EEOC Appeal 2020001711

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Operations
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013
Colby P.,1
Complainant,
v.
David Bernhardt,
Secretary,
Department of the Interior
(National Park Service),
Agency.
Appeal No. 2020001711
Hearing No. 570-2019-00162X
Agency No. NPS-18-0371
DISMISSAL OF APPEAL
By Notice of Appeal postmarked December 23, 2019, Complainant filed an appeal with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) from the October 22, 2019 final
Agency decision (FAD) concerning his EEO complaint of unlawful employment discrimination in
violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e
et seq.
On April 23, 2018, Complainant filed a formal complaint alleging the Agency discriminated
against him on the bases of his race (White Hispanic), national origin (Dominican), and in reprisal
for prior protected EEO activity when on March 24, 2018, upon seeking other employment,
management reassigned him to the Monument Protection Unit.
At the conclusion of the investigation on the complaint, the Agency provided Complainant with a
copy of the report of investigation and notice of his right to receive a final decision from the
Agency or 	to 	request 	a hearing before an 	Equal 	Employment 	Opportunity Commission
Administrative Judge (AJ). Complainant requested a hearing. The AJ assigned to the case found
that, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to Complainant, a decision without a
hearing was appropriate as there were no genuine issues of material fact in dispute.
1 This case has been randomly assigned a pseudonym which will replace Complainant’s name
when the decision is published to non-parties and the Commission’s website.

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On September 25, 2019, the AJ issued a decision finding Complainant was not discriminated
against as alleged. The Agency issued a final order on October 22, 2019, fully implementing the
AJ's decision finding Complainant failed to establish that he was subjected to discrimination as
alleged. Thereafter, Complainant filed the instant appeal.
The record establishes that the Agency's final order was sent to Complainant's address of record
by United States Postal Service (USPS) certified mail. The USPS tracking information reveals that
the Agency's final order was received at Complainant's address of record on October 24, 2019. A
review of the final order reveals that the Agency properly advised Complainant that he had 30
calendar days after receipt of its final decision to file his appeal with the Commission.
Complainant’s appeal was filed approximately one month beyond the 30-day time limit.
Complainant has not offered adequate justification for an extension of the applicable time limit for
filing his appeal.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, Complainant's December 23, 2019 appeal is dismissed. See 29 C.F.R. §1614.403(c).
STATEMENT OF RIGHTS - ON APPEAL
RECONSIDERATION (M0620)
The Commission may, in its discretion, reconsider this appellate decision if the complainant or the
agency submits a written request that contains arguments or evidence that tend to establish that:
1. 	The appellate decision involved a clearly erroneous interpretation of material fact or
law; or
2. 	The appellate decision will have a substantial impact on the policies, practices, or
operations of the agency.
Requests for reconsideration must be filed with EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations (OFO)
within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of this decision. If the party requesting reconsideration
elects to file a statement or brief in support of the request, that statement or brief must be filed
together with the request for reconsideration. A party shall have twenty (20) calendar days
from receipt of another party’s request for reconsideration within which to submit a brief or
statement in opposition. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.405; Equal Employment Opportunity Management
Directive for 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 (EEO MD-110), at Chap. 9 § VII.B (Aug. 5, 2015).
Complainant should submit his or her request for reconsideration, and any statement or brief in
support 	of 	his 	or 	her 	request, 	via 	the 	EEOC 	Public 	Portal, 	which 	can 	be 	found 	at
https://publicportal.eeoc.gov/Portal/Login.aspx. Alternatively, complainant can submit his or her
request and arguments to the Director, Office of Federal Operations, Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, via regular mail addressed to P.O. Box 77960, Washington, DC 20013,
or by certified mail addressed to 131 M Street, NE, Washington, DC 20507.

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In the absence of a legible postmark, complainant’s request to reconsider shall be deemed timely
filed if OFO receives it by mail within five days of the expiration of the applicable filing period.
See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.604.
An agency’s request for reconsideration must be submitted in digital format via the EEOC’s
Federal Sector EEO Portal (FedSEP). See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.403(g). Either party’s request and/or
statement or brief in opposition must also include proof of service on the other party, unless
complainant files his or her request via the EEOC Public Portal, in which case no proof of service
is required.
Failure to file within the 30-day time period will result in dismissal of the party’s request for
reconsideration as untimely, unless extenuating circumstances prevented the timely filing of the
request. 	Any supporting documentation must be submitted together with the request for
reconsideration. 	The Commission will consider requests for reconsideration filed after the
deadline only in very limited circumstances. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.604(c).
COMPLAINANT’S RIGHT TO FILE A CIVIL ACTION (S0610)
You have the right to file a civil action in an appropriate United States District Court within ninety
(90) calendar days from the date that you receive this decision. If you file a civil action, you must
name as the defendant in the complaint the person who is the official Agency head or department
head, identifying that person by his or her full name and official title. Failure to do so may result
in the dismissal of your case in court. “Agency” or “department” means the national organization,
and not the local office, facility or department in which you work. If you file a request to reconsider
and also file a civil action, filing a civil action will terminate the administrative processing of
your complaint.
RIGHT TO REQUEST COUNSEL (Z0815)
If you want to file a civil action but cannot pay the fees, costs, or security to do so, you may request
permission from the court to proceed with the civil action without paying these fees or costs.
Similarly, if you cannot afford an attorney to represent you in the civil action, you may request the
court to appoint an attorney for you. You must submit the requests for waiver of court costs or
appointment of an attorney directly to the court, not the Commission. The court has the sole
discretion to grant or deny these types of requests.

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Such requests do not alter the time limits for filing a civil action (please read the paragraph titled
Complainant’s Right to File a Civil Action for the specific time limits).
FOR THE COMMISSION:
______________________________ 	Carlton M. Hadden’s signature
Carlton M. Hadden, Director
Office of Federal Operations
September 30, 2020
Date