[Redacted], Micha T, 1 Complainant,v.Thomas W. Harker, Acting Secretary, Department of the Navy, Agency.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Jun 7, 2021

Appeal No. 2020003068 (E.E.O.C. Jun. 7, 2021)

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION Office of Federal Operations P.O. Box 77960 Washington, DC 20013 Micha T,1 Complainant, v. Thomas W. Harker, Acting Secretary, Department of the Navy, Agency. Request No. 2021002610 Appeal No. 2020003068 Hearing No. 470-2019-00118X Agency No. DON 17-00164-02800 DECISION ON REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION Complainant timely requested that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) reconsider its decision in EEOC Appeal No. 2020003068 (March 29, 2021). EEOC regulations provide that the Commission may, in its discretion, grant a request to reconsider any previous Commission decision issued pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.405(a), where the requesting party demonstrates 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. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.405(c). Complainant was employed by the Agency as an Engineer at the Special Operations and Laser Systems in Crane, Indiana. Complainant filed an EEO complaint alleging she was discriminated against on the bases of race (Asian), sex (female), color (yellow), and reprisal when: 1. In 2016, Complainant was denied career advancement when she was not given an opportunity to apply for a task lead position of which she was unaware until a white male from another division introduced himself to her as the new task lead in her Division; 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. 2021002610 2 2. In January 2017, jokes were made about Complainant’s “poor driving”, including pictures of her car while it was parked crookedly in a parking space; 3. In January 2017, Complainant was denied career advancement when she was not given an opportunity to apply to be task lead; 4. Complainant was issued a proposed three-day suspension, which she served, for inaccurately reporting time and attendance on or about July 5, 2017; 5. Complainant’s first like supervisor (S1) criticized Complainant’s performance on July 5- 6, 2017; 6. S1 required Complainant to document her time and attendance differently than other members on her team. Complainant was required to email S1 when she would be away from her desk more than 15 minutes, which she alleged other team members were not required to do; and 7. Her second-level supervisor approved only 5 hours of official time to work on her EEO complaint and disallowed the other 36 hours that Complainant requested after Complainant reported that a coworker incorrectly reported their time and attendance to S2. The Agency investigated the matter and Complainant requested a hearing. Our prior appellate decision affirmed the EEOC Administrative Judge’s (AJ) decision following a hearing which found in favor of the Agency, concluding Complainant failed to prove her discrimination or unlawful retaliation claims. In his lengthy decision, the addressed each claim and found that Complainant did not establish that the Agency’s reasons for its actions were a pretext for discrimination or retaliation. In reaching this conclusion, the AJ found that Complainant, at times, was not a credible witness. In her request for reconsideration, Complainant expresses her disagreement with the previous decision, presenting various arguments, some of which were raised previously. We emphasize that a request for reconsideration is not a second appeal to the Commission. See EEO MD-110, Ch. 9, § VII.A. Rather, a reconsideration request is an opportunity to demonstrate that the appellate decision involved a clearly erroneous interpretation of material fact or law, or will have a substantial impact on the policies, practices, or operations of the Agency. Complainant has not done so here. After reviewing the previous decision and the entire record, the Commission finds that the request fails to meet the criteria of 29 C.F.R. § 1614.405(c), and it is the decision of the Commission to deny the request. The decision in EEOC Appeal No. 2020003068 remains the Commission's decision. There is no further right of administrative appeal on the decision of the Commission on this request. 2021002610 3 COMPLAINANT’S RIGHT TO FILE A CIVIL ACTION (P0610) This decision of the Commission is final, and there is no further right of administrative appeal from the Commission’s decision. 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. 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 June 7, 2021 Date