Anisa U.,1 Complainant,v.Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service (Great Lakes Area), Agency.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Mar 8, 2018

0120162815 (E.E.O.C. Mar. 8, 2018)

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Operations
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013

Anisa U.,1
Complainant,

v.

Megan J. Brennan,
Postmaster General,
United States Postal Service
(Great Lakes Area),
Agency.

Appeal No. 0120162815

Hearing No. 440-2015-00201X

Agency No. 4J-604-0069-15

DECISION

Complainant appeals to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or
Commission) from the Agency’s final decision dated August 17, 2016, finding no discrimination
concerning her 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. For the following
reasons, we AFFIRM the Agency’s final decision finding no discrimination.

BACKGROUND

The record indicates that Complainant, a former City Carrier/Q-01/A, at the Bloomington Post
Office in Bloomington, Illinois, filed her complaint on May 15, 2015. The Agency framed
Complainant’s complaint as whether she was discriminated against based on race (African
American) when on February 9, 2015, she was issued a Letter of Separation. Complainant does
not challenge the Agency’s framing of her complaint. After completion of the investigation of
the complaint, Complainant requested a hearing but later withdrew the request. The Agency
issued its final decision concluding that it asserted legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for its
action, which Complainant failed to rebut.

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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ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

As this is an appeal from a decision issued without a hearing, pursuant to 29 C.F.R.
§ 1614.110(b), the agency's decision is subject to de novo review by the Commission. 29 C.F.R.
§ 1614.405(a). See Equal Employment Opportunity Management Directive for 29 C.F.R. Part
1614 (EEO MD-110), Chap. 9 § VI.A. (Aug. 5, 2015) (explaining that the de novo standard of
review "requires that the Commission examine the record without regard to the factual and legal
determinations of the previous decision maker," and that EEOC "review the documents,
statements, and testimony of record, including any timely and relevant submissions of the
parties, and . . . issue its decision based on the Commission's own assessment of the record and
its interpretation of the law").

After a review of the record, assuming arguendo that Complainant had established a prima facie
case of discrimination, we find that the Agency has articulated legitimate, nondiscriminatory
reasons for the alleged incident. At the relevant time, Complainant was employed by the Agency
as a City Carrier, subjected to a probationary period, at the Bloomington Post Office in
Bloomington, Illinois. The record indicates that on December 27, 2015, Complainant was
converted to her City Carrier career position from a non-career position.

Complainant’s Postmaster indicated that he issued Complainant the Letter of Separation at issue
during her probationary period for failure to meet the requirements of her position, failure to
follow instructions of her supervisor, and unacceptable overall conduct. Specifically, the
Postmaster stated that: Complainant failed to complete, on a number of occasions, a PS Form
3996 (Carrier-Auxiliary Control form) which she was required to submit for her auxiliary
assistance or overtime; on January 24, 2015, she failed to complete a PS Form 3966 and she
incurred 1 hour and 39 minutes of unauthorized overtime; and on February 4, 2015, while her
supervisor attempted to give her 30-day evaluation, she refused to discuss her performance issues
and left the meeting before the supervisor was finished with her evaluation. Complainant does
not dispute the foregoing.

Complainant indicated that she used too much overtime on one day because there was an ice
storm outside. On that day, stated Complainant, she asked her supervisor for ice cleats but she
was not provided with the ice cleats and it took her longer than usual to finish her job for safety
reasons. The supervisor denied that Complainant was not provided with ice cleats. Specifically,
the supervisor indicated that on the date of the incident the supervisor asked Complainant if she
was wearing the required ice cleats and when she responded that she did not have any, she was
immediately taken over to the supply cabinet and was given the appropriate size cleats. We note
that Complainant does not claim that she requested and was denied overtime on the day of the
ice storm.

After a review of the record, we find that Complainant failed to show that the Agency’s
articulated reasons were a mere pretext for discrimination. Furthermore, we find that
Complainant failed to show that there were any similarly situated employees not in her protected
groups who were treated differently under similar circumstances.
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Based on the foregoing, we find that Complainant failed to show that the Agency’s action was
motivated by discrimination as she alleged.

CONCLUSION

Accordingly, the Agency’s final decision finding no discrimination is AFFIRMED.

STATEMENT OF RIGHTS - ON APPEAL
RECONSIDERATION (M0617)
The Commission may, in its discretion, reconsider the decision in this case if the Complainant or
the Agency submits a written request containing arguments or evidence which 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 to reconsider, with supporting statement or brief, must be filed with the Office of
Federal Operations (OFO) within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of this decision. A party
shall have twenty (20) calendar days of receipt of another party’s timely request for
reconsideration in 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). All requests and arguments must be submitted to the
Director, Office of Federal Operations, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Complainant’s request may be submitted via regular mail to P.O. Box 77960, Washington, DC
20013, or by certified mail to 131 M Street, NE, Washington, DC 20507. In the absence of a
legible postmark, the request to reconsider shall be deemed timely filed if it is received by mail
within five days of the expiration of the applicable filing period. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.604. The
agency’s request must be submitted in digital format via the EEOC’s Federal Sector EEO Portal
(FedSEP). See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.403(g). The request or opposition must also include proof of
service on the other party.
Failure to file within the time period will result in dismissal of your request for reconsideration
as untimely, unless extenuating circumstances prevented the timely filing of the request. Any
supporting documentation must be submitted with your 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).

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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. 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

March 8, 2018
Date