U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION Office of Federal Operations P.O. Box 77960 Washington, DC 20013 Lu T.,1 Complainant, v. Alex M. Azar II, Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services (Administration for Children and Families), Agency. Appeal No. 2021000069 Agency No. HHS-ACF-0467-2020 DECISION Complainant filed a timely appeal with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) from the Agency's decision dated September 3, 2020, dismissing 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., and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. BACKGROUND At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as a Communications Specialist at the Agency’s Family Youth Service Bureau in Chevy Chase, Maryland. On June 29, 2020, Complainant filed a formal complaint alleging that the Agency subjected her to discrimination on the bases of race (African-American), national origin (Russian), sex (female), religion (Eastern Orthodox Christian), and age when: 1. In January 2020, a Management and Program Analyst added her to the Agency’s payroll system without her approval or consideration for her contractor clearance, and treated her in an aggressive manner through email or verbal interaction (e.g. yelled at her and waved his hands in front of her face). 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. 2021000069 2 2. Sometime in January 2020, a Supply Manager called her “Putin’s lady from Russia.” 3. The Division Director and two other managers in the Division, who were not her supervisor, harassed her, including: a. The Division Director failed to train or explain to her how the organization works and her work, and subjected her to subordination to the two other managers who were not her supervisor; b. The Division Director and the two program managers gave her misleading orders, failed to answer her questions, and criticized her job; c. One of the two program managers disrupted her work by questioning her about prior government work experience, and by complaining or talking about coworkers in a loud manner; and d. The Division Director complained about her work to her employer/contractor, leading to her termination on March 4, 2020. The Agency dismissed the complaint, pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a)(2), due to the untimely filing of the formal complaint, as well as for being a contractor rather than an Agency employee. The instant appeal followed. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS The regulation set forth at 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a)(2) states, in pertinent part, that an agency shall dismiss a complaint which fails to comply with the applicable time limits contained in 29 C.F.R. § 1614.106, which, in turn, requires the filing of a formal complaint within fifteen (15) days of receiving the notice of the right to do so. The record discloses that Complainant received the notice of right to file a formal complaint on June 8, 2020, by email. The same day, she asked for a pdf version to be sent to her, and it was sent on the same day. Although the notice indicated that Complainant had to file a formal complaint within fifteen (15) calendar days of its receipt, Complainant did not file her formal complaint until Monday, June 29, 2020, which is beyond the limitation period. On appeal, Complainant has not offered adequate justification to warrant an extension of the time limit for filing the complaint. Because we find the formal complaint was untimely filed, we need not address the Agency’s alternate reason for dismissal. Accordingly, the Agency's final decision dismissing Complainant's complaint is AFFIRMED. 2021000069 3 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. 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). 2021000069 4 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 January 14, 2021 Date
