Proceedings before the Federal Equal Treatment Commission

General information

The procedure before the Federal Equal Treatment Commission is free of charge! It is not necessary to involve a lawyer in the proceedings.

Procedure

However, it is also possible to obtain free advice in advance from the Equal Treatment Officer of the department in question and, with their support, to submit an application to the Federal Equal Treatment Commission.

The Chamber of the Federal Equal Treatment Commission to which the matter is referred must draft an expert opinion upon request or on its own initiative.

The following persons are entitled to submit applications to the Commission:

• any applicant for admission to a working or training relationship with the federal government
• any employee asserting, for example, discrimination:
  • from a violation of the requirement on equal treatment
  • resulting from the selection criteria
  • resulting from the classification of assignments and jobs
  • resulting from job advertisements
  • or asserting an infringement of the requirement on female advancement
• each working group on issues of equal treatment for its area of responsibility
• each Equal Treatment Officer for his/her area of representation.

An application to the Commission is, in principle, only permitted within 6 months of the alleged act of discrimination or violation of the requirement on female advancement becoming known. There are some exceptions to this rule, for example an application due to discrimination on the basis of gender upon termination of a working or training relationship is permitted within 14 days.
The claimant and the representative of the employer that is accused of discrimination must be informed within 2 weeks if proceedings are pending before the Commission.
The Chamber of the Commission to which the matter is referred must draft its expert opinion within 6 months of the application being submitted.
If the Chamber identifies a violation of the requirement on equal treatment or on female advancement, it must send the competent head of the department a written recommendation on how to ensure equal treatment and request that the discriminatory practice be ceased, and must also prosecute the civil servant responsible for the violation of the requirement in accordance with the provisions of public service or disciplinary law.

Further information on the Federal Equal Treatment Commission can also be found at oesterreich.gv.at.

Further information

Contact information for the Federal Equal Treatment Commission (→ BKA)^{German text} can be found on the website of the Federal Chancellery.

Legal basis

Federal Act on Equal Treatment in Federal Government