EEOC Appeal 2026002593

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Sector
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013
Leanne H,1
Complainant,
v.
David Steiner,
Postmaster General,
United States Postal Service
(Field Areas and Regions),
Agency.
Appeal No. 2026002593
Agency No. 4B2700663126
DECISION
Complainant 	timely 	appealed 	with 	the 	Equal 	Employment 	Opportunity
Commission (EEOC or Commission) from the Agency's May 19, 2026, dismissal
of her 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 Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, 42 U.S.C. §
2000ff et seq. Upon review, the Commission AFFIRMS the Agency’s dismissal.
At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as a Sales
Services Distribution Associate (SSDA), 06-P, for the Agency’s Manor Station and
Hanes Mall facilities in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
On May 6, 2026, Complainant filed a formal EEO complaint alleging that the
Agency subjected her to discrimination on the bases of race (Black), national
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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origin 	(U.S. 	Virgin 	Islands), 	sex 	(female), 	religion 	(not 	specified), 	genetic
information (not specified), and reprisal for prior protected EEO activity when:
On February 27, 2026, and other unspecified dates, Management
subjected Complainant to bullying, monitoring, and other abusive
behavior.
The Agency dismissed the matter pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a)(2), for
untimely filing of the formal complaint. 	The Agency reasoned that Complainant
did not properly file her formal complaint because she sent it to the wrong address.
As a result, the Agency did not receive Complainant’s formal complaint until May
6, 2026, which is more than 15 days after it issued the Notice of Right to File.
Complainant filed the instant appeal.2
In relevant part, 29 C.F.R. §1614.107(a)(2) provides that an agency shall dismiss a
complaint or a portion of a complaint that fails to comply with the applicable time
limits contained in §1614.106. Under 29 C.F.R. §1614.106(b), a complainant must
file their written EEO complaint with the agency that allegedly discriminated
against them within 15 calendar days after the date of receipt of the Notice of Right
to File an Individual Complaint required by 29 C.F.R. §1614.105(d), (e), or (f).
This time limit may be extended, as it is subject to waiver, estoppel, and equitable
tolling in accordance with 29 C.F.R. §1614.604(c).
The Commission generally holds that documents transmitted to a complainant by
email shall be deemed to be received when received if transmitted via email, or
within five days of when the decision is emailed, whichever occurs first. See 29
C.F.R. § 1614.604(d).
2 Complainant’s appeal focuses on a new allegation that Agency employees
improperly tampered with her USPS hold and forwarding services. She explains
that she did not receive a written acknowledgement of her formal complaint, even
though 	the 	Notice 	of 	Right 	to 	File 	states, 	“You 	will 	receive 	a 	written
acknowledgement of your formal complaint.” We find that the Agency’s dismissal,
which states, “[t]he Agency acknowledges the receipt of the formal complaint…”
constitutes written acknowledgement. There is no record of the Agency issuing any
written acknowledgement aside from its May 6, 2026, dismissal.

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The record reflects that the Agency delivered the Notice of Right to File (Notice)
to Complainant’s email address of record on April 7, 2026. 	The Notice advised
Complainant of the 15-day filing period and instructed her to mail the formal
complaint to the Agency’s National Equal Employment Opportunity Investigative
Services 	Office 	(NEEOISO) 	in 	Tampa, 	Florida. 	The 	Agency 	included 	the
NEEOISO mailing address in the Notice and in the forms accompanying the
Notice. As the record does not establish when Complainant opened the April 7,
2026, email, we presume Complainant received the Notice by April 12, 2026.
Therefore, in order for her formal complaint to be considered timely, Complainant
needed to mail her complaint to NEEOISO by April 27, 2026.
On 	April 	22, 	2026, 	Complainant 	mailed 	her 	formal 	EEO 	complaint 	to 	the
Commission’s 	Office 	of 	Federal 	Sector 	(OFS)3 in 	Washington, 	DC. 	OFS
forwarded the complaint, via email, to the Agency on May 6, 2026. 	As May 6,
2026, is the date the formal complaint was sent to the Agency, May 6, 2026, is the
filing date.
Complainant maintains that she timely filed on April 22, 2026, but does not dispute
that she mailed her formal complaint to the wrong address. The Commission has
previously held that when provided with the proper address, filing at the wrong
address does not constitute a proper filing. See Pacheo v. United States Postal
Serv., EEOC Request No. 05930700 (Sept. 10, 1993), Jones-Sylvester v. United
States Postal Serv., EEOC Appeal No. 0120093789 (Mar. 10, 2010). This holds
true, even when the Complainant mails the complaint within the 15-day filing
window, but sends it to OFS, instead of the Agency. 	See Minda W. v. United
States Postal Serv., EEOC Appeal No. 2022002179 (Apr. 27, 2022). 	Here, the
Notice of Right to File contained the proper address, yet Complainant sent her
complaint to OFS instead. Complainant has not offered any explanation to justify
extending the 15-day filing window pursuant to 29 C.F.R. §1614.604(c).
Accordingly, the Agency's final decision dismissing Complainant's complaint is
AFFIRMED.
3 OFS was previously known as the Office of Federal Operations.

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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).
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 29, 2026
Date