EEOC Appeal 2020001541

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Operations
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013
Barbar S.,1
Complainant,
v.
Louis DeJoy,
Postmaster General,
United States Postal Service
(Western Area),
Agency.
Appeal No. 2020001541
Hearing No. 550-2019-00225X
Agency No. 4E-980-0058-18
DECISION
Complainant filed an appeal with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or
Commission), 	pursuant 	to 	29 	C.F.R. 	§ 	1614.403(a), 	concerning 	her 	equal 	employment
opportunity (EEO) complaint alleging 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., and the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq.
BACKGROUND
At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as a Carrier at the
Agency’s Post Office in Yakima, Washington. On July 11, 2018, Complainant filed an EEO
complaint alleging that the Agency discriminated against her on the bases of race (Caucasian),
age, and reprisal for prior protected EEO activity when:
1. 	On March 27, 2018 management violated the terms of a settlement agreement from a
prior EEO complaint;
2. 	On March 27, 2018, she was placed on Emergency Off-Duty Status; and
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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3. 	On May 4, 2018, she received a Notice of Removal.
On August 7, 2018, the Agency issued a Partial Acceptance/Partial Dismissal accepting only
claims 2 and 3 for investigation. Following the investigation, Complainant requested a hearing
before an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Administrative Judge (AJ). The AJ
dismissed the hearing as a sanction on October 24, 2019 and remanded the matter to the Agency
for the issuance of a final decision. However, rather than issuing a final decision on the merits of
Complainant’s complaint, the Agency issued a final order on October 31, 2019, fully adopting
the AJ’s dismissal of Complainant’s hearing request.
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
The Commission's regulations at 29 C.F.R. § 1614.110(b) state that when an Agency has
received a request for an immediate final decision, the Agency shall take final action by issuing a
final decision “within 60 days of receiving notification that Complainant has requested an
immediate decision from the Agency.” 	The regulations at § 1614.110(b) further state that “the
final decision shall consist of findings by the agency on the merits of each issue in the complaint,
or, as appropriate, the rationale for dismissing any claims in the complaint . . . .”
In the instant case, it is clear that the AJ remanded the complaint to the Agency for issuance of a
final decision pursuant to § 1614.110(b), but the Agency’s October 31, 2019, final order did not
address the merits of Complainant’s complaint. Therefore, the Agency will be ordered to issue a
final decision addressing the merits of Complainant’s complaint.
Accordingly, we are remanding the matter to the Agency for the issuance of a final decision on
the merits of the claims in Complainant’s complaint. The Agency shall comply with the ORDER
as set forth below.
ORDER
Within thirty (30) calendar days of the date this decision, the Agency shall issue its final decision
addressing the merits of Complainant’s complaint pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.110(b), with
appropriate appeal rights to this Commission.
A copy of the Agency's final decision must be sent to the Compliance Officer as referenced
below.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMISSION’S DECISION (K0719)
Under 29 C.F.R. § 1614.405(c) and §1614.502, compliance with the Commission’s corrective
action is mandatory. 	Within seven (7) calendar days of the completion of each ordered
corrective action, the Agency shall submit via the Federal Sector EEO Portal (FedSEP)
supporting documents in the digital format required by the Commission, referencing the
compliance docket number under which compliance was being monitored.

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Once all compliance is complete, the Agency shall submit via FedSEP a final compliance report
in the digital format required by the Commission. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.403(g). The Agency’s
final report must contain supporting documentation when previously not uploaded, and the
Agency must send a copy of all submissions to the Complainant and his/her representative.
If the Agency does not comply with the Commission’s order, the Complainant may petition the
Commission for enforcement of the order. 29 C.F.R. § 1614.503(a). The Complainant also has
the right to file a civil action to enforce compliance with the Commission’s order prior to or
following an administrative petition for enforcement. See 29 C.F.R. §§ 1614.407, 1614.408, and
29 C.F.R. § 1614.503(g). Alternatively, the Complainant has the right to file a civil action on the
underlying complaint in accordance with the paragraph below entitled “Right to File a Civil
Action.” 29 C.F.R. §§ 1614.407 and 1614.408. A civil action for enforcement or a civil action
on the underlying complaint is subject to the deadline stated in 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16(c) (1994 &
Supp. IV 1999). If the Complainant files a civil action, the administrative processing of the
complaint, including any petition for enforcement, will be terminated. 	See 29 C.F.R.
§ 1614.409.
Failure by an agency to either file a compliance report or implement any of the orders set forth in
this decision, without good cause shown, may result in the referral of this matter to the Office of
Special Counsel pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.503(f) for enforcement by that agency.
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.

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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. 	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 (R0610)
This is a decision requiring the Agency to continue its administrative processing of your
complaint. However, if you wish to file a civil action, you have the right to file such action in an
appropriate United States District Court within ninety (90) calendar days from the date that you
receive this decision. 	In the alternative, you may file a civil action after one hundred and
eighty (180) calendar days of the date you filed your complaint with the Agency, or filed your
appeal with the Commission. 	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. 	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
October 2, 2020
Date