Martha J. Hegedus, Complainant,v.William J. Henderson, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service, Agency.

Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionFeb 1, 2000
01971348 (E.E.O.C. Feb. 1, 2000)

01971348

02-01-2000

Martha J. Hegedus, Complainant, v. William J. Henderson, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service, Agency.


Martha J. Hegedus v. United States Postal Service

01971348

February 1, 2000

Martha J. Hegedus, )

Complainant, )

) Appeal No. 01971348

v. ) Agency No. 2-J-1014-92

) Hearing No. 240-92-5068X

William J. Henderson, )

Postmaster General, )

United States Postal Service, )

Agency. )

)

)

DECISION

Complainant timely filed an appeal with the Commission from a final

decision of the agency concerning her complaint of unlawful employment

discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,

42 U.S.C. �2000e et seq.; and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act

of 1973, 29 U.S.C. �791.<1> The appeal is accepted in accordance with

EEOC Order No. 960, as amended. See 64 Fed. Reg. 37,644, 37,659 (1999)

(to be codified and hereinafter referred to as 29 C.F.R. �1614.402(a)).

Complainant filed a complaint in which she alleged that the agency

discriminated against her on the bases of race and color (red), national

origin (Native American), gender, physical disability (on-the-job shoulder

injury), and reprisal by:

Giving her limited duty assignments that exceeded her medical

restrictions;

Failing to provide her physician with accurate information regarding

limited duty positions;

Charging her with eight days of absence-without-leave (AWOL) in October

1991;

Failing to provide her with a permanent limited duty assignment; and

Repeatedly requesting medical documentation from her between October

1991 and March 1992.

The agency investigated the complaint and referred the matter for a

hearing, pursuant to which an administrative judge (AJ) recommended a

finding of no discrimination. The agency subsequently adopted the AJ's

recommendation as its final decision, which complainant appealed. In an

earlier decision on this case, Martha J. Hegedus v. Marvin T. Runyon,

Jr., Postmaster General, United States Postal Service, EEOC Appeal

No. 01945572 (March 25, 1996), the Commission vacated the agency's

final decision because certain hearing exhibits were missing from

the appeal file. It ordered the agency to supplement the record with

the hearing exhibits in question, and to issue a new final decision.

Pursuant to the Commission's order, the agency retrieved the necessary

documents and issued a second final decision of no discrimination. It

is from this decision that complainant now appeals.

The AJ found that complainant failed to establish that the long-term

effects of her shoulder so substantially limited any of her major

life activities as to constitute a disability. She also found that

the agency articulated legitimate and nondiscriminatory reasons

for each personnel action that complainant alleged to be unlawful.

The AJ ultimately concluded that complainant failed to prove that any

of the agency's reasons were pretexts for discrimination or reprisal.

Complainant has not submitted a brief or statement in support of her

appeal. We therefore find that the AJ accurately summarized the facts

of this case, and that her findings and conclusions are consistent with

Commission policy and precedent.

After a review of the record, including consideration of the hearing

exhibits submitted by the agency and all statements submitted on appeal,

it is the decision of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to

AFFIRM the agency's final decision because the evidence of record does

not establish that discrimination occurred. See 64 Fed. Reg. 37,644,

37,659 (1999) (to be codified and hereinafter referred to as 29

C.F.R. �1614.405(a)).

STATEMENT OF RIGHTS - ON APPEAL

RECONSIDERATION (M1199)

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 or WITHIN TWENTY (20) CALENDAR DAYS

OF RECEIPT OF ANOTHER PARTY'S TIMELY REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION. See

64 Fed. Reg. 37,644, 37,659 (1999) (to be codified and hereinafter

referred to as 29 C.F.R. �1614.405). All requests and arguments must 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

timely filed if it is received by mail within five days of the expiration

of the applicable filing period. See 64 Fed. Reg. 37,644, 37,661 (1999)

(to be codified and hereinafter referred to as 29 C.F.R. �1614.604).

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).

COMPLAINANT'S RIGHT TO FILE A CIVIL ACTION (S1199)

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 (Z1199)

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:

Feb. 1, 2000

DATE Carlton M. Hadden, Acting Director

Office of Federal Operations

CERTIFICATE OF MAILING

For timeliness purposes, the Commission will presume that this decision

was received within five (5) calendar days of mailing. I certify that

the decision was mailed to complainant, complainant's representative

(if applicable), and the agency on:

_________________________ __________________________

1On November 9, 1999, revised regulations governing the EEOC's federal

sector complaint process went into effect. These regulations apply to all

Federal sector EEO complaints pending at any stage in the administrative

process. Consequently, the Commission will apply the revised regulations

found at 64 Fed. Reg. 37,644 (1999), where applicable, in deciding the

present appeal. The regulations, as amended, may also be found at the

Commission's website at WWW.EEOC.GOV.