Anti-Discrinination Presence of both members of the Ombud for Equal Treatment admissible However, the Chairperson of Senate I of the Equal Treatment Commission, which is competent for cases of multiple discrimination, shared the concern that actions by the members of the Ombud during proceedings with regard to issues outside of his or her area of competence can be problematic. She does not consider it optimal for the treatment of the case if two members of the Ombud for Equal Treatment are present who switch back and forth. She stated that it is reasonable and legally admissible that both members of the Ombud for Equal Treatment can follow the entire proceedings live. She therefore announced that, in the future, in cases of multiple discrimination, she would permit the presence of both members of the Ombud for Equal Treatment, with only one member sitting at the attorney’s table and the other member taking the role of an observer. If the second attorney needs to make a comment or undertake a procedural step, the attorneys can change places. In this way, support of the client that is within the law during the proceedings by the competent member of the Ombud for Equal Treatment is ensured; from the perspective of the Chairperson of the Equal Treatment Commission this cannot be guaranteed solely by way of assignments prior to the hearing and telephone queries during the hearing in a way that is procedurally efficient. The AOB hopes that this will guarantee unrestricted and legally secured support for victims of multiple discrimination. Similar responsibilities, different time limits Another topic that should be rethought during the evaluation of the equal treatment instruments is whether it makes sense to have different time limits for the Equal Treatment Commission, which is competent for private business and industry, and the Federal Equal Treatment Commission, competent for the Federal Civil Service. Federal Equal Treatment Commission informs about time limits upon AOB recommendation 44 The AOB became aware of deficits in the provision of information regarding procedural requirements by the equal opportunity bodies due to the complaint of an individual impacted by this issue. Petitions to the Federal Equal Treatment Commission, which is competent for the examination of alleged discrimination in the Civil Service are only possible within certain time limits (six months or three years in the case of alleged sexual harassment or harassment, 14 days in the event of termination of an employment relationship). However, the information provided on the website of the Federal Equal Treatment Commission is insufficient. The website did not specify the necessity of adhering to time limits, but only contained a link to the text of the law, from which one can derive the time limits to which one is bound. This information regarding such an important requirement for an

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents