Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (OEDIA)
The Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (OEDIA) provides agency-wide guidance on equal opportunity, discrimination, diversity, inclusion, reasonable accommodations, affirmative employment, and language access for applicants and employees.
The Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (OEDIA) promotes a work environment that ensures equal employment opportunity and fosters a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and accessibility and empowers individuals so that they may participate and contribute to their fullest potential in support of CISA’s mission. Read CISA's DEIA Strategic Plan and EEO Compliance and Anti-Discrimination Policy for more details.
CISA is dedicated to promoting affirmative employment practices in accordance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Management Directive (MD)-715. As such, we are committed to creating a positive employee experience where all employees are valued, respected, and provided with equal opportunities for advancement and professional development. Our efforts include proactive recruitment, retention, and promotion strategies aimed at ensuring fair representation of highly qualified individuals who reflect the different demographic backgrounds of our great nation, which strengthens our workforce and enhances our ability to effectively fulfill our mission. See our Affirmative Action Plan.
The Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (OEDIA) is here to enable and empower you with the resources you need to actualize your highest potential and accomplish your mission at CISA.
Mission
To cultivate an inclusive culture that champions dignity, respect, and belonging where diverse talent is leveraged equitably to advance cyber and infrastructure security.
Vision
Making CISA the premier place for diverse talent to work and discover.
To understand OEDIA's work is to understand our name:
- Equity reflects our vision of fostering a systematically just, impartial, and fair environment for our employees.
- Diversity encompasses our mission to bring together individuals of all communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, cultures, and beliefs to facilitate greater understanding, acceptance, and affirmation of individual differences and unique perspectives.
- Inclusion is the intentional alignment of our policies, procedures, and workplace practices to cultivate a culture that ensures psychological safety, encourages collaborative participation, and empowers each member of our diverse workforce to maximize the talents and skills to their full potential.
- Accessibility is the mindful utilization of universal design and equitable modifications to our physical and cyber infrastructures to remove barriers and enable all people, including individuals with disabilities, to independently participate in every employment activity and privilege at CISA.
Llauryn Iglehart serves as the Chief of the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility. As Chief of OEDIA, Ms. Iglehart is responsible for CISA’s Equal Employment, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility policy formulation, consulting, and strategic management. She and her team implement the equal employment, complaints processing, reasonable accommodation, affirmative employment, internal civil rights, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility programs for CISA. Ms. Iglehart can be reached at Llauryn.Iglehart@cisa.dhs.gov.
- Complaints Processing
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Workforce Training
- Trend Analyses/Reports
- Diversity Management
- Special Emphasis Programs
- Reasonable Accommodation
- Interpreting Services
Empowered by Executive Orders issued by the President of the United States, federal laws, and regulations from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), CISA commissioned the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity to design Special Emphasis Programs (SEPs) to place special emphasis on positive, equitable, and inclusive employment experiences for federally identified minorities. These programs are an integral part of the success of the Agency. OEDIA works diligently with Divisions and Offices, workgroups and committees, and employee association groups to identify barriers that keep targeted groups from achieving their career goals at rates consistent with the general workforce.
To inquire about CISA’s Special Emphasis Program, email the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility at CISA.OEDIA@cisa.dhs.gov.
If you believe that CISA has failed to provide these services or discriminated in another way because of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age (at least 40 years of age), physical or mental disability, or retaliation, you have the right to seek counseling from an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) counselor and raise the matter by contacting OEDIA’s Resolution & Equity(R&E) within 45 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory act(s).
Accessibility
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)is committed to providing accessible Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to individuals with disabilities, including members of the public and federal employees, by meeting or exceeding the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d)
Please visit the Accessibility webpage for more indepth information.
Section 508 requires agencies, during the procurement, development, maintenance, or use of ICT, to make sure that individuals with disabilities have access to and use of ICT information and data comparable to the access and use afforded to individuals without disabilities (i.e., “ICT accessibility”), unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. The Section 508 standards are the technical requirements and criteria that are used to measure conformance with the law and incorporate the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.
More information on Section 508 and the technical standards can be found on Section508.gov.
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate, exclude, or treat people differently on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, & pregnancy), religion, age (at least 40 years of age), physical or mental disability, or retaliation (including for prior EEO activity, requesting reasonable accommodation, and opposition to discrimination). Additionally, DHS recognizes parental status as a basis though this is not covered by EEO statutes. Therefore, any complaints on the basis of parental status are processed under DHS policies only.
CISA provides free aids and services to people with disabilities to communicate effectively with us, such as:
- Qualified sign language interpreters
- Written information in other formats (large print, audio, accessible electronic formats, other formats)
If you need these services or information about reasonable accommodation, contact the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (OEDIA) at CISA_ReasonableAccommodation@cisa.dhs.gov.
The law protects Federal employee from discrimination. The law also protects you from retaliation if you oppose employment discrimination, file a complaint of discrimination or participate in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint process (even if the complaint is not yours).
If you suspect discrimination or harassment due to a protected EEO basis, you have the right to seek EEO counseling and file an EEO complaint with the Resolution & Equity Subdivision (R&E) of the Office of, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (OEDIA). Protected bases include: race, color, national origin, religion, age (40 & over), disability (mental or physical), sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, & pregnancy), and retaliation (including for participating in EEO activity, requesting reasonable accommodation, & opposing discrimination), and also parental status under the Department’s policy.
To initiate the EEO process, within 45 calendar days of your awareness of the suspected discriminatory act, you must contact OEDIA’s Resolution & Equity(R&E) and unambiguously express your desire to initiate the EEO process. For more information regarding the EEO process and related reports, please visit R&E.
EEO CUSTOMER SERVICE INFORMATION:
General Phone Number: 202-240-9952
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS and PERSONAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES
A reasonable accommodation (RA) is a change in the workplace environment or in the way things are customarily done that enables a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities, absent undue hardship.
Three areas where an accommodation may be requested:
- Job application process
- Ability to perform the essential functions of the job
- Enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as non-disabled employees and applicants
Personal Assistance Services (PAS) refers to a range of support for employees with targeted disabilities who need assistance with performing activities of daily living that an individual would typically perform if they did not have a disability, and that is not otherwise required as a reasonable accommodation, including, for example, assistance with removing and putting on clothing, eating, and using the restroom. PAS can be tailored to meet the specific needs of each individual.
- Visit the "Accessibility Compliance Management System" to initiate your request.
- Complete Reasonable Accommodations Request (RAR) form and attach in ACMS.
- Medical provider completes Medical Inquiry Form, and this and the RAR, and any other supportinginformation, are attached by the requestor in ACMS.
- The Access and Equity/Reasonable Accommodation Division will review documents and establish if criteria for coverage as a person with a disability is met, as well as officially document the request and provide the supervisor of record, information and guidance concerning the request and next steps.
- Supervisor begins the interactive process (ask clarifying questions, gather additional supporting documentation).
- Supervisor (deciding official) has up to 30 business days to provide a decision in writing to grant or deny the request, upon receipt of all required processing documentation.
- Contact the CISA Access and Equity/Reasonable Accommodation Division at CISA_ReasonableAccommodation@cisa.dhs.gov for the required forms, with the subject line “CISA Applicant Reasonable Accommodation Request.”
- Complete the provided Reasonable Accommodations Request (RAR) and Medical Inquiry forms and email them back to CISA_ReasonableAccommodation@cisa.dhs.gov.
- The Access and Equity/Reasonable Accommodation Division will review documents and establish if criteria for coverage as a person with a disability is met, as well as officially document the request and provide the supervisor of record, information and guidance concerning the request and next steps.
- Deciding Official begins the interactive process (ask clarifying questions, gather additional supporting documentation).
- Deciding Official has up to 30business days to provide a decision in writing to grant or deny the request, upon receipt of all required processing documentation.
For questions or comments, please send all reasonable accommodation inquiries to CISA_ReasonableAccommodation@cisa.dhs.gov.