint file including any additional statements provided by the complainant, make findings of fact, and shall offer an adjustment of the complaint if the facts support the complaint. If the proposed adjustment is agreeable to all parties, the terms of the adjustment shall be reduced to writing, signed by both parties, and made part of the complaint file. A copy of the terms of the adjustment shall be provided the complainant. If the proposed adjustment of the complaint is not acceptable to the complainant, or the EO Director determines that such an offer is inappropriate, the EO Director shall forward the complaint file with a written notification of the findings of facts, and his or her recommendation of the proposed disposition of the complaint to the appropriate Director. The aggrieved party shall receive a copy of the notification and recommendation and shall be advised of the right to appeal the recommended disposition to the appropriate Director. Within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of such notice, the complainant may submit his or her appeal of the recommended disposition to the appropriate Director.

(b) Appeal to Director. If no timely notice of appeal is received from the aggrieved party, the appropriate Director or designee may adopt the proposed disposition as the Final Agency Decision. If the aggrieved party appeals, the appropriate Director or designee, after review of the total complaint file, shall issue a decision to the aggrieved party. The decision of the appropriate Director shall be in writing, state the reasons underlying the decision, shall be the Final Agency Decision, shall inform the aggrieved party of the right to file a civil action as described in § 1225.21 of this part, and, if appropriate, designate the procedure to be followed for the award of attorney fees or costs.

§ 1225.10 Corrective action.

When it has been determined by Final Agency Decision that the aggrieved party has been subjected to il

legal discrimination, the following corrective actions may be taken:

(a) Selection as a Trainee for aggrieved parties found to have been denied selection based on prohibited

discrimination.

(b) Reappointment to Volunteer service for aggrieved parties found to have been early-terminated as a result of prohibited discrimination. To the extent possible, a Volunteer will be placed in the same position previously held. However, reassignment to the specific country of prior service, or to the specific position previously held, is contingent on several programmatic considerations such as the continued availability of the position, or program in that country, and acceptance by the host country of such placement. If the same position is deemed to be no longer available, the aggrieved party will be offered a reassignment to a position in as similar circumstances to the position previously held, or to resign from service for reasons beyond his or her control. Such a reassignment may require both additional training and an additional two year commitment to volunteer service.

(c) Provision for reasonable attorney fees and other costs incurred by the aggrieved party.

(d) Such other relief as may be deemed appropriate by the Director of Peace Corps or ACTION.

§ 1225.11 Amount of attorney fees.

(a) When a decision of the agency provides for an award of attorney's fees or costs, the complainant's attorney shall submit a verified statement of costs and attorney's fees as appropriate, to the agency within 20 days of receipt of the decision. A statement of attorney's fees shall be accompanied by an affidavit executed by the attorney of record itemizing the attorney's charges for legal services. Both the verified statement and the accompanying affidavit shall be made a part of the complaint file. The amount of attorney's fees or costs to be awarded the complainant shall be determined by agreement between the complainant, the complainant's representative and the appropriate Director. Such agreement shall immediately be re

duced to writing. If the complainant, the representative and the agency cannot reach an agreement on the amount of attorney's fees or costs within 20 calendar days of receipt of the verified statement and accompanying affidavit, the appropriate Director shall issue a decision determining the amount of attorney fees or costs within 30 calendar days of receipt of the statement and affidavit. Such decision shall include the specific reasons for determining the amount of the award.

(b) The amount of attorney's fees shall be made in accordance with the following standards: The time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions, the skills requisite to perform the legal service properly, the preclusion of other employment by the attorney due to acceptance of the case, the customary fee, whether the fee is fixed or contingent, time limitation imposed by the client or the circumstances, the amount involved and the results obtained, the experience, reputation, and ability of the attorney, the undesirability of the case, the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client, and the awards in similar cases.

complaint, or a portion thereof, for any of the following reasons:

(1) It was not timely filed;

(2) It consists of an allegation which is identical to an allegation contained in a previous complaint filed on behalf of the same class which is pending in the agency or which has been resolved or decided by the agency;

(3) It is not within the purview of this subpart;

(4) The agent failed to consult a Counselor in a timely manner;

(5) It lacks specificity and detail; (6) It was not submitted in writing or was not signed by the agent;

(7) It does not meet the following prerequisites.

(i) The class is so numerous that a consolidated complaint of the members of the class is impractical;

(ii) There are questions of fact common to the class;

(iii) The claims of the agent of the class are representative of the claims of the class;

(iv) The agent of the class, or his or her representative will fairly and adequately protect the interest of the class.

(b) If an allegation is not included in the Counselor's report, the EO Director shall afford the agent 15 calendar days to explain whether the matter was discussed and if not, why he or she did not discuss the allegation with the Counselor. If the explanation is not satisfactory, the EO Director may decide to reject the allegation. If the explanation is satisfactory, the EO Director may require further counseling of the agent.

(c) If an allegation lacks specificity and detail, or if it was not submitted in writing or not signed by the agent, the EO Director shall afford the agent 30 days from his or her receipt of notification of the complaint defects to resubmit an amended complaint. The EO Director may decide that the agency reject the complaint if the agent fails to provide such information within the specified time period. If the information provided contains new allegations outside the scope of the complaint, the EO Director must advise the agent how to proceed on an individual or class basis concerning these allegations.

(d) The EO Director may extend the time limits for filing a complaint and for consulting with a Counselor when the agent, or his or her representative, shows that he or she was not notified of the prescribed time limits and was not otherwise aware of them or that he or she was prevented by circumstances beyond his or her control from acting within the time limit.

(e) When appropriate, the EO Director may determine that a class be divided into subclasses and that each subclass be treated as a class, and the provisions of this section then shall be construed and applied accordingly.

(f) The EO Director may cancel a complaint after it has been accepted because of failure of the agent to prosecute the complaint. This action may be taken only after:

(1) The EO Director has provided the agent a written request, including notice of proposed cancellation, that he or she provide certain information or otherwise proceed with the complaint; and

(2) Within 30 days of his or her receipt of the request.

(g) An agent must be informed by the EO Director in a request under paragraph (b) or (c) of this section that his or her complaint may be rejected if the information is not provided.

§ 1225.14 Consolidation of complaints.

The EO Director may consolidate the complaint if it involves the same or sufficiently similar allegations as those contained in a previous complaint filed on behalf of the same class which is pending in the agency or which has been resolved or decided by the agency.

§ 1225.15 Notification and opting out.

(a) Upon acceptance of a class complaint, the agency, within 30 calendar days, shall use reasonable means, such as delivery, mailing, distribution, or posting, to notify all class members of the existence of the class complaint.

(b) A notice shall contain:

(1) The name of the agency or organizational segment thereof, its location and the date of acceptance of the complaint;

(2) A description of the issues accepted as part of the class complaint;

(3) An explanation that class members may remove themselves from the class by notifying the agency within 30 calendar days after issuance of the notice; and

(4) An explanation of the binding nature of the final decision or resolution of the complaint.

§ 1225.16 Investigation and adjustment of complaint.

The complaint shall be processed promptly after it has been accepted. Once a class complaint has been accepted, the procedure outlined in § 1225.9 of this part shall apply.

§ 1225.17 Agency decision.

(a) If an adjustment of the complaint cannot be made the procedures outlined in § 1225.9 shall be followed by the EO Director except that any notice required to be sent to the aggrieved party shall be sent to the agent of the class or his or her representative.

(b) The Final Agency Decision on a class complaint shall be binding on all members of the class.

§ 1225.18 Notification of class members of decision.

Class members shall be notified by the agency of the final agency decision and corrective action, if any, using at the minimum, the same media employed to give notice of the existence of the class complaint. The notice, where appropriate, shall include information concerning the rights of class members to seek individual relief and of the procedures to be followed. Notice shall be given by the agency within ten (10) calendar days of the transmittal of its decision to the agent.

§ 1225.19 Corrective action.

(a) When discrimination is found, Peace Corps or ACTION must take appropriate action to eliminate or modify the policy or practice out of which such discrimination arose, and provide individual corrective action to the agent and other class members in accordance with § 1225.10 of this part.

(b) When discrimination is found and a class member believes that but for that discrimination he or she would have been accepted as a Volunteer or received some other volunteer service benefit, the class member may file a written claim with the EO Director within thirty (30) calendar days of notification by the agency of its decision.

(c) The claim must include a specific, detailed statement showing that the claimant is a class member who was affected by an action or matter resulting from the discriminatory policy or practice which arose not more than 30 days preceding the filing of the class complaint.

(d) The agency shall attempt to resolve the claim within sixty (60) calendar days after the date the claim was postmarked, or, in the absence of a postmark, within sixty (60) calendar days after the date it was received by the EO Director.

§ 1225.20 Claim appeals.

(a) If the EO Director and claimant do not agree that the claimant is a member of the class, or upon the relief to which the claimant is entitled, the EO Director shall refer the claim, with recommendations concerning it to the appropriate Director for Final Agency Decision and shall so notify the claimant. The class member may submit written evidence to the appropriate Director concerning his or her status as a member of the class. Such evidence must be submitted no later than ten (10) calendar days after receipt of referral.

(b) The appropriate Director shall decide the issue within thirty (30) days of the date of referral by the EO Director. The claimant shall be informed in writing of the decision and its basis and that it will be the Final Agency Decision on the issue.

§ 1225.21 Statutory rights.

(a) A Volunteer, trainee, or applicant is authorized to file a civil action in an appropriate U.S. District Court:

(1) Within thirty (30) calendar days of his or her receipt of notice of final action taken by the agency.

(2) After one hundred eighty (180) calendar days from the date of filing a

This part implements provisions of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act, 1973, 87 Stat. 394, Pub. L. 93-113, as amended, hereinafter referred to as the Act, pertaining to the prohibited use of Federal funds or the involvement of agency programs and volunteers in electoral and lobbying activities. These regulations are designed to define and clarify the nature and scope of prohibited activities to ensure that programs under the Act and volunteer activities are conducted within the statutory bounds established by the Act. The penalties for violation of the regulations are also prescribed. The statutory source of the prohibi