GovernmentExecutive.com

An outspoken critic of how discrimination complaints are handled in the federal government said that agencies are not implementing the 2002 Notification and Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation Act, known as the No FEAR Act, in a report released Tuesday.

The NAACP Federal Sector Task Force examined statistics from major government agencies and found that much of the data - which the act requires to be posted online - is missing.

"The bill is not being implemented with any standardization," said Leroy Warren Jr., chairman of the task force. He said he believed the problem is intentional, and partly driven by administrators' desire to avoid paying large settlements. "[Equal Employment Opportunity] is an unwanted child in most agencies," he said.

The report also found that at some agencies, the number of complaints has risen dramatically in recent years. At the Social Security Administration, for example, the report said that the number of complaints pending final agency action increased 733 percent, from 84 in fiscal 2000 to 700 in 2004.

Warren also expressed concern that agencies rarely made internal findings of discrimination, and that discrimination findings were much more likely when the complaint went to an administrative judge from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The report was especially critical of the EEOC and the Office of Personnel Management, two of the agencies charged with implementing the No FEAR Act.

Warren pointed out that OPM is one of the few agencies that has not yet posted its No FEAR Act data on its Web site, as required. An OPM spokesman said the agency has submitted its No FEAR data to the EEOC and is considering where to put the data online, but could not immediately explain why it had not yet done so. There is no penalty for failing to comply with the act's data posting requirements.

Warren said he was troubled by the fact that the EEOC had the highest percentage of employees--1.5 percent--who were EEO complainants. When asked whether it is possible that more employees complain at EEOC because they feel more comfortable than employees at other agencies, Warren acknowledged it was impossible to know if that was the case, but he is still concerned with the high percentage.

David Grinberg, a spokesman for the EEOC, said the agency had not been provided with a copy of the report and could not confirm the 1.5 percent figure. "EEOC is abiding by the spirit and letter of that law, and to suggest otherwise is disingenuous," he said.

He pointed out that EEOC has met with federal sector groups, including the NAACP task force. He also said that under Chairwoman Cari Dominguez, the number of internal complaints was cut in half, from 66 in 1999 to 33 in 2004. One reason, he said, is that the EEOC encourages an internal resolution method instead of the formal complaint process because it saves money and time, and it avoids open conflicts that tend to destroy work relationships. Grinberg also said that the EEOC has acknowledged government-wide problems with the complaint process and is reviewing them.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, released a statement in support of the report. "If the findings that have been brought to our attention today are accurate, there needs to be an immediate redress and disciplining of offending managers, in order to restore integrity," she said.

Warren said he wanted to see congressional hearings, a congressional staff focused on implementing the No FEAR Act, and a Government Accountability Report on the subject.

On Monday, OPM issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register outlining agencies' training requirements under the No FEAR Act. The proposal includes requiring agencies to develop written plans describing their training programs but gives agencies latitude in determining the content and method of training.

COMMENTS

• To tell you the truth, everyone is entitled to make a living. Everyone should have the ability to compete fairly. Which is why we have protective laws in the first place. I imagine that there are abuses within most processes in place, but that should not be a green light for agencies to fail to implement them. Ouida Jackson Posted March 3, 2005 1:41 PM
• The reasons for discrimination complaints are blown so far out of proportion half the time, it may be a complaint, but not in the discrimination category. If someone doesn't like to be told what to do, like get to work, they feel they have been discriminated against. The definition of discrimination has been bastardized to fit folks who feel the world owes them a living. Just a big fat grab bag for folks that don't want to work any way. Not saying discrimination does not exist. Just saying folks are using it for less than honorable reasons. Mike Kelley Posted March 2, 2005 8:31 AM
• Hey, I left the DOD-Navy almost a year ago after many years of service. At the time of my leaving I had a precomplaint in for discrimination. The EEO representative that the agency hired was a contracted toadie paid to find a way to discourage me from filing a complaint and making the CO and the old boy club management look bad. I'm afraid that's the case in most of the contractors they use. I recall conversations with this person that I would never be able to get another govt. job if I filed a complaint, so what if I had 16 years in and I was being constructively dismissed - get on with it. Finally when I handed in my notice, I was told that the personnel office couldn't wait to trash my complaint...for grounds that it was moot because I was quitting. Otherwise...a judge outside of the kangaroo court might have found in my favor. Why was I subjected to this? Because of the EEOC's rules that I have to first deal with the perpetuators of the crime before seeking any real relief. What a joke the EEOC is. FED UP from Philly GovExec.com reader Posted March 2, 2005 8:30 AM