Federal employee wins EEOC appeal. Complainant filed an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint alleging employment discrimination based on sex and age and reprisal. After the investigation Complainant requested a hearing but subsequently withdrew her request. The Agency issued a final decision stating Complainant failed to prove that the Agency subjected her to discrimination as alleged because she did not show that the Agency’s explanations were pretext for unlawful discrimination. Complainant appealed.
On appeal, the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations (OFO) held that the Agency’s production of evidence showing Complainant was not selected for a supervisory position because she received lower scores than the selectees does not meet the Agency’s burden of production unless the Agency explains the specific reasoning for the scores. Asserting that the Complainant ranked lower than others is meaningless without evidence of the specific scores and the manner in which the scores were derived. As a result, the OFO held that the Agency’s explanations were mere pretext for unlawful discrimination and reversed and remanded the Agency’s final decision.
Felisha A. v. Dep’t of Homeland Security, EEOC Appeal No. 0120162314 (June 5, 2018) https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/migrated_files/decisions/0120162314.txt
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