0420060013
05-08-2008
Sheila R. Hendley, Petitioner, v. Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General, Department of Justice, Agency.
Sheila R. Hendley,
Petitioner,
v.
Alberto Gonzales,
Attorney General,
Department of Justice,
Agency.
Petition No. 0420060013
Request No. 05A30962
Appeal No. 01A20977
Agency No. P958649
DECISION ON A PETITION FOR ENFORCEMENT
On February 14, 2006, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or
Commission) docketed a petition for enforcement to examine the enforcement
of an order set forth in Sheila R. Hendley v. Department of Justice,
Request No. 0520030962 (January 14, 2004). This petition for enforcement
is accepted by the Commission pursuant to 29 C.F.R. � 1614.503.
Petitioner alleged that the agency failed to fully comply with the
Commission's order by failing to pay interest on the compensatory damages
awarded. The record reveals that petitioner, a former Inmate Systems
Officer at the Federal Prison Camp, El Paso, Texas filed a formal EEO
complaint with the agency on February 22, 1995. After a hearing, the
EEOC Administrative Judge (AJ) found discrimination based on sex and
retaliation and entered an Order for Recommended Relief on February 11,
1997. The AJ also found a sufficient nexus between petitioner's injuries
and the discriminatory conduct to support an award of compensatory
damages. The AJ's findings were affirmed on appeal in a decision dated
November 25, 1998. See Hendley v. Department of Justice, EEOC Appeal
No. 01974582 (November 25, 1998); request for recon. denied, Request
No. 05990322 (December 22, 2000). The agency issued its final decision
regarding damages on November 1, 2001, awarding petitioner $11,250.00
in non-pecuniary compensatory damages, $230.68 in "other damages", and
$19,911.50 in attorney's fees. Petitioner appealed this damages award
to the Commission, and in our decision we modified the agency's award.
See Hendley v. Department of Justice, EEOC Appeal No 01A20977 (May 15,
2003). Specifically, we awarded petitioner: (1) back pay and benefits
for the time period between October 4, 1994 and November 25, 1994,
with interest; (2) past pecuniary medical expenses of $4,529.28, and
$491.22 for past prescription costs; (3) costs of $178.68; (4) future
pecuniary medical expenses and prescription expenses of $15,840.00; (5)
attorney's fees of $34,453.50 and expenses of $443.47; and non-pecuniary
damages of $125,000.00.
In response to our decision on appeal, the agency filed a request
for reconsideration with the Commission. This request was filed
more than thirty days after the receipt of our decision on appeal,
and in Request No. 05A30962, the Commission dismissed the agency's
request for untimeliness. Hendley v. Department of Justice, Request
No. 05A30962 (January 14, 2004). The record reflects that the agency paid
petitioner the principal amount of $146,066.18 on or about May 15, 2004.
Thereafter, petitioner submitted the petition for enforcement at issue.
Petitioner contends that the agency is required to pay interest on
her compensatory damages award because the agency significantly delayed
payment by pursuing an untimely request for reconsideration. In response,
the agency argues that they are not required to pay interest because
interest on damages does not begin until the Commission's decision on
the request for reconsideration becomes final and binding.
EEOC Regulation 29 C.F.R. � 1614.503(a) provides that a petitioner may
petition the Commission for enforcement of a decision issued under the
Commission's appellate jurisdiction. In the case herein, the Commission
sought to make petitioner whole by restoring him "to a position where
[he] would have been were it not for the unlawful discrimination." Franks
v. Bowman Transportation Co., 424 U.S. 747, 764 (1976); see also Albemarle
Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 418 (1975). At issue is whether the
agency has fully complied with the Commission's prior order.
The Commission has held that interest on damages does not accrue until
the agency incurs the underlying liability, i.e., when a decision
becomes final. See Hogeland v. Department of Agriculture, EEOC Appeal
No. 01976440 (June 14, 1999). In the present case, we find that the
agency did not incur underlying liability until the issuance of our
decision on the agency's request for reconsideration. In so finding,
we note that our order in Hendley v. Department of Justice, Request
No. 05A30962 (January 14, 2004) specifically stated that the agency had
60 days from the date that decision became final to pay petitioner the
awarded compensatory damages. The record shows that the agency paid
petitioner the principal amount of $146,066.18 on or about May 15, 2004,
which was within the stated time limits. For the foregoing reasons,
the Commission denies petitioner's Petition for Enforcement.
COMPLAINANT'S RIGHT TO FILE A CIVIL ACTION (S0408)
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
May 8, 2008
__________________
Date
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0420060013
U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Operations
P. O. Box 19848
Washington, D.C. 20036
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0420060013