EEOC Appeal 2026003151

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Office of Federal Sector
P.O. Box 77960
Washington, DC 20013
Ross R.,1
Complainant,
v.
David Steiner,
Postmaster General,
United States Postal Service
(Field Areas and Regions),
Agency.
Appeal No. 2026003151
Agency No. 1H-526-07004-26
DECISION
Complainant 	filed 	a timely 	appeal 	with the Equal Employment 	Opportunity
Commission (EEOC or Commission) from the Agency's decision dated May 26,
2026, 	dismissing 	his 	complaint 	of 	unlawful 	employment 	discrimination 	in
violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), as
amended, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq.
At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as an
Industrial Engineer (Processing), 21-E, at the Agency’s Anaheim Processing &
Distribution Center facility in Anaheim, California.
On May 2, 2026, Complainant filed a formal complaint alleging that the Agency
subjected him to discrimination on the basis of age (YOB: 1956) 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 February 25, 2026, Complainant was not selected for EAS-23
Engineer position.
The Agency dismissed the complaint pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a)(2) for
untimely filing of the formal complaint. The dismissal stated that the Notice of
Right to File a Formal Complaint (NRTF) was sent to Complainant at his email
address of record on April 13, 2026, and his formal complaint was postmarked
May 2, 2026, making his formal complaint untimely. Complainant filed the instant
appeal.
On appeal, Complainant contends the NRTF was sent to him by email and he
found it in his spam folder. He does not state on what date he found the NRTF in
his spam folder.
The Agency did not file a brief or statement in connection with this appeal.
The Agency’s decision to dismiss a complaint is subject to de novo review by the
Commission, which requires the Commission to examine the record without regard
to the factual and legal determinations of the previous decision maker and issue its
decision 	based 	on 	the Commission’s 	own 	assessment 	of the record 	and 	its
interpretation of the law. 	29 C.F.R. § 1614.405(a). The Commission should
construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the complainant and take the
complaint’s allegations as true. 	See Cobb v. Department of the Treasury, EEOC
Request No. 05970077 (March 13, 1997). Thus, all reasonable inferences that may
be 	drawn 	from 	the 	complaint’s 	allegations 	must 	be 	made 	in 	favor 	of 	the
complainant.
The regulation set forth at 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a)(2) provides, in relevant part,
that an agency shall dismiss a complaint that fails to comply with the applicable
time limits, unless the agency extends the time limits in accordance with 29 C.F.R.
§ 1614.604(c). A formal “complaint must be filed within 15 days of receipt of the
notice required by § 1614.105 (d), (e) or (f).” 29 C.F.R. § 1614.106(b). 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).

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Here, 	the 	record 	demonstrates 	that 	the 	Agency 	transmitted 	the 	NRTF 	to
Complainant’s email address of record on April 13, 2026. The record does not
show on what date the NRTF was received by Complainant. Thus, pursuant to 29
C.F.R. § 1614.604(d), Complainant is deemed to have received the NRTF five
days after transmission, on April 18, 2026. Complainant needed to file his formal
complaint on or before May 4, 2026.2 Complainant’s formal complaint was
postmarked on May 2, 2026, and is therefore timely. Therefore, the Agency erred
in dismissing the complaint for untimely filing.3
Based on the foregoing, we REVERSE the Agency's final decision dismissing the
complaint. We REMAND the complaint to the Agency for further processing in
accordance with the ORDER below.
ORDER (E0224)
The Agency is ordered to process the remanded claims in accordance with 29
C.F.R. § 1614.108. The Agency shall acknowledge to the Complainant that it has
received the remanded claims within thirty (30) calendar days of the date this
decision was issued. 	The Agency shall issue to Complainant a copy of the
investigative file and also shall notify Complainant of the appropriate rights within
one hundred fifty (150) calendar days of the date this decision was issued, unless
the matter is otherwise resolved prior to that time. 	If the Complainant requests a
final decision without a hearing, the Agency shall issue a final decision within
sixty (60) days of receipt of Complainant’s request.
2 Fifteen days from April 18, 2026, is Sunday, May 3, 2026. When a filing deadline
falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Federal holiday, the filing period shall be extended
to include the next business day.
3 We also note this case is distinguishable from Woodrow B. v. Dep’t of Verterans
Affairs, EEOC Appeal No. 2025003586 (Jan. 13, 2026) where the Commission
found that in not providing an email address to the Agency where he is likely to be
reached and in not regularly checking his junk folder, complainant exhibited a lack
of due diligence when he did not file his formal complaint until nearly three
months after the agency emailed his NRTF. Here, Complainant discovered the
email in his spam folder within enough time to meet the filing deadline. Under the
circumstances presented here, we find Complainant exercised due diligence in
pursuing his claims.

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As 	provided 	in 	the statement 	entitled 	“Implementation 	of the Commission's
Decision,” the Agency must send to the Compliance Officer: 1) a copy of the
Agency’s letter of acknowledgment to Complainant, 2) a copy of the Agency’s
notice that transmits the investigative file and notice of rights, and 3) either a copy
of the complainant’s request for a hearing, or a copy of the final agency decision
(“FAD”) if Complainant does not request a hearing.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMISSION’S DECISION (K0719)
Under 	29 	C.F.R. 	§ 	1614.405(c) 	and 	§ 	1614.502, 	compliance 	with 	the
Commission’s corrective action is mandatory. 	Within seven (7) calendar days of
the completion of each ordered corrective action, the Agency shall submit via the
Federal Sector EEO Portal (FedSEP) supporting documents in the digital format
required by the Commission, referencing the compliance docket number under
which compliance was being monitored. 	Once all compliance is complete, the
Agency shall submit via FedSEP a final compliance report in the digital format
required by the Commission. 	See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.403(g). 	The Agency’s final
report must contain supporting documentation when previously not uploaded, and
the Agency must send a copy of all submissions to the Complainant and his/her
representative.
If the Agency does not comply with the Commission’s order, the Complainant may
petition the Commission for enforcement of the order. 	29 C.F.R. § 1614.503(a).
The Complainant also has the right to file a civil action to enforce compliance with
the Commission’s order prior to or following 	an 	administrative petition 	for
enforcement. See 29 C.F.R. §§ 1614.407, 1614.408, and 29 C.F.R. § 1614.503(g).
Alternatively, the Complainant has the right to file a civil action on the underlying
complaint in accordance with the paragraph below entitled “Right to File a Civil
Action.” 29 C.F.R. §§ 1614.407 and 1614.408. A civil action for enforcement or a
civil action on the underlying complaint is subject to the deadline stated in 42
U.S.C. 2000e-16(c) (1994 & Supp. IV 1999). 	If the Complainant files a civil
action, the administrative processing of the complaint, including any petition
for enforcement, will be terminated. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.409.
Failure by an agency to either file a compliance report or implement any of the
orders set forth in this decision, without good cause shown, may result in the
referral of this matter to the Office of Special Counsel pursuant to 29 C.F.R. §
1614.503(f) for enforcement by that agency.

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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 (R0124)
This is a decision requiring the Agency to continue its administrative processing of
your complaint. 	However, if you wish to file a civil action, you have the right to
file such action in an appropriate United States District Court within ninety (90)
calendar days from the date that you receive this decision. In the alternative, you
may file a civil action after one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days of the
date you filed your complaint with the Agency, or filed your appeal with the
Commission. 	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. 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