§ 29.6 - Requirement for exhaustion of internal administrative remedies provided by the Architect of the Capitol.

(a) General. Under the provisions of the Architect of the Capitol Human Resources Act, any employee of the Architect of the Capitol who wishes to pursue a claim of discrimination or retaliation before the Board must first file an internal complaint with the Architect of the Capitol and exhaust the procedures for resolving such complaints. The procedures for filing such complaints are at present set forth in the Equal Employment Opportunity Procedures Manual issued by the Architect of the Capitol. The internal procedures for resolving complaints of discrimination or retaliation will be considered exhausted when either of the following occurs:

(1) The employee receives a final decision by the Architect of the Capitol on his or her complaint of discrimination or retaliation; or

(2) 150 days have passed after the filing of an internal complaint of discrimination or retaliation and the Architect of the Capitol has not issued a final decision on the complaint.

(b) Class claims. An employee of the Architect of the Capitol who wishes to seek relief before the Board for a class of employees shall first file an internal complaint of discrimination or retaliation with the Architect of the Capitol and exhaust the internal remedies for resolution of such complaints as described in paragraph (a) of this section. It is not necessary that the employee raise class allegations in his or her internal complaint in order to be able to pursue the matter as a class action before the Board.

(c) Filing a charge with the Board's General Counsel following exhaustion of administrative remedies. If, following the exhaustion of internal administrative remedies as described in paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section, an employee of the Architect of the Capitol wishes to pursue the matter before the Board, the employee may file a charge with the Board's General Counsel. The procedures for filing such a charge are set forth in § 29.8.