The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Permanent Workforce: 212,836 Temporary Workforce: 23,395 Total Workforce: 236,258

Workforce Composition

Employee Pool Total # Men Women Hispanics Whites Blacks Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders American Indians / Alaskan Natives
Permanent Workforce 212,836 41.67% 58.33% 6.82% 61.85% 23.76% 6.67% 0.89%
Major Occupations                
Medical Officer 15,956 71.06% 28.94% 7.06% 64.78% 3.8% 24.06% 0.31%
Nurse 39,651 14.36% 85.64% 6.32% 67.14% 15.1% 10.76% 0.68%
Veterans Claims Examining 6,161 44.57% 55.43% 5.96% 67.05% 22.77% 2.66% 1.56%
GS-14 and GS-15* 12,502 69.73% 30.27% 5.59% 71.77% 6.05% 16.11% 0.41%
Senior Pay Level* 509 70.73% 29.27% 2.55% 87.42% 6.48% 1.96% 1.57%
First-Level Officials/Managers 6,651 47.96% 52.04% 5.83% 69.48% 20.75% 2.98% 0.95%
Mid-Level Officials/Managers 4,800 61.48% 38.52% 4.13% 81.79% 10.69% 2.77% 0.63%
Senior Level Officials/Managers 2,948 77.34% 22.66% 4.65% 80.12% 4.58% 10.07% 0.58%

*Does not include pay-banded employees

Targeted Disabilities

Employees with targeted disabilities represented 0.99% of the total government workforce in FY 2004, and of agencies with a permanent workforce of 500 or more, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, at 2.23%, had the highest percentage of employees with targeted disabilities. At VA, employees with targeted disabilities represented 1.56% of the total workforce.

EEO Complaint Processing

  1. Counseling

    There were 4,129 instances of pre-complaint counseling (performed by EEO counselors and/or ADR intake officers). VA timely processed 97.69% of the total number of counselings. Following counseling, 2,220 formal complaints of discrimination were filed.

  2. Alternative Dispute Resolution

    Of VA's 4,129 instances of counseling, ADR was offered 22.8% of the time; the parties elected to participate in 10.3% of the completed counselings; and 79.2% of the ADR closures were resolved through settlements or withdrawals.

    At the formal complaint phase, VA offered ADR 1.9% of the time; the parties elected to participate in 1.21% of the complaint workload; and 45.1% of the ADR closures were resolved through settlements or withdrawals.

  3. Processing Times

    VA completed 49% of its investigations within the regulatory time frames, with an average processing time

    of 220 days for all investigations. In most instances, the regulations require completion of investigations within 180 days. Of the agencies completing 25 or more investigations, the Tennessee Valley Authority was the only agency to complete 100% of their investigations within the regulatory time frames, with an average processing time of 117 days.

    VA's average processing time for all complaint closures decreased from 317 days in FY 2003 to 299 days in FY 2004. The government-wide average was 469 days.

  4. Pending Inventory

    VA had a total of 2,673 complaints pending at the end of FY 2004, with 25 pending acknowledgment for an average of 9 days; 757 pending investigation for an average of 74 days; and 651 pending the issuance of final decisions for an average of 399 days.

  5. Costs

    VA agreed to pay $103,750 for 127 counseling settlements with benefits, an average $816.92 per counseling settled.

    VA agreed to pay a total of $1,577,193 for 535 complaint closures through settlement agreement, final agency decision, and final agency orders fully implementing AJ decisions. For complaint closures with benefits, the average award (including back/front pay, compensatory damages, attorney's fees, and lump sum payments) was $2,948.

    VA expended a total of $6,509,100 for 1,948 complaint investigations, for an average expenditure of $3,341.

Outcome of Counselings Completed in FY 2004

Counseling Outcomes Completed by EEO Counselor Completed Using ADR All Completed Counselings
# % # % # %
Total Instances of Counseling: 3,681   448   4,129  
Settlements 64 1.73% 63 14.06% 127 3.07%
Withdrawal/no Complaint Filed 1,388 37.7% 292 65.1% 1,680 40.68%
Complaints Filed*         2,074 50.23%
Decision to File Complaint Pending at End of Fiscal Year         248 6.00%

*Includes only complaints filed in FY 2004 where counseling was also completed during FY 2004.

Agency Use of ADR for EEO Dispute Resolution

Counselings / Complaints ADR Offers ADR Participation
# # % # %
FY 2003 Pre-Complaint Counselings 4,057 1,068 26.00% 351 9.00%
FY 2004 Pre-Complaint Counselings 4,129 940 22.77% 427 10.34%
Percentage Change FY 2003 to FY 2004 1.77% -11.98%   21.65%  
FY 2003 Complaints* 5,394 70 1.00% 33 1.00%
FY 2004 Complaints* 5,048 96 1.90% 61 1.21%
Percentage Change FY 2003 to FY 2004 -6.41% 37.14%   84.84%  

*Includes all complaints filed in the fiscal year, including those where the counseling was completed in the prior fiscal year.

Timeliness

Total # # Timely % Timely FY 2003 APD* FY 2004 APD % Change
All Counselings (minus remands) 4,119 4,024 97.69%      
All Investigations 1,948 959 49.23% 233 220 -5.57%
Merit Decisions (no AJ) 667 357 53.52% 350 303 -13.42%
Dismissal Decisions 513     82 72 -12.19%

*APD = Average Processing Days

Outcomes of Complaints Closed in FY 2004

Complaint Outcomes Complaint Closures Final Agency Decision (no AJ decision) Final Order (AJ Decision Fully Implemented) Final Order (AJ Decision Not Fully Implemented)
Total Closures (2,375) # % # % # % # %
Settlements 507 21.34%            
Withdrawals 199 8.37%            
Dismissals 513 21.60%            
Merit Decisions 1,156 48.67%            
Finding Discrimination 37 3.20% 14 37.83% 14 37.83% 9 24.32%
Finding No Discrimination 1,119 96.79% 653 58.35% 466 41.64% 0 0.00%

This page was last modified on May 3, 2005.

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