EEOC Appeal 2026003300

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Sector
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013
Jess P.,1
Complainant,
v.
David Steiner,
Postmaster General,
United States Postal Service
(Field Areas and Regions),
Agency.
Appeal No. 2026003300
Agency No. 4G-350-13058-25
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 decision 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, the Commission AFFIRMS the Agency’s final decision finding
no discrimination.
At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant was employed by
the Agency as a Supervisor Customer Service, Level 18, at the Agency’s Pearl Post
Office facility in Pearl, Mississippi. 	On September 27, 2025, Complainant filed an
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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EEO complaint alleging he was subjected to discrimination on the bases of race
(Caucasian), age (over 40), and in reprisal for prior protected EEO activity when:
1. On May 1, 2025, Complainant was denied training and assigned to the closing
unit.2
2. On July 17, 2025, Complainant’s request for leave was denied.
3. On August 16, 17, and 29-31, 2025, Complainant was not paid sick leave.
4. On August 22-26, 2026, Complainant’s request for Family and Medical Leave
Act (FMLA) leave was denied.
5. On August 27, 2025, Complainant’s access to postal systems was revoked.
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
EEOC Administrative Judge or a final Agency decision. When Complainant did not
request a hearing, the Agency issued a final decision. The Agency found that
Complainant failed to prove that the Agency subjected him to discrimination as
alleged. Thereafter, Complainant filed the instant appeal.
Upon review, we find that the Agency articulated legitimate, nondiscriminatory
reasons for its actions. Regarding claim 1, Complainant stated that he was demoted
from a 21 to an 18 Level Supervisor in a Last Chance Agreement (LCA), and he was
assigned to the Pearl Post Office from May 1, 2025, through August 31, 2025.
Manager of Customer Services (MCS) stated that Complainant was assigned to the
closing shifts since May 2025 because there was an LCA, and this was the shift
Complainant agreed to upon coming back from being put off the clock. Manager of
Post Office Operations (MPOO) stated Complainant’s supervisor was responsible
for scheduling. MPOO reported that shift assignments were based on the need of the
operation and the abilities of the management team in each office. MPOO explained
that ability and performance are factors that would influence assigning Complainant
to closing shifts.
2 Complainant clarified in his affidavit that claim 1 occurred only on May 1, 2025.

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As to claim 2, MCS1 stated that the only request he had for Complainant was for
June 13, 2025, which was approved. MCS1 said that he did not know if Complainant
properly submitted the July 17, 2025, request.
With respect to claim 3, Complainant stated that his wife became ill, and he therefore
called the sick leave line and switched his leave to take care of her. MCS stated that
Complainant did not properly submit the request for leave. MCS1 stated that
Complainant improperly contacted the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to
request unscheduled leave prior to his submitted retirement date of August 31, 2025.
MCS informed Complainant by email on August 8, 2025, that there was no available
replacement to cover his requested leave from August 16-17, 2025. Complainant
responded by email that same day that he was not going to be there, and that he
would be out of town that weekend.
In reference to claim 4, Complainant stated that his request for 40 hours of FMLA
leave for August 22-26, 2025, was denied. FMLA is controlled by the Department
of Labor. Furthermore, the record shows that management officials alleged to have
discriminated against Complainant in this claim were not responsible for the denial
decision. The record shows and Complainant admits that it was an individual with
Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC) that denied his request for
FMLA.
Concerning claim 5, Complainant stated that he was kicked out of the management
group chat on August 25, 2025, and all access was revoked to postal programs on
August 27, 2025, causing him not to be able to perform his work even though he was
scheduled to work. He reported that he does not know which upper management
official was responsible. MCS stated that August 27th was Complainant’s retirement
date and that no management officials were involved in revoking his access. There
is nothing in the record to suggest that any management official named in this
complaint took any action to revoke Complainant’s access to Postal systems.
We find that Complainant failed to show by a preponderance of the evidence that
any of the alleged actions were taken because of discrimination.
Accordingly, we AFFIRM the Agency’s final decision finding no discrimination.

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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).

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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 17, 2026
Date