THE C4C FEDERAL EXCHANGE THE COALITION FOR CHANGE, INC. (C4C) MONTHLY NEWSLETTER ISSN 2375-706X Special Edition: Veterans’ Salute
HIGHLIGHTS IN THIS ISSUE: BLACKLISTED: A Veteran’s Story of Reprisal by Ralph Saunders
Vol. 2 / No. 10 November 2015 Veterans Face Race Discrimination in the Federal Government By Tanya Ward Jordan
FEDERAL COMPLAINT PROCESS by Homeless Fed, A.K.A. Yolanda CLASS ACTION ALERT: Social Security Administration Race-Based Class Action (Paulette Taylor, et. al v SSA)
VIDEO {Click Link} You can easily request a copy of your official personnel file (OPF) to find out what may be hidden in your personnel file. Federal employees can request via e-mail copy of their SF-50 personnel file through their agency’s human resources office. Former Federal employees can sign, date and send a letter to the National Personnel Records (NPR) Center. Include the following: Full name Date of birth Social Security number Name and location of employing federal agencies Dates of service
OPFs are retired to the NPR Center within 120 days after separation from Federal employment. Mail your request to: National Personnel Records Center Annex1411 Boulder Boulevard Valmeyer, IL 62295. The C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter
In addition to military service connected bias, many Black veterans endure the stress of racial bias when either seeking employment or seeking equitable treatment in the workplace. Veterans returning stateside, like many nonveterans working in the Federal sector, often battle racial harassment and, at times, confront the ill-treatment of bigoted abusive managers who are rarely held accountable. The brave men and women of our military have dedicated their abilities and put their very lives on the line to defend the freedoms that all Americans enjoy. Yet, some federal officials are failing to treat veterans equitably in the federal service. The C4C thanks our many members who have served in the military. We will continue to share your stories to bring attention to the persistent injustice taking place within our Federal government.
Thank you for your service!
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VIDEO WATCH STRESS: Profile of a killer
BLACKLISTED: A Veteran’s Story of Reprisal by Ralph Saunders “I am a 60-year-old Marine Veteran with twenty-four (24 years) of Federal civil service. Sixteen years of my Federal career was with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
According to research, work stress damages our health just as much as exposure to secondhand cigarette. In fact, according to scientist “Stress is killing us,” A National Geographic special entitled -STRESS: Profile of a killer explores research on how and why.
CLICK http://tinyurl.com/c5xdvgt
C4C FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) Request Upload The C4C has posted a summary of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) agency workforce data on SCRIBD. The link below discloses “OPM employee” data only showing race, national origin and gender distribution in pay grades as of April 2015. The C4C received OPM’s timely reply to its email request on 9/3/15. The C4C will soon upload, on the C4C website, an excel spreadsheet as received from OPM as well as “governmentwide” data showing pay grade data distribution by race and gender. https://www.scribd.com/doc/282387068/Offi ce-of-Personnel-Management-WorkforceData-2015 The C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter
. My Federal career came to a dismal end after I was denied leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for my wife who needed heart surgery. Rather than give me leave under FMLA, VA officials charged me with Absent Without Leave (AWOL). They also dispensed disciplinary action against me and changed my tour of duty. As a result, I filed an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint. After filing the EEO complaint, I was placed on a “BLACKLIST” along with veteran Isaac Decatur. I had to file numerous EEO complaints between 2003 and 2004. After-winning one of my complaints VA officials began micro-managing me. This harassment was so stressful I started seeing a psychologist who said I need a week off to get away from the stress brought on by reprisal. The manager at the VA Medical Center in New Orleans told her secretary to tear up the fax that came from my doctor supporting my medical need to be away from the office. I was again charged AWOL and VA officials claimed the reason they put me on AWOL was because my Psychologist was not a “REAL” doctor. Well, I filed another complaint about that and the presiding judge stated my psychologist was indeed a real doctor. On February 18, 2005 an EEOC administrative Judge issued a bench decision finding that the VA discriminated against me by charging me with AWOL. Yes, I won that case. Still, the Agency retained the
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disciplinary action against me and the micromanagement got so bad that it caused further on-the-job injury. On July 19, 2005, VA’s own Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication found that VA officials discriminated against me by suspending me without pay. But, the reprisal never stopped. I was given a letter of removal and the only way to get FIRED off my SF Form 50 was to sign a settlement agreement. Really what choice did I have? In 2015, now a decade later, I am awaiting a decision from EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations about a Breach of Contract in the settlement agreement, which was signed under duress. I was denied attorney fees and Office of Workers’ Compensation benefits. And, although, the VA actually removed from Federal service on May 30, 2005, (prior to my ever signing a settlement agreement) as shown on the Thrift Savings Plan notice, the EEOC, at this juncture still refuses to accept that the VA ever terminated me from service. I am praying that I get a fair hearing on my complaint. My job was taken from me based false allegations which I proved. I was blacklisted, my employment record was falsified, and I only want to have the same rights as any other American. All I'm asking is that EEOC reviews the facts. Jeanette Butler, Cassandra Holliday and Linda Cosey are all guilty of discriminating against me as proven in my Bench Decision 270-200400117x and FAD case 200L-0629-2004100828 and in the sworn Affidavit of veteran Al Hunt that proved an actual “Blacklist” existed. But, they are small fish. The problem is the EEOC’s OFO Director Mr. Carlton Hadden, VA officials would not and could not continue to retaliate if Mr. Hadden would enforce the law that makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination or filed a charge of discrimination. According to the law, I am supposed to be protected from future violations. Yet, Veteran Isaac Decatur and I were victimized twice. Once by the Agency; and again by the EEOC which was to suppose to protect us.” The C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter
NEWS—In Case You Missed it Click Article Heading in Red
The agency that’s supposed to protect whistleblowers across the government got slapped for retaliating against one of its own, Washington Post, Lisa Rein, Oct. 2, 2015 EEOC Ponders Ways to Curb Retaliation Against Workers Who Pursue Bias Claims 2014 Merit Systems Protection Board Mock Hearing, Part 1
EEOC Press Release - EEOC Mourns Loss of Former Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien, Nov. 9, 2015. America’s Veterans under Siege by Feds, OpedNews, Tanya Ward Jordan, Oct. 9, 2015 Lawmaker: VA Isn’t the Only Agency That Can’t Fire Bad Employees Fast Enough, GovExec, K. Lunney, Nov.4, 2015 Commission Federal Sector Appellate Decisions to Use Randomly Generated Names Federal sector appellate decisions issued for publication now use a randomly generated ”pseudonym ”name as a substitute for the complainant’s name. Press Release, Oct. 5, 2015
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The Federal Complaint Process A First Person Account by Homeless Fed (aka Yolanda) Air Force Veteran This is a first person account of the complaint process for federal employees. It is the first in a series covering "the elephant in the room" - Is the federal complaint process really meant to help federal employees, or is it set up to provide agency's a distinct advantage in protecting itself and its managers? Is the mission of today's Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) truly to uphold merit principles and prevent discrimination and prohibited personnel actions against federal employees, or are their mission in fact to hinder and thwart federal employee attempts to find justice? In showing the inherent bias of the MSPB in conducting annual hands on training to agencies on "their top five mistakes that lead to cases being overturned at the MSPB" and showing the glaring disparities within the EEOC complaint process for public sector employees versus private sector employees will reveal agencies to be the proverbial "fox guarding the hen house." Installment One –Stacked Deck or 3 Card Monte? -The deck is truly stacked against federal employees. The federal complaint system is in a lot of ways like a game of 3 Card Monte. As in 3 Card Monte, a confidence game or “con,” the complaint process for federal employees is nothing but a hustle. The employee is first ‘tricked or conned’ by the agency EEO officer into believing they are “really there to help.” Any federal employee that believes the EEO officer is truly there to help them is either naive or delusional; either way they are in for a rude awakening. In “3 Card Monte” the “shill” helps perpetuate the short con by pretending to conspire with the mark but in actually is conspiring with the dealer. In the federal complaint process the “shill” is played by the agency EEO officer. Read full article as written in OPedNews – click HERE. The C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter
CASES OF INTEREST
BOYER-LIBERTO v FONTAINEBLEAU CORP. [Harassment and retaliation] No. 131473 (4th Cir. May 7, 2015), The Fourth Circuit en banc rules that an
employee remains protected by Title VII's antiretaliation section when complaining about race harassment, even if the offending conduct has not yet ripened into a hostile work environment. REVELES v JOHNSON
Homeland Security –No. 14-1343. October 5, 2015. [Timeliness] The Supreme Court declined to review the ruling by the 5th Circuit that Reveles failed to exhaust administrative remedies by not contacting an EEO counselor within 45 days of his termination.
KORB v MSPB [Reprisal for Whistleblowing] MB-1221-140002-W-1, Sept 25, 2015 In 2013, after Timothy Korb shared data at a staff meeting that revealed the Merit Systems Protection Board’s (MSPB) lengthy case backlog and delays in adjudicating them, Korb’s supervisor took action to suspend him without pay. An administrative judge brought in from the U.S. Coast Guard to hear the case ruled that the MSPB had moved improperly to suspend Korb and reduce his job duties in reprisal for whistleblowing.
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ype a quote from the document of the summary of an interesting point. You can position the text box anywhere in the document. Use the Drawing Tools tab to change the formatting of the pull quote text box.] Cartoon inspirational reference: Saunders v Veterans Affairs VA Case No. 200L-0629-2004100828 levels. The judge concluded: “The Class has prevailed in the showing of class-wide
CLASS ACTION ALERT On May 5, 2006, the EEOC certified a class action complaint filed by the class agent, veteran Paulette Taylor and ordered the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) to process the complaint accordingly. The name and location of the organization against which the class complaint was filed is the Social Security Administration Headquarters, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235. The central issue in the trial of this case was whether the SSA discriminated against the certified Class of African-African women in grades GS 7 to 13 in regard to denials of promotions. Summary of Interim Decision on LiabilityThe EEOC Administrative Judge (AJ) found class-wide discrimination against the Class in promotions into Grade 12; the AJ denied all other claims for promotions to other grade The C4C Federal Exchange Newsletter
discrimination against nonsupervisory AfricanAmerican female employees who were denied promotions into the GS-12 level, from December 9, 2000 to the present.� Need
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