Memorandum on a Pilot Program for Reengineering the Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint Process

Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense

Subject: Implementation of Section 1111 of H.R. 4205, the "Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001"

Today I have signed into law H.R. 4205, the "Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001." Section 1111 of this bill authorizes you to create a pilot program to resolve equal employment opportunity complaints by civilian employees of the Department of Defense that is not subject to certain procedural requirements prescribed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC is responsible for equal employment opportunity throughout the Government and it has longstanding expertise in this area. My Administration recently completed a major regulatory initiative to make the Federal equal employment opportunity process fairer and more effective. To operate any pilot program that eliminates the procedural safeguards incorporated in that initiative would leave civilian employees without important means to ensure the protection of their civil rights.

For these reasons, I am directing that the following steps be taken in the implementation of this provision:

• First, you must personally approve the creation and implementation of any pilot program created under section 1111 of H.R. 4205.
• Second, you must approve the implementation of this pilot program in no more than one military department and two Defense agencies.
• Third, in order to ensure that the participation in these pilot programs by civilian employees is truly voluntary, I direct you to ensure that the pilot programs provide that complaining parties may opt out of participation in the pilot programs at any time.
• Fourth, I direct you to submit an assessment of the pilot programs, together with the relevant underlying data, to the EEOC within 180 days of the completion of the 3-year pilot program period.

These steps will ensure that important civil rights of civilian employees of the Department of Defense are protected while preserving congressional intent with regard to the creation of the pilot programs.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON