EEOC Appeal 2025003007

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Sector
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013
Mario L.,1
Complainant,
v.
General Joshua M. Rudd,
Director,
National Security Agency,
Agency.
Appeal No. 2025003007
Hearing No. 531-2025-00050X
Agency No. 24-015
DECISION
Complainant filed an appeal with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC or Commission) from the Agency's decision dated May 15, 2025, dismissing
his complaint of unlawful 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, we AFFIRM the Agency’s dismissal of the complaint.
At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as a
Research Liaison at the Aerospace Data Facility in Aurora, Colorado. On April 4,
2024, Complainant filed a complaint alleging that the Agency subjected him to
discrimination based on race (African-American) and color (black) when:
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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1. 	On 	September 	20, 	2023, 	Complainant 	was 	notified 	of 	a 	5-day
suspension from pay and duty for “inaccurate timesheet entries,” which
was then reduced to a Letter of Reprimand dated December 11, 2023;
and
2. 	On December 18, 2023, Complainant was informed of an indebtedness
of overpayment of $2,721.32 for inaccurate time and attendance that he
reported during the period of February 25, 2023 through May 2023.
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. On April 3,
2025, 	the 	Agency 	filed 	a 	motion 	to 	dismiss 	Complainant’s 	claims. 	Over
Complainant’s objections, the AJ granted the Agency’s motion and dismissed
Complainant’s claims under 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a)(1) for failure to state a claim
and stating the same claim as previously raised.
Specifically, the AJ found that Claim 1 stated the same claim as previously raised in
informal EEO complaint ME-DRG-24-001. Complainant waived this claim pursuant
to a settlement agreement executed on October 2, 2023. The AJ found that Claim 2
constituted a collateral attack on the Agency’s actions under the Debt Collection
Act. The Agency subsequently issued a final decision fully implementing the AJ’s
decision to dismiss Complainant’s claims. The instant appeal followed.
Upon review, we find that the Agency properly dismissed claim 1 for stating the
same claims as previously raised. Though Complainant argues that the Agency
misused 	a 	vague, 	informal 	discussion 	about 	possible 	discipline 	to 	bring 	its
disciplinary action under the terms of a previous settlement agreement, the record
does not support this framing. Rather, the issue of disciplinary action was raised by
Complainant when he specifically alleged, “I was presented with two choices for
disciplinary actions from Employee Relations: (1) Five-day suspension from pay
and duty; (2) LOR waiting [sic] my right to appeal.” Complainant subsequently
agreed 	to withdraw his 	EEO 	complaint 	with 	prejudice, including 	a specific
agreement to “[n]ot… institute any further legal and/or administrative appeals on
any of the issues raised in these Complaints or that Complainant could have raised
in the above-referenced Complaints and to release the Agency… from any and all
liability.” Furthermore, claim 2 was properly dismissed for failure to state a claim.

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Accordingly, the Agency’s final decision implementing the AJ’s decision to dismiss
Complainant’s complaint is AFFIRMED.
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 __________ 	Gul Chaudhry’s signature
T. Gimbrere, Acting Director
Office of Federal Sector
September 15, 2026
Date