U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION Office of Federal Operations P.O. Box 77960 Washington, DC 20013 Reid J.,1 Complainant, v. Monty Wilkinson, Acting Attorney General, Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives), Agency. Appeal No. 2020002683 Hearing No. 550-2018-00545X Agency No. ATF-2018-00072 DISMISSAL OF APPEAL Complainant appeals to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) from the Agency’s final order, dated December 13, 2019, concerning his complaint of unlawful employment discrimination. At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as an Investigative Analyst, GS-9, at the Agency’s Sacramento Field Office in Sacramento, California. On February 8, 2018, Complainant filed his complaint alleging discrimination in reprisal for prior EEO activity when on October 25, 2017, he became aware through USA Jobs that he was not referred to the selecting official and not selected for the position of Intelligence Research Specialist, Announcement #17-MER-458-KRM. EEOC Regulation 29 C.F.R. § 1614.402 provides that appeals to the Commission must be filed within 30 calendar days after complainants receive notice of the Agency’s decision. Complainant, via his counsel, acknowledged that he received the Agency final order on December 13, 2019. The appeal was filed on February 12, 2020, which was beyond the 30-day time limit set by the regulations. The record reveals and Complainant does not dispute that the Agency’s final order explicitly informed Complainant of the time limits on his right to appeal to the Commission, including its mailing address. 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. 2020002683 2 On appeal, Complainant’s counsel acknowledges that on January 10, 2020, he inadvertently sent an original appeal to the Commission’s old mailing address. He realized this mistake when it was returned as undeliverable. Upon review, we find that Complainant’s mailing error does not constitute justification to invoke waiver or equitable tolling for filing the appeal. Accordingly, the appeal is DISMISSED as untimely pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.403(c). 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. 2020002683 3 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). 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 March 15, 2021 Date
