Elijah Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act

The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) upload of the group's PowerPoint panel presentation entitled: Addressing Discrimination in the Federal Workplace. The panel discussed the Elijah Cummings Federal Employee Anti-discrimination Act. of 2020.

The presentation was made at the 9th Annual Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival on July 27, 2021. Panelists Tanya Ward Jordan, the C4C’s President, and Paulette Taylor, the C4C’s Civil Rights Chair, discussed the background, purpose, and requirements of the new law Elijah Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020.

Notably, the C4C panelists discussed transparency and accountability requirements they recommended to the late Representative Elijah Cummings that he introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives “to ensure that all federal workplaces meet the standards of a model EEO program.”

Joyce E. Megginson, the C4C’s Public Relations Officer, served as the C4C’s panel moderator. She facilitated the discussion on the Elijah Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act and the vital need for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to use its enforcement authority to deter unlawful employment discrimination in the federal workplace.

Transcript

1. Presented by The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) July 27, 2021 “Addressing Discrimination in the Federal Workplace” Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival Presentation
2. Moderator Joyce E. Megginson Public Relations Officer The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C)
3. ABOUT C4C  Formed in 2009  Incorporated in Washington, DC  Non-profit organization comprised of former & present employees who have been harmed due to Federal workplace race discrimination and reprisal
4. MISSION  Address racial inequality & reprisal in federal service  Provide informational & emotional support for public servants who expose civil rights violations
5. The Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act) • President George W. Bush signed No FEAR Act into law on May 15, 2002 • Requires federal agencies to be accountable when federal officials violate anti-discrimination and whistleblower protection laws. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee Representative Jim Sensenbrenner Dr. Marsha Coleman- Adebayo Chair-No FEAR Coalition
6. Tanya Ward Jordan (Left), Elijah Cummings (Center) , Paulette Taylor (Right) Speaker One Tanya Ward Jordan President – The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) Speaker Two Paulette Taylor Civil Rights Chair -The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C)
7.  President/Founder, The Coalition For Change Inc. (C4C)  NAACP History Maker 2015  No FEAR Act Award Recipient from Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner  Congressional recognition from Rep. Elijah Cummings -- Input and Development of the Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination Act  Author 17 Steps: A Federal Employee’s Guide For Tackling Workplace Discrimination
8.  Class agent – Social Security Admin. (SSA) representing over 5,000 African American Females  Co-founder/President - Black Females for Justice II at SSA, LLC  Disabled Veteran, United States Army  Congressional recognition from Representative Elijah Cummings – Input and Development of the Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination Act  Once a victim of discrimination, retaliation and bullying, now a thriving civil rights activist!
9. C-SPAN HR 1557: C4C Partners with Rep. Elijah Cummings to Protect Whistleblowers
10. Speaker One Tanya Ward Jordan President/Founder - The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C)
11. Assigned to storage room after blowing whistle on race discrimination in federal workplace.
12. “Attacking those who serve us is not only unfair, it is contrary to our national self-interest.” Rep. Elijah E. Cummings
13. I. Background - “The What, The Why, The How” II. Key Requirements • Notification of Violation • Reporting Requirements • Data to be Posted by Employing Federal Agencies/EEOC • Complaint Tracking • Notation in Personnel Folders III. Conclusion: Take-Aways COVERAGE Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020
14. Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020  U.S. federal law - Passed Jan. 1, 2021over President Trump’s veto.  Amends No FEAR Act w/ emphasis on “discipline” for proven civil rights violations  Includes C4C’s measures Rep. Cummings introduced in U.S. House of Representative to end federal workplace discrimination and retaliation against whistleblowers.  Housed -Thornberry Nat’l Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2021 (H. R. 6395) Title XI (Civilian Personnel Matters) Subtitle B
15. Despite Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) & No FEAR Act of 2002, complaint activity shows Federal supervisors & managers still engage in employment discrimination. https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation-making-it-personal
16. “(4) accountability in the enforcement of the rights of Federal employees is furthered when Federal agencies agree to take appropriate disciplinary actions against Federal employees who are found to have intentionally committed discriminatory (including retaliatory) acts;” #Consequences Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020 Sec. 1132 Sense of Congress (Amends Sec 102 of No FEAR Act 2002)
17. Reports of EEOC’s Flawed Transparency and Enforcement EXAMPLES • Failure to root out retaliation within its own agency (Bullock v Berrien) • Failure to respond to Freedom of Information Act request (i.e. Agency Compliance Audits) • Failure to enforce settlement agreements where agency admits offense. (Kirk Webster v Defense, ) • Failure to refer Veteran Affairs (VA) New Orleans Medical Center “Blacklisting” cases to the Office of Special Counsel for disciplinary action (Isaac Decatur v VA) • Failure to properly track complainant case number. (Ralph Saunders v VA) • Failure to sanction agencies for non-compliance with 29 CFR 1614 Federal Sector Equal Employment Opportunity complaint processing and investigative guidelines. NOTE: C4C presented accountability and transparency measures to the EEOC ‘s Office of Federal Operation’s Director Carlton Hadden. However, EEOC failed to actively pursue C4C measures. C4C members with EEOC’s Carlton Hadden at center
18. Reports of EEOC’s Flawed Transparency and Enforcement • Failure to respond to Freedom of Information Act request (i.e. Field Compliance Audits) (As of 2021, EEOC has failed to reply to 2018 FOIA despite proof of receiving C4C’s request for the status of agency field compliance audits.)
19. Reports of EEOC’s Flawed Transparency and Enforcement
20. Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020  2013 - C4C President (Ward Jordan) and Paulette Taylor, Civil Rights Chair/Baltimore constituent) met Rep. Cummings to discuss EEO transparency & accountability measures.  Rep. Cummings later introduced C4C recommended measures in Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act 2015 - H.R.1557 2017 - H.R. 702 2019 - H.R. 135 Tanya Ward Jordan – C4C President/ w Rep. Cummings*
21. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings
23. Requires agencies to:  Post notice of discrimination finding on website NLT 90 days of a finding after appeals have been exhausted or when a court issues a final ruling on the matter.  Keep posting online for at least one year.  Identify date finding was made, law violated, & date when discrimination happened. Sec. 1133 Amends No FEAR Act Sec. 202 Notification Requirement Adds para. (d) Notification of Final Agency Action http://www
24. EXAMPLE NOTIFICATION OF VIOLATION
25. Sec 1134 Amends No FEAR Act Sec 203 (a) Electronic Format Requirement (b) Reporting Requirement For Disciplinary Action NLT 120 days after date agency takes final action or receives EEOC’s final decision of a discrimination finding (including retaliation) agency shall submit a report to the EEOC stating—  whether it proposed against disciplinary action against federal employee  reason(s) for any disciplinary action proposed
26. FEDERAL AGENCIES Sec 1135 Amends No FEAR Act Sec 301(b) EEOC Sec 1136 Amends No FEAR Act Sec. 302(b)  Date of a finding  Affected federal agency  Law violated  Decision re: disciplinary action Class action complaints  Date filed  Summary of allegations / Number of Plaintiffs  Complaint status  Case numbers for civil actions in which discrimination/retaliation found Class Action complaints  Date filed  Summary of allegations  Number of Plaintiffs  Complaint status  Case numbers for civil actions in which discrimination/retaliation found
27. EXAMPLE PUBLIC POSTING [FEDERAL AGENCY]
28. Sec 1137 No FEAR Amendments Section 207 Complaint Tracking (Added) NLT 1 year after the Act’s passing, Federal agency shall:  Establish a system to track each discrimination complaint tried in the EEO process “from the filing of a complaint with the Federal agency to resolution of the complaint,”  State whether a decision has been made about disciplinary action as the result of a discrimination finding.
29. If Federal agency takes an adverse action under 5 US Code § 7512 against an Federal employee for an unlawful discriminatory act, agency shall, after related appeals have ended, enter in employee’s personnel record: 1) notation of the adverse action; and 2) reason for the disciplinary action taken Sec 1137 No FEAR Amendments Section 208 Notation In Personnel Record
30. Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020 . . .  Amends the No FEAR Act 2002 to end federal workplace discrimination & retaliation against whistleblowers.  Emphasizes “discipline” within the framework of transparency and accountability when an employee is found guilty of discrimination. Tanya Ward Jordan
31. Speaker Two Paulette Taylor Civil Rights Chair, The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C)
32. Discrimination Shunned by management and employees Retaliation No promotional Opportunities Humiliation No projects/no work Bullying Non-selection Isolation Sexual harassment Mental and physical abuse Locked out of buildings of responsibility Exclusion Paulette Taylor My Story . . .
33. Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020 I. Title IV-Processing and Referral II. Sec. 1138 Non Disclosure Agreement Limitation COVERAGE Paulette Taylor
34. COMPLAINTS
35. Sec. 401 Processing and Resolution of Complaints 2) establish a model Equal Employment Opportunity Program that— (A) is not under the control of the agency’s Office of Human Capital or Office of the General Counsel (or equivalent); (B) is devoid of internal conflicts of interest and ensures fairness & inclusiveness within the agency; and (C) ensures efficient & fair resolution of complaints alleging discrimination (including retaliation).
36. TITLE IV: Processing and Referral Sec 402 No Limitation on Advice or Counsel Agency Counsel Role Nothing in this title shall prevent a Federal agency or a Federal agency subcomponent or the Dept. of Justice, from providing advice or counsel to employees of that agency (or subcomponent, as applicable) in the resolution of a complaint.
37. Sec 403 Head of Program Supervised by Head of Agency “The head of each Federal agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity Program shall report to the head of the agency.” EEO Agency Head Head of Agency EEO
38. NLT 30 days after the date on which EEOC receives, or should have received, agency report required under section 203(c)-Disciplinary Action Report, the EEOC may refer matter to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) if EEOC finds agency did not take appropriate action. Sec 404 Referrals of Findings of Discrimination (a)(1) EEOC Findings of Discrimination
39. Sec. 404 Referral of Findings of Discrimination (a)(2) Notifications The EEOC shall notify applicable Federal agency if it refers a matter to OSC under par.(1); and with respect to a fiscal year (FY), include in EEOC’s Annual Report of the Federal Workforce — (i) the number of referrals made during that FY; and (ii) a brief summary of each referral described in clause (i) .
40. Sec. 404 Referral of Findings of Discrimination (b) Referrals to Special Counsel The OSC shall accept & review a referral from the EEOC, as the Act prescribes, to pursue disciplinary action against a Federal employee who commits discrimination (including retaliation). Referrals: OSC’s Acceptance and Review
42. Section 2302(b)(13) of title 5 United States Code (Prohibited Personnel Practice) is amended Prohibits nondisclosure agreements that restrict an employee or applicant from disclosing whistleblower information.
43. Victim Survivor Thriving Civil Rights Activist Paulette Taylor The Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020
44. Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020  William M. Thornberry Nat’l Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2021 (H. R. 6395 Title XI, Subtitle B, Sections 1131-1138.  View law: https://www.coalition4change.org/Cummings.htm  https://speakerdeck.com/c4c/ Joyce Megginson
45. Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020 The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C)