[Redacted], Cassy W., 1 Complainant,v.Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service (Southern Area), Agency.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Feb 9, 2021

Appeal No. 2021000364 (E.E.O.C. Feb. 9, 2021)

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION Office of Federal Operations P.O. Box 77960 Washington, DC 20013 Cassy W.,1 Complainant, v. Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service (Southern Area), Agency. Appeal No. 2021000364 Agency No. 4G320020320 DECISION Complainant timely appealed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC” or “Commission”) from the Agency's September 10, 2020 dismissal of her complaint of unlawful 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. BACKGROUND At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as a Rural Carrier at the Maricamp Post Office, in Ocala, Florida. On August 17, 2020, Complainant filed a formal EEO complaint alleging that the Agency subjected her to a hostile work environment/harassment on the bases of sex (female) when, on April 22, 2020, her manager embarrassed and disrespected her when he yelled at her in front of her coworkers. The Agency dismissed Complainant’s complaint, pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a)(1), for failure to state a claim. The instant appeal followed. 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. 2021000364 2 ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS Under the regulations set forth at 29 C.F.R. Part 1614, an agency shall accept a complaint from an aggrieved employee or applicant for employment who believes that he or she has been discriminated against by that agency because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disabling condition. 29 C.F.R. §§ 1614.103, .106(a). 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. Dep’t of the Air Force, EEOC Request No. 05931049 (Apr. 21, 1994). If complainant cannot establish that s/he is aggrieved, the agency shall dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim. 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a)(1). A claim of harassment may survive if it alleges conduct that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the complainant’s employment. See Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 23 (1993). In determining whether a harassment complaint states a claim, the Commission has repeatedly examined whether a complainant's harassment claims, when considered together and assumed to be true, were sufficient to state a hostile or abusive work environment claim. See Harris. We have repeatedly found that allegations of a few isolated incidents of alleged harassment, usually are not sufficient to state a harassment claim. See Phillips v. Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, EEOC Request No. 05960030 (Jul. 12, 1996) (allegations that supervisor "verbally attacked" complainant on one occasion, attempted to charge him with AWOL, and disagreed with the time the complainant entered into a sign-in log, to be isolated incidents insufficient to state a harassment claim); see also, Banks v. Dep’t of Health and Human Serv., EEOC Request No. 05940481 (Feb. 16, 1995) (allegations that on one occasion a supervisor threw a file on the complainant's desk and berated her in a loud voice in the presence of other employees to be isolated incidents insufficient to state a harassment claim). In the instant case, Complainant has alleged that she and a male coworker (“C1”) were having a conversation at her work area. M1 overheard when they commented on the instructions he was giving to a new employee nearby. C1 walked away, and about 10 minutes later, Complainant saw M1 approach her work station. She told him not to “bully” her, and he responded that he was not bullying her. According to Complainant, M1’s demeanor was aggressive, and his next statement to her was “you know what your problem is [Complainant]? You think you are special.” Complainant retorted that she did not think she was special and told M1 “you don’t tell me my worth.” M1 directed her to get back to casing, and be quiet, Complainant did, and said she could feel M1 was still nearby, glaring at her as she worked. After a bit, she turned and saw he was still there. M1 then told her that she was not marking her packages correctly. Complainant told M1 that she felt he was harassing her and causing a hostile work environment. Rather than respond, M1 walked away. The exchange was on the workroom floor in front of Complainant’s coworkers. Complainant notes that M1 did not say anything to C1 even through he was part of the conversation commenting on M1’s instructions earlier. On appeal, Complainant provided a signed statement from C1 consistent with this account. 2021000364 3 Complainant’s complaint describes an isolated incident. While she alludes to general ongoing bullying by M1, the April 22, 2020 incident is the only articulated claim, and this isolated incident is not so severe or pervasive on its own to state a viable claim of discriminatory harassment in violation of Title VII. CONCLUSION Accordingly, the Agency's final decision dismissing Complainant's complaint is AFFIRMED. STATEMENT OF RIGHTS - ON APPEAL RECONSIDERATION (M0920) The Commission may, in its discretion, reconsider this appellate decision if Complainant or the Agency submits a written request that contains arguments or evidence that 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 for reconsideration must be filed with EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations (OFO) within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of this decision. If the party requesting reconsideration elects to file a statement or brief in support of the request, that statement or brief must be filed together with the request for reconsideration. A party shall have twenty (20) calendar days from receipt of another party’s request for reconsideration within 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). Complainant should submit his or her request for reconsideration, and any statement or brief in support of his or her request, via the EEOC Public Portal, which can be found at https://publicportal.eeoc.gov/Portal/Login.aspx Alternatively, Complainant can submit his or her request and arguments to the Director, Office of Federal Operations, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, via regular mail addressed to P.O. Box 77960, Washington, DC 20013, or by certified mail addressed to 131 M Street, NE, Washington, DC 20507. In the absence of a legible postmark, a complainant’s request to reconsider shall be deemed timely filed if OFO receives it by mail within five days of the expiration of the applicable filing period. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.604. An agency’s request for reconsideration must be submitted in digital format via the EEOC’s Federal Sector EEO Portal (FedSEP). See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.403(g). Either party’s request and/or statement or brief in opposition must also include proof of service on the other party, unless Complainant files his or her request via the EEOC Public Portal, in which case no proof of service is required. 2021000364 4 Failure to file within the 30-day time period will result in dismissal of the party’s request for reconsideration as untimely, unless extenuating circumstances prevented the timely filing of the request. Any supporting documentation must be submitted together with the 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 (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 February 9, 2021 Date