EEOC Appeal 2026002319

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Sector
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013
Wilfred M.,1
Complainant,
v.
Douglas A. Collins,
Secretary,
Department of Veterans Affairs
(Veterans Health Administration),
Agency.
Appeal No. 2026002319
Hearing No. 450-2025-00034X
Agency No. 2003-674-2024-156324
DISMISSAL OF APPEAL
By Notice of Appeal postmarked April 25, 2026, Complainant filed an appeal with
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) from the
February 12, 2026 final Agency order concerning his EEO 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. and Section 501 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 791 et seq.
Appeals to the Commission must be filed within 30 calendar days after Complainant
receives notice of the Agency's final action, pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.402(a). If
a complainant does not file an appeal within the time limits, the appeal shall be
dismissed as untimely. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.403(c).
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.

2026002319	2
The record indicates that the Agency’s final order was sent to Complainant’s email
on February 12, 2026. A review of the final order reveals that the Agency properly
advised Complainant that he had thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of its final
decision to file his appeal with the Commission. Therefore, in order to be considered
timely, Complainant had to file his appeal no later than March 16, 2026.2
Complainant did not file his appeal until April 25, 2026.
On appeal, Complainant does not dispute that his appeal is untimely but argues that
the untimeliness should be excused because he made a good faith effort to timely
file but due to “address issues,” his initial attempt to appeal was returned as
undeliverable. 	In response, the Agency argues that Complainant has not provided
enough reason to excuse the untimeliness of his appeal.
The record establishes that the Agency provided Complainant with the proper EEOC
address for filing his appeal. The Commission has repeatedly held that when
provided with the proper address, filing at the wrong address does not constitute a
proper filing. 	See Chau B. v. Dep’t of the Army, EEOC Appeal No. 0120170276
(Nov. 22, 2016); Pacheco v. U.S. Postal Serv., EEOC Request No. 05930700
(September 10, 1993) (appeal untimely when sent to wrong address despite receipt
of proper instructions). We also note that because Complainant redacted the address
to which he initially sent his appeal, it is not clear that he did, in fact, make a good
faith attempt to file his appeal in a timely manner. 	We therefore find that
Complainant has not provided adequate justification for an extension of the
applicable time limit for filing his appeal.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, Complainant's April 25, 2026, appeal is dismissed on the grounds that
it was untimely filed. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.403(c).
2 Thirty days from February 12, 2026, was March 14, 2026. However, 29 C.F.R. §
1614.604(g) provides that if a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal
holiday, the deadline shall be extended to include the next business day, in this case,
March 16, 2026.

2026002319	3
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.
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.

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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 15, 2026
Date