Federal EEO Complaint Program Challenges (C4C, Inc.)

The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) PowerPoint identifies Key Challenges Employees Face in the Federal EEO Complaint Program  as presented to the Government Accountability Office in August 2022 (Part 1)

Transcript

1. Key Challenges Employees Face in the Federal EEO Complaint Program (Part 1) Submitted to the Government Accountability Office Prepared by Tanya Ward Jordan, President The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) 8/10/2022
2. Coverage Zoom Meeting August 10, 2022 I. Introductory Remarks  Tanya Ward Jordan / Paulette Taylor II. Background: The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) III. C4C Interface with the Elijah Cummings Federal Employee Anti- discrimination Act  Affiliation with Representative Elijah Cummings  Outreach to the EEOC –Director Carlton Hadden IV. Challenges Employees Face in the Federal EEO Program (Part One) IV. Suggested Actions NOTE: Hardcopy of PowerPoint to be provided to GAO meeting attendees: Shirley Hwang, Keith O’Brien and Serae LaFache-Brazier.
3. Tanya Ward Jordan  President/Founder - The Coalition For Change Inc. (C4C)  Former NAACP Federal Sector Data Group Member  Former No FEAR Coalition Legislative Group Member  No FEAR Act Award Recipient from Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner  Congressional recognition from Rep. Elijah Cummings -- Input / Development of the Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination Act  Former Class Rep.– Janet Howard, et al v Commerce Dept. I. Introductory Remarks
4.  Civil Rights Chair, The Coalition For Change, Inc.  Class agent SSA representing over 5,000 African American Females  Co-founder/President of the Black Females for Justice II at SSA, LLC  Disabled Veteran, United States Army  Congressional recognition from Rep. Elijah Cummings – Input / Development of the Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination Act Paulette Taylor I.Introductory Remarks
5.  Formed 2009 in Washington, DC  Volunteer organization comprised of former & present federal employees  Address racial inequality & reprisal in federal service by fostering federal workplace accountability  Provide informational & emotional support for public servants who expose civil rights violations . II. Background: The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C)
6. Tanya Ward Jordan (L), Rep. Elijah Cummings (C) Paulette Taylor (R) III. C4C Interface with the Elijah Cummings Federal Employee Anti-discrimination Act
7. III. C4C Interface with the Elijah Cummings Federal Employee Anti-discrimination Act Visit: C4C Meeting with EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations -on with EEOC
8. IV. Ten Challenges Employees Face in the Federal EEO Complaint Programs
9. 1. EEOC Fails to Enforce Regulatory Guidelines Equitably 29 CFR 1614 -- Federal Sector EEO Program In 2009 GAO reported: “A commissioner noted that a double standard exists, because a complaint would be dismissed if a complainant missed any of the deadlines. (GAO-09-712) (p. 12) In 2022 C4C reports: “A double standard remains as to how EEOC applies regulatory guidelines.”
10. 2. Agencies Fail to Conduct Timely Investigation 218.36 262.47 293 397.76 476.93 423.5 375.24 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 EXAMPLE: U. S. EEOC Avg. # of Days Investigation Stage REGULATIONS 29 CFR 1614 180 Days Source: EEOC No FEAR Data
11. 3. No Accountability For EEOC Mistakes or Malfeasances
12. “"Congress has not authorized, either expressly or impliedly, a cause of action against the EEOC for the EEOC's alleged negligence or other malfeasance in processing an employment discrimination charge.“ Smith v. Casellas, 119 F.3d 33, 34 (D.C. Cir.)” 3. No Accountability For EEOC Mistakes or Malfeasances
13. 4. EEOC Fails to Forward Proven Discrimination Cases to Office of Special Counsel for Discipline Excerpt from EEOC’s Reply dated June 9, 2014 to C4C FOIA Request
14. 5. EEOC Fails to Adequately Conduct Field Compliance Audits & Take Follow-up Action
15. ““””The head of each Federal agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity Program shall report to the head of the agency.” 6. Agencies Fail to Follow EEO Program Reporting Structure EEOC requirement / C4C recommendation adopted in Elijah Cummings FEA 2020 Sec 403 Head of Program Supervised by Head of Agency HEAD EEO
16. 7. Leadership In Question Carlton Hadden EEOC Director Office of Federal Operations • Steward over flawed Federal EEO complaint program for 22+ years • Named in active pending complaint action against the U.S. EEOC • OFO Reframed C4C stakeholder issues/ Poor stakeholder Outreach
17. 7. Leadership In Question SOURCE: Forbes Magazine-D.C. Appeals Court Recognizes Claim Of ‘Interference’ In Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Patricia Barnes. Sept. 17,2020 SOURCE: Barnes, P. (Sept. 17, 2020). Forbes on-line Magazine D.C. Appeals Court Recognizes Claim Of ‘Interference’ In Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Retrieved narrative from https://www.forbes.com/
18. 7. Leadership In Question https://www.govexec.com/federal-news/2000/03/eeoc-gets-grilled-for-slow-complaint- processing/2090/
19. 8. “Fox Guarding the Hen House” Complaint System Defending Agency: • Processes claims/bases, • Reframes claims/bases (at times) • Approves/Denies claims • Investigates claims • Rules on complaint merits re: Final Agency Decision NOTE: Agency Office of General Counsel at times interferes with EEO intake and formal complaint process
20. 9. The Commissions’ Limited Focus on Federal Sector EEO Matters The U.S.EEOC – “bipartisan Commission comprised of five presidentially appointed members, including the Chair, Vice Chair, and three Commissioners. ” Lack of Focus on Federal Sector Compared to Private Sector
21. 10. EEOC Long Processing Times Fiscal Year FY 2000 FY2016 HEARINGS 381 days 500 days APPEALS 420 days 447 days SOURCE: Annual Report of the FW 2000 p v-6 Table V-2 VI-4 Figure V11 U.S. EEOC Strategic Enforcement Plan FY 2017 – 2021 Executive Summary mplementing SEP Priorities (E.d.4)
22. Suggested Actions • Conduct trends analysis to assess how many cases in which EEOC found discrimination; and how many EEOC referred to OSC since No FEAR Act of 2002. • Investigate the # of Field Audits the EEOC conducted over last decade. • Obtain EEOC employee “EXIT” reports • Review Performance Ratings of those in leadership within Office of Federal Operations. • Obtain number of employment class actions filed in government & how many the EEOC certified.
23. • Review No FEAR data to assess the frequency in which agency exceeds 180 day investigative timeframe. {Note-Also see #hearings, Avg. processing time for hearings, #findings of discrimination, etc. • Review EEOC’s record of sanctions, if any, against agencies that exceed 180-day investigative time frame. • Speak with former EEOC high-ranking attorney Cassandra Menoken • Speak with USDA Coalition of Minority Employees. Lawrence Lucas Suggested Actions
24. • See video re: Whistleblower Summit 2016 -- EEOC Replies to C4C Inquiry (Pt 3) [Director Carlton Hadden discusses / Memorandum of Understanding with Office of Special Counsel regarding “discipline of officials proven guilty of discrimination.] • Determine if EEOC has by statute the “authority” to discipline those proven guilty for discrimination. See video where EEOC states –it does not. • Review EEOC’s strategic plan/performance reports to discern if performance measures & goals are appropriate to address federal workplace EEO issues. Suggested Actions
25. ACCOUNTABILITY “It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do for which we are accountable” Moliere Key Challenges Employees Face in the Federal EEO Complaint Program (Part 1) Contacts: Tanya Ward Jordan Ward.tj7@gmail.com Paulette Taylor royal488@comcast.net Alternate Email—c4C@coalition4change.org