The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 (Public Law 92-261) instituted the federal Equal Employment Opportunity program, which is designed to ensure fair treatment to all segments of society without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, or sex. The goal of this law and program is to make discrimination in employment illegal. Equal Employment Opportunity programs include affirmative action for employment as well as processing of and remedies for discrimination complaints. All employees, including supervisors, managers, former employees, and applicants for employment, regardless of grade level or position, are covered under this legislation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, which amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include public employees, granted enforcement authority to the Civil Service Commission (now the Office of Personnel Management) to ensure nondiscrimination in human resources actions and to establish affirmative employment measures.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) means...