EEOC Appeal 2024004578

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Sector
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013
Royce O.,1
Complainant,
v.
David Steiner,
Postmaster General,
United States Postal Service
(Headquarters),
Agency.
Appeal No. 2024004578
Hearing No. 440-2024-00175X
Agency No. 6A-150-0001-24
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
final order concerning his 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. and the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. 	For the
following reasons, we AFFIRM the Agency’s final order.
At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant was employed by
the Agency as an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Alternative Dispute
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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Resolution (ADR) Specialist, EAS-19, at the U.S. Postal Service, Illinois 2nd
District in Chicago, Illinois.
Complainant initially initiated EEO contact on February 27, 2023, after the Agency,
in relevant part, proposed to remove him from federal service. Following the
implementation of the proposed removal on April 10, 2023, Complainant included
the removal claim as part of his EEO complaint, which the Agency docketed under
Agency No. 6X-490-0004-23 (Complaint 1). The Agency subsequently investigated
Complaint 1, and after Complainant made no election, issued a final decision on the
merits of the complaint, finding no discrimination. Complainant did not appeal this
decision to the Commission. However, he filed a separate grievance under Part 652
of the Postal Service’s Employee and Labor Relations Manual, challenging the
Agency’s removal action. Complainant ultimately received a Letter of Decision
regarding his grievance on August 31, 2023, that upheld the Agency’s April 10,
2023, removal action.
On November 25, 2023, Complainant filed the instant EEO complaint (Complaint
2) alleging the Agency subjected him to discrimination based on race (African
American), sex (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and male), color (black), and age
(over 40) when on August 31, 2023, his appeal of the Letter of Decision removing
him from the Agency, issued on April 10, 2023, was denied.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the Agency provided Complainant with a
copy of the report of investigation and notice of his right to request a hearing before
an EEOC Administrative Judge (AJ). Complainant requested a hearing. Following
the initial conference, the AJ ordered the parties to clarify the scope of the hearing
request, namely whether the removal action that was previously raised in Complaint
1 or the appeal of the Letter of Decision in Complaint 2 was before the AJ.
After reviewing the parties’ responses, the AJ issued a decision on July 18, 2024,
finding that Complainant’s allegation in Complaint 2 constituted a collateral attack
on 	the 	grievance 	process. 	The 	Agency 	subsequently 	issued 	a 	final 	order,
implementing the AJ’s decision. The instant appeal followed.
While Complainant argues on appeal that the AJ improperly narrowed the scope of
his complaint, we ultimately agree with the AJ that the complaint regarding the
denial of his appeal regarding his removal through the grievance process constitutes

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an impermissible collateral attack on the grievance process. 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.

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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:
T. Gimbrere __________ 	Acting Director's signature
T. Gimbrere, Acting Director
Office of Federal Sector
September 15, 2026
Date