THE C4C FEDERAL EXCHANGE
The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) Volume 6, Number 1 (WINTER 2019) ISSN 2375-7086 (Online)
HIGHLIGHTS 2019 Annual Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights The EEOC: Federal Complaint Inventory Notable Decisions From The EEOC Christopher Reed: Black With A Gold Badge New Video: Diane R. Williams Silence Breaker *Note: Clickable links in RED throughout text.
DO YOU KNOW . . . Event organizers for the 2019 Annual Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights are accepting proposals from persons interested in holding a panel discussion on a whistleblowing topic. Call For Proposals:
Panels must comprise 3 to 5 people. Panel must have a moderator. Bios must be submitted for each speaker. Panels must be 50 minutes in length. Panelist should reserve 10 minutes for Q&A. Proposals must be under 500 words and submitted in WORD.
Proposals, due JUNE 1st, can be sent to: either Marcelvreid@yahoo.com or Mccray.michael@gmail.com To learn more visit https://www.whistleblowersummit.com
C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter – WINTER 2019
Annual Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights 2019 Tanya Ward Jordan Once again the Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) will co-host the Annual Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights. The Summit will convene July 29-31st. Mr. Michael McCray, Esq. and Ms. Marcel Reid lead efforts to host the free three-day gathering on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Background The Summit is an outgrowth of the No FEAR Act Whistleblower tribunals birthed under the leadership of Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Chair-No FEAR Institute/Coalition. In May 2007, five years after the passage of the Notification and Federal Employee Anti-discrimination Act (No FEAR) of 2002, No FEAR Coalition members held its anniversary whistleblowing tribunal on Capitol Hill. The tribunal heard testimonies largely from federal workers. In 2008, the No FEAR Coalition further expanded its outreach to other whistleblower communities outside the federal sector. During the whistleblowing gathering the Page 1
No FEAR Coalition held testimony from individuals in the government, the medical, the veteran, the farming and the Hip-Hop communities. The 2008 event was coined Whistleblower Week in Washington. Prominently, on May 12, 2008, Adrian M. Fenty, the Mayor of District of Columbia, recognized the No FEAR Institute sponsored event stating: “This event provides an opportunity to participate in panel discussions, testimonies, an award ceremony, workshops and to recognize the efforts of those individuals who work to ensure that government agencies found liable for discrimination will be held accountable.” Annual Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights Since 2012, Michael McCray, Esq. and Marcel Reid have served as the Whistleblower Week event organizers for the Annual Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights (Summit). Notably, the two have continued a “truth-tellers” gathering in the spirit and in the tradition of the ground-breaking No FEAR Coalition whistleblowing event. The Summit, however, assembles a much broader mix of federal and non-federal whistleblowers and covers a myriad of issues impacting the public. The C4C’s “Co-host” Role in the Summit. Each year the C4C has supported the noteworthy event. The C4C views it as an opportunity to keep issues of racism and reprisal within the federal government and the need to address them at the forefront of our national discussion. Our members recognize the fair treatment of federal employees is key to safeguarding America’s domestic security. Therefore this year in addition to co-hosting the 2019 Summit, the C4C will host a panel. The C4C panel will delve into the No FEAR Act – its purpose, background, impact and the 2019 No FEAR amendment bill -- Federal Employee Anti-discrimination Act, introduced by Rep. Elijah Cummings.
C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter – WINTER 2019
EEOC FY 2018 Federal Sector Inventory FY 2018 Report
Performance
and
Accountability
The EEOC resolved 4,320 appeals (p.33). The EEOC issued 122 findings of discrimination in fiscal year 2018, an increase over the previous year’s 68 findings (p.34). EEOC compliance staff secured $13.6 million in monetary relief as ordered in EEOC’s appellate decisions (pg34). The agency also recovered $98.6 million in monetary relief for federal employees and applicants. (p7). Read more at . . . https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/plan/upload/2018par.pdf.
IN THE NEWS
National Geospatial Agency (NGA) Admits to Years of Racial Discrimination. An agency self-study revealed that NGAs black employees have a harder time getting a promotion than the agency's white employees. Read more https://on.ksdk.com/2AKzsMT
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Notable Decisions From The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The following are summaries of some notable appellate decisions issued in fiscal year 2018. [Source: EEOC Performance and Accountability Report 2018 (p34).]
The Commission found that substantial record evidence supported the administrative judge’s finding that complainant had not shown that he was subjected to discrimination, reprisal, or a hostile work environment. The Commission, however, agreed with the administrative judge that the atmosphere at the Norfolk Office was clearly rife with offensive and racially-hostile behavior. The record demonstrated that employees at the Norfolk Office used racial epithets and engaged in racial stereotyping. While most of the conduct alleged occurred prior to complainant’s arrival and none of the conduct was directed at him, substantial record evidence showed that other African-American employees were subjected to the conduct based on their race. In addition, the management official responsible for some of the conduct at issue was in Complainant’s chain-of-command.
Taylor G. v. United States Postal Service, 0120120164 (April 17, 2018) The EEOC held that it is not estopped from seeking victim-specific relief on behalf of a complainant who files for bankruptcy. Where the bankrupt complainant has prevailed, and is entitled to monetary relief, the agency’s obligation is to remedy the discrimination, not to address the question of complainant’s interest in the proceeds of any award by tendering the monies to the bankruptcy trustee or court rather than to the complainant. Josefina L. v. Social Security Admin., 0120161760 (July 10, 2018) The EEOC sanctioned the agency on the ground that its Office of General Counsel had interfered with the investigative process when agency counsel reviewed and suggested revisions to the responsible management official’s affidavit responses before the affidavit was submitted to the investigator. The EEOC noted that during the non-adversarial portions of the EEO process, i.e., counseling and the investigation, an agency counsel “should not have a role in shaping the testimony of the witnesses or the evidence gathered by the investigator.” Ross R. v. Dept. of Homeland Security, 0120162491 (July 25, 2018)
C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter – WINTER 2019
No FEAR Spotlight: Justice Department The Notification and Federal Employee Anti-discrimination and Retaliation (No FEAR) Act of 2002 requires agencies to post statistical data about it equal employment opportunity complaint. According to its’ No FEAR data, the Justice Department reported the following: Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Totals Number of Complaints Pending: 2685 Number of Filers; 2617 Number of Discrimination Findings: 4 Complaints by Basis Race-based: 268 Sex: 384 Reprisal: 415 Age: 173 Disability: 238 Avg days for Investigation: 177 Avg days for Final Agency Decision:473 Page 3
Are Directed Reassignments Misused? Richard America Professor of the Practice, Emeritus, School of Business, Georgetown University The Washington Post reports on July 28, 2017 that professional scientists in several Departments are being geographically reassigned to force them to resign or retire. Government Executive has also published a warning that Directed Reassignments are being misused. This is a long-standing problem. It can be corrected. [A directed reassignment is an order to permanently relocate an employee from one position to another position, even outside of
their commuting area.] During the Presidential Primary campaign in 2012, a candidate promised or threatened, that he would, if elected, send some Federal employees to remote locations as a way to force them out of Federal employment. This might be illegal retaliation, in many cases, perhaps, protected by EEO and other law and regulation. But is that sufficient? Do such actions occur too frequently? And, are the motives often personal, or political? And, are the transfers really, “for the good of the Service”? Is it time to produce legislation to create effective safeguards, protections and remedies? Suppose Congress enacted something like “The Directed Reassignment Protection Act” to amend the civil service laws of the United States and for other purposes. *Recommendation of Mr. America - The Directed Reassignment Protection Act” to be uploaded on C4C’s Scribd page. https://www.scribd.com/user/59127058/C4C
A self-help guide by Tanya Ward Jordan, M.S., President/Founder of the Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) is available through AMAZON in paperback and e-book. Read book review by Dennis Moore, Associate Editor of the East County Magazine in San Diego at the link below. https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/rosaparks-federal-government
No FEAR: A Whistleblower's Triumph Over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA, by Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, is available on Amazon. In her book, Dr. Coleman-Adebayo chronicles her experiences including the discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-The Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act (The No FEAR Act) of 2002. To learn more, visit http://www.marshacoleman-adebayo.com/
BOOK CORNER
Author-Christopher Reed C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter – WINTER 2019
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Newly-Released C4C Video Diane R. Williams
Christopher Reed
A Trailblazer For the #Me-too Movement
Law Enforcement Officer, Author-Black With A Gold Badge
CLICK below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_K8ipM0xcQ
GOT NEWS? Contact us at C4C@coalition4change.org Contributing Editor, Tanya Ward Jordan The C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter is a quarterly publication of The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C). The internet publication, which shares information on race discrimination and retaliation in the federal sector, obtained its ISSN 2375-7086 from the U.S. Library of Congress in October 2014.
Donate to The Coalition For Change, Inc. via PayPal https://tinyurl.com/y7t7mst7
Hey, I'm Chris Reed! Wynne High School graduate, 19 Years of Federal Law Enforcement, and father of four sons. Through facing discrimination within the Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs since 2010, I was recently diagnosed as being bipolar II Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder due to my treatment I received with the Department of Interior. I didn’t let this ruin my life as I decided to write a book and this is where I’m at today. I decided to tell my story and make sure no other federal law enforcement officer go through what I did. And, if they are hit with these issues I want them to be prepared and ready with a bag of information without having to use their life savings like I did. Originally from the Arkansas area, I currently have no “home base" because I traveled around the world with the government from the age of 18 to present (just another benefit of federal service and being discriminated against). https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-reed812993105 View video Black
With A Gold Badge
https://vimeo.com/306582547
C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter – WINTER 2019
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