EEOC Appeal 2025003562

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Sector
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013
Patricia Y.,1
Complainant,
v.
Linda E. McMahon,
Secretary,
Department of Education,
Agency.
Appeal No. 2025003562
Hearing No. 520-2023-00220X
Agency No. ED-2021-FSA-0004
DECISION
Complainant filed an appeal with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC or Commission), pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.403(a), from the Agency’s
June 17, 2025 final order concerning her equal employment opportunity (EEO)
complaint of employment discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (Title VII), as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. For the following
reasons, the Commission AFFIRMS the Agency’s final order.
At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as an
Institutional Review Specialist with the Agency’s Federal Student Aid office in New
York, New York.
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.

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On December 26, 2020, Complainant filed an EEO complaint alleging that the
Agency discriminated against her on the bases of race (African American) and color
(black) when:
1. On September 25, 2020, Complainant “confirmed” her suspicion that she
was 	being 	assigned 	GS-13 	duties, 	even 	though 	she 	was 	a 	GS-12
Institutional Review Specialist (Job Series 1101); and
2. On September 25, 2020, Complainant “confirmed” her suspicion that she
had been hired at a lower starting salary and lower rate for accrual of leave
compared to other employees with the same GS-level and same job series.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the Agency provided Complainant with a
copy of the report of investigation and notice of her right to request a hearing before
an EEOC Administrative Judge (AJ). Complainant timely requested a hearing. The
AJ granted the Agency’s motion and issued a summary judgment decision finding
that Complainant failed to prove that she was subjected to discrimination as alleged.
The Agency subsequently issued a final order fully implementing the AJ’s decision.
This appeal followed.
Having thoroughly reviewed the record and construing any inferences raised by the
undisputed facts in favor of Complainant, we find that a reasonable factfinder could
not find in Complainant’s favor. We find that Complainant failed to establish that
the explanations for the employment actions at issue herein were a pretext for
discriminatory 	or 	retaliatory 	animus. 	For 	example, 	while the 	AJ 	found 	that
Complainant may have performed GS-13 level work, it was not unreasonable for
Complainant’s supervisor to believe such work fell within her GS-12 duties. In
addition, other comparators outside her protected status were also assigned such
work. The record also shows that Complainant was awarded a higher starting salary
than a similarly situated Caucasian applicant. Moreover, the comparator identified
by Complainant was not similarly situated to Complainant. The record shows that
the comparator was hired off the best qualified list for GS-12 candidates (i.e., one
grade higher than 	Complainant) and had 	significantly 	more experience than
Complainant. This was also another reason for being offered a higher leave accrual.
Most notably, the record is devoid of evidence beyond Complainant’s mere
speculation and suspicion that the alleged conduct was based on discriminatory
animus.

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CONCLUSION
Accordingly, upon careful review of the AJ’s decision and the evidence of record,
including arguments on appeal, we conclude that the AJ correctly determined that
the 	preponderance 	of 	the 	evidence 	did 	not 	establish 	that 	Complainant 	was
discriminated against by the Agency as alleged. Accordingly, we AFFIRM the
Agency’s final order implementing the AJ’s decision.
STATEMENT OF RIGHTS - ON APPEAL
RECONSIDERATION (M1125)
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 Sector
(OFS) 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 their request for reconsideration, and any statement or
brief in support of their request, via the EEOC Public Portal, which can be found at
https://publicportal.eeoc.gov/Portal/Login.aspx. 	Alternatively, Complainant can
submit their request and arguments to the Director, Office of Federal Sector, 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 OFS receives it by mail within
five days of the expiration of the applicable filing period. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.604.

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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 their request via the EEOC
Public Portal, in which case no proof of service is required.
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(f).
COMPLAINANT’S RIGHT TO FILE A CIVIL ACTION (S0124)
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 their
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.

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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:
T. Gimbrere 	Acting Director's signature
T. Gimbrere, Acting Director
Office of Federal Sector
September 16, 2026
Date
Acting Director's signature