EEOC Appeal 2025003071

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Sector
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013
Irvin C.,1
Complainant,
v.
Douglas A. Collins,
Secretary,
Department of Veterans Affairs,
Agency.
Appeal No. 2025003071
Hearing No. 510-2024-00090X
Agency No. 200I-573-2023-152012
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
May 6, 2025, 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. For the following
reasons, 	the 	Commission 	AFFIRMS 	the 	Agency’s 	final 	order 	finding 	no
discrimination.
At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as an
Agency Police Officer at the VA Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. On June 30, 2023,
Complainant filed a complaint alleging that the Agency discriminated against him
based on race (Black) and in reprisal for prior protected EEO activity 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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management threatened Complainant with reassignment, issued him a Letter of
Reassignment, and reassigned him to the Middleburg, Florida VA Clinic.
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 August
23, 	2024, 	the 	Agency 	motioned 	for 	a 	decision 	without 	a 	hearing. 	Over
Complainant’s objections, the AJ granted the Agency’s motion and issued a decision
by summary judgment in favor of the Agency finding no discrimination.
The AJ found that the Agency reassigned Complainant pending an investigation into
Complainant’s response to a threatening incident on March 3, 2023. On that date, a
patient at the clinic began yelling and made reference to a 9 mm gun. Clinic staff
alerted security but complained that there was no response for at least seven minutes.
When Complainant arrived on the scene, he engaged with the patient and escorted
him out of the building, at which time the patient pulled a handful of 9 mm bullets
from his pocket and threw them on the ground. Several employees complained about
Complainant’s response to the incident, disagreeing with the decision to let the
patient leave and the failure to obtain his identification.
Subsequently, the Agency opened an investigation and temporarily reassigned
Complainant. The AJ found no evidence that the Agency reassigned Complainant
based on his race or his prior EEO activity, and determined that the Agency acted
reasonably in temporarily reassigning Complainant during its investigation. The
Agency subsequently issued a final order fully implementing the AJ’s finding that
Complainant failed to prove that the Agency subjected him to discrimination as
alleged. The instant appeal followed.
Upon review of the record, we agree with the AJ that the Agency articulated
legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for its actions, namely that Complainant was
reassigned on a temporary basis pending the completion of an investigation. Though
Complainant argues that another Agency employee was the subject of complaints
and was not reassigned or investigated, the record does not support this argument.
We find no evidence that any similarly situated employee engaged in similar conduct
as Complainant on March 3, 2023, or received similar complaints. We find no basis
to impose liability on the Agency for thoroughly investigating Complainant’s
response after receiving complaints from several employees.

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Accordingly, we AFFIRM the Agency’s final order implementing the AJ’s decision
finding no discrimination.
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