Appeal For Reform

EXECUTIVE MEMO

Appeal for Reform

t's time to reform the federal employee appeals process or build a new one, according to a new report released by the National Academy of Public Administration.

According to the report:

• Frivolous discrimination complaints and frequent filers damage the credibility of the process and clog the system. They should be weeded out early in the complaint process.
• The high costs associated with pursuing formal complaints encourage employees and managers to accept less than satisfactory settlements.
• There is no neutral source of information for employees and managers about their rights and responsibilities with regard to personnel actions and discrimination complaints.
• There is a lack of informal options for resolving problems within agencies.
• Because the appellate process is cumbersome, it takes an unreasonable amount of time for decisions to be issued.
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigation process is too slow and tends to polarize parties, making complaint resolution difficult.
• EEO informal counseling is largely ineffective and sometimes makes situations worse.

Of the five agencies that adjudicate employee grievances, EEOC registered the highest level of frustration among employees.

The agency's "broad mandate to become involved in formal and informal matters, and discrimination's insidious nature, make it unsurprising that filing complaints on the basis of discrimination is the process of choice" for frustrated employees, the academy report concluded.

The Congressional employee appeals process instituted by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 could provide a model for the broader federal workplace, the report's authors concluded. They also were encouraged by an ombudsman program at the Secret Service and a pilot mediation project at the Postal Service.