John E. Boyer, Appellant,v.Kenneth S. Apfel, Commissioner, Social Security Administration,) Agency.

Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionSep 15, 1999
01980089 (E.E.O.C. Sep. 15, 1999)

01980089

09-15-1999

John E. Boyer, Appellant, v. Kenneth S. Apfel, Commissioner, Social Security Administration,) Agency.


John E. Boyer v. Social Security Administration

01980089

September 15, 1999

John E. Boyer, )

Appellant, )

)

v. ) Appeal No. 01980089

) Agency No. 97-0414-SSA

Kenneth S. Apfel, )

Commissioner, )

Social Security Administration,)

Agency. )

)

DECISION

Appellant filed an appeal with this Commission from a final decision of

the agency concerning his complaint of unlawful employment discrimination

in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended,

42 U.S.C. �2000e et seq., and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act

of 1967, as amended, 29 U.S.C. �621 et seq. The final agency decision

was issued on August 19, 1997. The appeal was postmarked September 17,

1997. Accordingly, the appeal is timely (see 29 C.F.R. �1614.402(a)),

and is accepted in accordance with EEOC Order No. 960, as amended.

ISSUES PRESENTED

The issues presented on appeal are as follows:

whether the agency properly dismissed allegations 1 and 3 of appellant's

complaint on the grounds of failure to state a claim;

whether the agency properly dismissed allegations 2, 4, and 5 of

appellant's complaint on the grounds that it states the same claim as

that pending before the Commission.

BACKGROUND

The record reveals that appellant initiated contact with an EEO Counselor

on March 13, 1997. On May 29, 1997, appellant filed a formal EEO

complaint wherein he alleged that he had been discriminated against on

the bases of his sex (male), race (Caucasian), age (55), and in reprisal

for his previous EEO activity when:

1. On January 27, 1997 and February 13, 1997, the agency denied use of a

meeting room to an organization known as Government Men for Equality Now.

Appellant is a member of the group's steering committee.

2. The agency has been and is pursuing a continuing systemic

discriminatory policy against all males and particularly white males

forty years of age and older in the personnel practices of hiring,

ratings, awards, and promotions. Appellant is specifically attacking the

overall discriminatory patterns and practices against males, especially

Caucasian males, as these actions have affected his career... and created

a hostile employment atmosphere for himself and all male employees, and

has resulted in him not being promoted for over twenty years, lowered

ratings, and he has received diminished performance award amounts.

3. The Office of Disability maintains a clandestine listing of

individuals in its office who have filed EEO complaints or union

grievances. Appellant maintains that this list is used to discredit

individuals when they file for promotions and it affects their ratings

and awards.

4. He is unable to obtain fair and impartial counseling of his

complaint from within the agency due to the discriminatory patterns and

practices against males for at least the last twenty years, because he

has previously filed complaints against the Office of Civil Rights and

Equal Opportunity (OCREO), the majority of OCREO staff are female and

minority and have been illegally hired, the OCREO counseling staff is

an all black female staff, and because the Director of OCREO reports to

the Deputy Commissioner of Human Resources instead of directly to the

agency Commissioner.

5. The agency has denied him his representative of choice by declaring

this individual ineligible to represent employees in EEO complaints.

In its final decision, the agency dismissed allegations 1 and 3 on the

grounds that they failed to state a claim. The agency determined that

appellant failed to allege or establish personal loss or harm with regard

to a term, condition, or privilege of his employment. Allegations 2,

4, and 5 were dismissed on the grounds that they state the same claims

that are pending before the Commission. The agency determined that these

allegations were raised and addressed in three of appellant's previous

complaints, and that these matters are pending before the Commission.

On appeal, appellant contends with regard to allegation 1 that the

agency's denial of a meeting room prevented him from effectively advising

his fellow employees about their EEO rights. Appellant argues that

this decrease in his effectiveness resulted in him being ridiculed

by his peers, and has caused him to feel depressed about his efforts

to prevent discrimination against Caucasian males. With respect to

allegation 2, appellant maintains that this allegation is not the same

claim pending before the Commission because it covers a different

period of time. Appellant argues that as a result of the agency's

discriminatory policies and practices, he has suffered great personal

harm in not being selected for promotions, receiving lower ratings than

females, receiving no cash or noncash awards, and receiving lower cash

award amounts when he did receive a cash award. As for allegation 3,

appellant argues that he has been seriously injured by the agency keeping

lists of employees who have filed EEO complaints and union grievances.

Appellant states that the lists have been used to keep individuals from

being promoted, properly rated, and receiving awards. With regard to

allegation 4, appellant contends that this allegation is similar to the

allegations in the complaints cited by the agency, but that it is not

the same because it is an updating of the discrimination encountered

by him. Appellant claims that the discriminatory processing of his

complaints by the OCREO is reflected in the delays in his complaints,

a failure to inquire into or counsel on his allegations, and the

denial of his representative of choice. With respect to allegation 5,

appellant maintains that the agency violated 29 C.F.R. �1614.605(c)

by not affording his representative the opportunity to respond before

effecting the disqualification. Appellant argues that although this

disqualification is similar to the previous allegations, it is different

because it represents another occurrence of the alleged discrimination.

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

EEOC Regulation 29 C.F.R. �1614.107(a) provides that the agency shall

dismiss a complaint or a portion of a complaint that states the same claim

that is pending before or has been decided by the agency or Commission.

It has long been established that "identical" does not mean "similar."

The Commission has consistently held that in order for a complaint to be

dismissed as identical, the elements of the complaint must be identical to

the elements of the prior complaint in time, place, incident and parties.

See Jackson v. USPS, EEOC Appeal No. 01955890 (April 5, 1996).

The agency dismissed allegation 2 on the grounds that it states the same

claim as that in a complaint that was pending before the Commission,

John E. Boyer v. Social Security Administration, EEOC Appeal No. 01971500

(June 19, 1998). Appellant contends that the allegations differ because

they pertain to different time frames. However, we find that both

allegations attack the same purportedly discriminatory policy, i.e.,

the alleged systemic discriminatory policy against males, particularly

white males, in the areas of hiring, promotions, awards, and ratings.

The remedial relief available to appellant should he prevail on this

allegation would not differ or be enlarged by filing the same allegation

more than once. Accordingly, the agency's decision to dismiss allegation

2 was proper and is AFFIRMED.

Appellant alleged in allegation 5 that the agency discriminatorily

disqualified his choice of representative. Specifically, appellant

alleged that the agency improperly issued a "blanket order" disallowing

appellant choice of representative from every representing any employees.

In EEOC Appeal No. 01971500 (June 19, 1998), appellant also challenged

the disqualification of the same representative. Consequently, we

find that allegation 5 also states the same claim as a prior complaint.

Accordingly, the agency's decision to dismiss allegation 5 was proper

and is AFFIRMED.

EEOC Regulation 29 C.F.R. �1614.107(a) provides that an agency may dismiss

a complaint which fails to state a claim pursuant to 29 C.F.R. �1614.103.

For employees and applicants for employment, EEOC Regulation 29

C.F.R. �1614.103 provides that individual and class complaints of

employment discrimination prohibited by Title VII (discrimination on

the bases of race, color, religion, sex and national origin), the ADEA

(discrimination on the basis of age when the aggrieved individual is

at least 40 years of age) and the Rehabilitation Act (discrimination on

the basis of disability) shall be processed in accordance with Part 29

C.F.R. �1614 of the EEOC Regulations.

The only proper inquiry, therefore, in determining whether an allegation

is within the purview of the EEO process is whether the complainant is an

aggrieved employee and whether s/he has alleged employment discrimination

covered by the EEO statutes. The Commission's Federal sector case

precedent has long defined an "aggrieved employee" as one who suffers a

present harm or loss with respect to a term, condition, or privilege of

employment for which there is a remedy. Diaz v. Department of the Air

Force, EEOC Request No. 05931049 (Apr. 21, 1994).

While the agency dismissed allegation 4 for stating the same claim as a

prior matter, upon review, we find that it is more properly dismissed for

failure to state a claim. Appellant alleged that the agency improperly

processed his complaint. With respect to allegations pertaining to

complaints processing, the Commission has stated that the agency is

required to refer the complainant to the agency official responsible

for the quality of complaint processing, who should earnestly attempt

to resolve dissatisfactions with the complaints process as early as

possible; such allegations are not processable as separate allegations

of discrimination. See EEO MD 110 (4-8). Accordingly, we find that

allegation 4 fails to state a claim and the agency's dismissal of

allegation 4 is AFFIRMED for the reasons set forth herein.

In allegation 1, appellant alleged that the agency denied the use of

the meeting room to the Government Men for Equality Now organization

to which he belonged. We find that the denial of a meeting room to an

organization did not cause appellant to suffer a personal harm to a term,

condition, or privilege of his employment. Accordingly, the agency's

dismissal of allegation 1 on the grounds of failure to state a claim

was proper and is AFFIRMED.

Finally, with regard to allegation 3, appellant claims that the list

of individuals who have filed EEO complaints or union grievances

has been utilized to identify the so called "troublemakers", and

that these individuals have not been promoted, properly rated, or

awarded. We find that appellant has raised a generalized grievance.

Appellant has not identified any specific agency actions taken against

him. See Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490 (1975); Canfield v. Social

Security Administration, EEOC Request No. 05950806 (December 1, 1997).

Accordingly, the agency's dismissal of allegation 3 on the grounds of

failure to state a claim was proper and is AFFIRMED.

CONCLUSION

The agency's dismissal of allegations 1-5 is hereby AFFIRMED.

STATEMENT OF RIGHTS - ON APPEAL

RECONSIDERATION (M0795)

The Commission may, in its discretion, reconsider the decision in this

case if the appellant or the agency submits a written request containing

arguments or evidence which tend to establish that:

1. New and material evidence is available that was not readily available

when the previous decision was issued; or

2. The previous decision involved an erroneous interpretation of law,

regulation or material fact, or misapplication of established policy; or

3. The decision is of such exceptional nature as to have substantial

precedential implications.

Requests to reconsider, with supporting arguments or evidence, MUST

BE FILED WITHIN THIRTY (30) CALENDAR DAYS of the date you receive this

decision, or WITHIN TWENTY (20) CALENDAR DAYS of the date you receive

a timely request to reconsider filed by another party. Any argument in

opposition to the request to reconsider or cross request to reconsider

MUST be submitted to the Commission and to the requesting party

WITHIN TWENTY (20) CALENDAR DAYS of the date you receive the request

to reconsider. See 29 C.F.R. �1614.407. All requests and arguments

must bear proof of postmark and be submitted to the Director, Office of

Federal Operations, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, P.O. Box

19848, Washington, D.C. 20036. In the absence of a legible postmark,

the request to reconsider shall be deemed filed on the date it is received

by the Commission.

Failure to file within the time period will result in dismissal of your

request for reconsideration as untimely. If extenuating circumstances

have prevented the timely filing of a request for reconsideration,

a written statement setting forth the circumstances which caused the

delay and 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).

RIGHT TO FILE A CIVIL ACTION (S0993)

It is the position of the Commission that 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.

You should be aware, however, that courts in some jurisdictions have

interpreted the Civil Rights Act of 1991 in a manner suggesting that

a civil action must be filed WITHIN THIRTY (30) CALENDAR DAYS from the

date that you receive this decision. To ensure that your civil action

is considered timely, you are advised to file it WITHIN THIRTY (30)

CALENDAR DAYS from the date that you receive this decision or to consult

an attorney concerning the applicable time period in the jurisdiction

in which your action would be filed. 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 (Z1092)

If you decide to file a civil action, and if you do not have or cannot

afford the services of an attorney, you may request that the Court appoint

an attorney to represent you and that the Court permit you to file the

action without payment of fees, costs, or other security. See Title VII

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. �2000e et seq.;

the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. ��791, 794(c).

The grant or denial of the request is within the sole discretion of

the Court. Filing a request for an attorney does not extend your time

in which to file a civil action. Both the request and the civil action

must be filed within the time limits as stated in the paragraph above

("Right to File A Civil Action").

FOR THE COMMISSION:

September 15, 1999

DATE Carlton M. Hadden, Acting Director

Office of Federal Operations