Pamela A. Brown, Complainant,v.John E. Potter, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service, Agency.

Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionDec 10, 2003
01a32368_r (E.E.O.C. Dec. 10, 2003)

01a32368_r

12-10-2003

Pamela A. Brown, Complainant, v. John E. Potter, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service, Agency.


Pamela A. Brown v. United States Postal Service

01A32368

December 10, 2003

.

Pamela A. Brown,

Complainant,

v.

John E. Potter,

Postmaster General,

United States Postal Service,

Agency.

Appeal No. 01A32368

Agency No. 4G-730-0024-02

DECISION

Complainant appealed the agency's decision not to reinstate her complaint

of unlawful employment discrimination that the parties had settled.

EEOC Regulation 29 C.F.R. � 1614.504 provides that if the complainant

believes that the agency failed to comply with the terms of a settlement

agreement, the complainant should notify the Director of Equal Employment

Opportunity, in writing, of the alleged noncompliance with the settlement

agreement, within thirty (30) days of when the complainant knew or should

have known of the alleged noncompliance. The complainant may request that

the terms of the settlement agreement be specifically implemented or,

alternatively, that the complaint be reinstated for further processing

from the point processing ceased.

The record indicates that on December 28, 2001, the parties entered into

a settlement agreement resolving complainant's complaint. The settlement

agreement provided, in pertinent part, that:

(Person A agrees that complainant will be schemed trained beginning

January 5, 2002, and complainant will have the opportunity to work scheme

job at least 30 hours within an AP.

(Person A and complainant agree that PTF's will be required to work

holidays in most cases. When it is possible for a PTF to be off on

a holiday these holidays off will be rotated between the PTF's to the

extent possible.

On June 20, 2002, complainant alleged that the agency breached the

settlement. Specifically, complainant indicated that she was not allowed

to work a scheme job at least 30 hours in AP 8 and 9. Complainant also

claimed that the agency failed to rotate PTFs for holidays off whenever

possible. Complainant indicated that on February 18, 2002, a PTF was off

on a holiday, and the same PTF was off on Christmas on December 25, 2001.

On July 22, 2002, the agency issued a decision finding that complainant's

notice of the alleged breach was untimely. Specifically, the agency

indicated that the alleged breach occurred at the end of AP 8 and 9,

FY 2002, which ended on April 19, 2002, and May 17, 2002, respectively.

The agency also indicated that the identified PTF was allegedly off on

February 18, 2002.

Upon review of the record, the Commission finds that complainant knew of

the alleged noncompliance with provision (1) on April 19 and May 17, 2002,

and with provision (2) on February 18, 2002. However, complainant did

not notify the agency of the alleged noncompliance until June 20, 2002,

which was beyond the 30-day time limitation. Thus, the Commission finds

that complainant failed to timely raise her claims of noncompliance with

the settlement agreement. On appeal, complainant does not present any

adequate justification to warrant an extension of the applicable time

limit for notifying the agency of its noncompliance of the settlement

agreement.

Accordingly, the agency's decision not to reinstate the settled matters

is AFFIRMED.<1>

STATEMENT OF RIGHTS - ON APPEAL

RECONSIDERATION (M0701)

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), 9-18 (November 9, 1999). All requests

and arguments must be submitted to the Director, Office of Federal

Operations, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, P.O. Box 19848,

Washington, D.C. 20036. 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.

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 (S0900)

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 (Z1199)

If you decide to file a civil action, and if you do not have or cannot

afford the services of an attorney, you may request that the Court appoint

an attorney to represent you and that the Court permit you to file the

action without payment of fees, costs, or other security. See Title VII

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. � 2000e et seq.;

the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. �� 791, 794(c).

The grant or denial of the request is within the sole discretion of

the Court. Filing a request for an attorney does not extend your time

in which to file a civil action. Both the request and the civil action

must be filed within the time limits as stated in the paragraph above

("Right to File A Civil Action").

FOR THE COMMISSION:

______________________________

Carlton M. Hadden, Director

Office of Federal Operations

December 10, 2003

__________________

Date

CERTIFICATE OF MAILING

For timeliness purposes, the Commission will presume that this decision

was received within five (5) calendar days after it was mailed. I certify

that this decision was mailed to complainant, complainant's representative

(if applicable), and the agency on:

__________________

Date

______________________________

1It is noted that on June 20, 2002, complainant also raised subsequent

acts of retaliation, which are being properly processed as a separate

complaint of discrimination, under Agency No. 4G-730-0102-02, pursuant

to 29 C.F.R. � 1614.106.