Towanda B.,1 Complainant,v.Eric Fanning, Acting Secretary, Department of the Army, Agency.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

May 13, 2016

0120151477 (E.E.O.C. May. 13, 2016)

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Operations
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013

Towanda B.,1
Complainant,

v.

Eric Fanning,
Acting Secretary,
Department of the Army,
Agency.

Appeal No. 0120151477

Agency No. ARFTLWOOD14DEC04578

DECISION

Complainant filed a timely appeal with this Commission from the Agency's decision 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.
Upon review, the Commission finds that Complainant's complaint was properly dismissed
pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a)(1) for failure to state a claim.

BACKGROUND

At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as a Training
Technician, GS-7, at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. On February 6, 2015, Complainant
filed a formal complaint alleging that the Agency subjected her to discrimination on the bases
of sex (female), age (46), and reprisal for prior protected EEO activity when:

1. she was informed that her occupational series would be converted from
1702-Training Technician to 0303-Miscellanious Clerk; and
2. she was subjected to disparate treatment compared with [a coworker].

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.

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ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

The Commission finds that the complaint fails to state a claim under the EEOC regulations
because Complainant failed to show that she suffered harm or loss with respect to a term,
condition, or privilege of employment for which there is a remedy. See Diaz v. Dep’t of the
Air Force, EEOC Request No. 05931049 (April 21, 1994). With respect to Claim #1, there is
no allegation that a change to her occupational series title altered or otherwise affected the
terms, conditions or privileges of Complainant’s employment. With respect to Claim #2, the
unelaborated allegation that Complainant was subjected to “disparate treatment” is insufficient
to state a claim. See, Varmaa v. Office of Personnel Management, EEOC Appeal No.
01A55484 (June 20, 2006). (“we will accept as true the factual allegations in the complaint,
however, we are not bound to accept a complainant's conclusory characterizations of and
subjective perceptions about the events underlying the complaint.”)

CONCLUSION

Accordingly, the Agency's final decision dismissing Complainant's complaint is affirmed.

STATEMENT OF RIGHTS - ON APPEAL
RECONSIDERATION (M0416)

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
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). All requests and arguments
must be submitted to the Director, Office of Federal Operations, Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission. The requests may be submitted via regular mail to P.O. Box 77960,
Washington, DC 20013, or by certified mail to 131 M Street, NE, Washington, DC 20507. 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 29
C.F.R. § 1614.604. The request or opposition must also include proof of service on the other
party.

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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 (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

May 13, 2016
Date