Council Meeting
Held Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Ms. Delia L. Johnson, Co-Chair and Director, Office of Civil
Rights for International Broadcasting Bureau, opened the meeting with a few
remarks and then asked the attendees to give their name, agency, and
position. She thanked Era Marshall,
Director, EEO and Minority Affairs, Smithsonian Institution, for sponsoring this
meeting.
Mr. Jorge E.
Ponce, Co-Chair, announced that the American Federation of Government Employees
(AFGE) had filed a lawsuit in May 2005 in U.S. District Court against EEOC for
violating the Government in the Sunshine Act.
Steven Stromberg, a supervisor in the Office of Federal Operations at EEOC, gave a presentation entitled the seven ways to avoid procedural reversals of discrimination complaints.
Mr. Stromberg covered the following points. If an agency dismisses a complaint:
1) because the Complainant has filed the same claim previously, forward to EEOC a copy of the previous complaint and the acceptance letter.
2) for untimely contact with an EEO Counselor, include a copy of posters and/or verification of EEO training by Complainant in which the 45-day requirement to contact an EEO Counselor was mentioned. In addition, agencies need to remember that the trigger for establishing the contact with an EEO Counselor is the date that the Complainant became aware of the alleged discriminatory act.
3) because the Complainant has filed a civil action in a U.S. District Court, include a copy of the civil action and, if available, its disposition.
4) because the Complainant has filed a grievance, submit a copy of the grievance, the grievance decision, and the negotiated agreement.
5) for mootness, the agency must address the compensatory damage claims, if raised.
6) For inability to contact the Complainant, the agency must demonstrate that it tried everything to get the documents to the Complainant, especially if the latter works in the same physical facility as the EEO Office.
7) For failure of Complainant to cooperate, agencies must make sure the notice gives 15 day time limit; make sure the notice says complaint might be dismissed; make sure notice clearly says what Complainant should provide; provide evidence of receipt of notice. Agencies must remember that if Complainant shows he/she made an effort to cooperate, EEOC is likely to okay the complaint.
Mr. Stromberg indicated that if a Complainant waits to exercise his/her rights for five or more years, EEOC will use the latches theory to dismiss the complaint, even if Complainant made timely contact with an EEO Counselor initially.
If an agency wants to prove that a Complainant is not
entitled to use its EEO process as a result of being a contract employee, Mr.
Stromberg encouraged agencies to attach a copy of the contract. Nevertheless, he cautioned that agencies
could not prevent contract employees from contacting EEO Counselors. If it is determined subsequently that the
Complainant is not a federal employee, the agency can issue a dismissal letter
for failure to state a claim.
Ms. Delia Johnson led a discussion regarding the concerns expressed by numerous Council members regarding the creation of a separate Title VI/IX association rather than a subcommittee within the Council She clarified that the mission of the Council was to address not just EEO matters, but with civil rights as well.
Kim Lambert, Environmental Justice Specialist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stated it was an honor to appear before the Council and gave recognition to the outstanding contributions that this organization has made to the civil rights community since its founding in 1993. Ms. Lambert gave a brief overview of Environmental Justice. In addition, she discussed the work of the Federal Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Environmental Justice, established under Executive Order 12898, in 1994. Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws. The IWG is comprised of Federal agencies, with leadership from EPA. The IWG primarily works on integrating environmental justice concepts into Federal programs and activities and partnering with communities and other stakeholders in the area of community revitalization and environment justice. Charles Lee, Chairman, of the IWG, EPA, was unable to attend the meeting.
Lambert stated that on May 12, 2005, Doug Gentile sent her a finalized draft Charter of the Association of Federal External Civil Rights. This was just five days before a vote to adopt the Charter was to occur. In part, the Charter states that the Association has jurisdiction over Executive Order 12898 (equal treatment of minority and low income communities regarding environmental policies and practices). On May 17, 2005, Ms. Lambert attended the Association meeting. During the discussion of the Charter, she specifically asked the Association two questions: (1) what is your appointing authority for addressing Environmental Justice? (2) What collaboration and coordination took place with the IWG or the Office of Environmental Justice, EPA? According to Lambert, her questions were ignored. At the Council meeting, Ms. Lambert again posed the same questions that remained unanswered. Lambert indicated that it appears that the Association purposely omitted the IWG and the Council from providing comments to the Charter, as well as failing to share information about the formation of this group. Lambert stated that with depleting Federal budgets and resources, it is not feasible to organize another group considering that the Council and the IWG are already positioned to address issues that are outlined within the contents of the Charter. Ms. Delia Johnson confirmed that she and Mr. Ponce had never been asked to meet with those spearheading this organization.
In addition to Lambert, Melinda Downing, Manager, Environmental Justice, DOE, also attended the meeting. Ms. Downing manages the Environmental Justice program at the Departmental level.
Doug Gentile, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, stated that he had not briefed the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ) because this group does not handle the Title VI aspect of the EJ.
Alejandra Hadley, from the U.S. Geological Survey, stated that the officers for the new organization will not be elected until the next meeting. The genesis of this association started in a conversation that took place between Harry Takai (Treasury Department) at conference at the U.S. Department of Labor regarding the lack of emphasis given to Title VI matters.
Ms. Bonita White questioned Mr. Gentile and Ms. Hadley that since they had been briefed at this meeting on the mission of the Council, and since they now know that the Council is willing to address more Title VI and IX at future meetings, what were they willing to do.
Ms. Johnson indicated that it
was the duty of Council members to inform the Council officers of agenda
items. Thus, if there were enough
agenda items, she was willing to have Council meetings covering Title VII items
one month and Title VI/IX items the following month. She recommended that the spearheaders of this association (Doug
Gentile, Harry Takai, and Alejandra Hadley) meet with the members of the
Council’s Executive Board shortly, and that further discussions about a
drafting a charter and electing officers should be put on hold. Next Council
meeting: June 28th