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Employee Assistance Program

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) which are offered to all managers, employees and their families, are designed to address individual, team, and organizational problems. Services include counseling and support services for:

  • Stress management
  • Work-related issues
  • Caregiver support such as elder and child care
  • Career management
  • Family and marital issues
  • Health and mental health issues
  • Bereavement
  • Addictions and compulsive behavior
  • Financial and legal issues

The EAP also provides consultation to both managers and employees for performance issues which may be due to personal, interpersonal, or workplace stresses or conflicts; individual, family and marital problems; assistance when there is a crisis or tragedy; consultations, assessments and referral; short term counseling; career coaching and training; and team building.

What You Most Need to Know

  • EAP services and contacts with individuals or families are kept totally confidential and using the EAP has no impact on an employee’s job status.
  • EAP services are free!
  • EAP services at Commerce headquarters in the Herbert C. Hoover Building (HCHB), room 6063, are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, except on Federal holidays. Appointments can be made by calling the EAP office during normal working hours or via email:

HCHB office: 202-482-1569

HCHB Room 6063

Counselors:

Nancy Pentz at npentz@doc.gov or

Patricia Henry at phenry1@doc.gov

Who Provides the Services

The EAP services are offered through J & E Associates. Nancy Pentz and Patricia Henry, LICSW, direct the EAP at the HCHB, and provide service to all employees who work at the HCHB, along with employees of the Bureau of Economic Analysis in Suitland, Maryland, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) headquarters and field employees, and the Federal Executive Board in Miami, Florida.

They are licensed and experienced consultants, counselors, career coaches and trainers. They conduct short-term counseling, couples coaching and training. They can also make referrals to counselors, family therapists and other resources within the community, as well as to treatment centers, hospices and other hospitals or facilities as needed.

Service providers vary based on which Commerce bureau you work for and your work location. If you work at HCHB, the Bureau of Economic Analysis in downtown Washington, D.C, or the National Technical Information Service in Springfield, VA, the EAP at the HCHB provides your EAP services. If you work at the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the HCHB or BIS offices nationally, you will also use the HCHB EAP. Otherwise, contact your servicing human resources offices and they can direct you to EAP services.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Guidance on EAP:

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/worklife/employee-assistance-…