Office of Professional Responsibility

Our Mission

The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) ensures expeditious, fair, and objective follow up and resolution of all allegations of employee misconduct and assists FEMA in building a culture that reflects our core values of compassion, fairness, integrity and respect for our employees and those we serve.

What We Do

OPR’s top priority is to protect and support our workforce and ensure that we all have a safe work environment. If a FEMA employee or contractor is impacted by or witnesses employee misconduct, OPR stands ready to provide a fair, unbiased and objective process for investigation.

• OPR serves as the clearinghouse for receiving, documenting and referring all allegations of misconduct by FEMA personnel.
• OPR coordinates all reports of misconduct with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) in accordance with the guidelines established in DHS Management Directive No. 0810.1.
• OPR investigates allegations of reportable misconduct and harassment involving FEMA employees and contractors in a fair, impartial, and timely manner.
• OPR provides final investigative products to the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) Labor and Employee Relations (LER) office for adjudication and potential discipline.
• OPR conducts internal oversight of investigations and conducts data analysis to identify and recommend strategies to mitigate misconduct areas of concern across FEMA.
• OPR serves as a liaison with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
• OPR investigates alleged violations of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (Fair Chance Act), which prohibits federal agencies and federal contractors from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment to the applicant.

How to Report Employee Misconduct

Allegations of FEMA employee or contractor misconduct can be reported using one of the following avenues:

OPR manages FEMA’s Anti-Harassment Program (AHP) and provides thorough review and investigation of allegations of harassment. For more information on the AHP and how to report allegations of harassment, please visit the Anti-Harassment Program.

View the FEMA Offices & Leadership page to learn about this program's key staff.