U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PART VI
THE EEOC'S APPELLATE REVIEW PROGRAM
A. OVERVIEW OF THE EEOC'S APPELLATE
REVIEW PROGRAM PROCEDURES
The Appellate Review Program (ARP) in EEOC's Office of Federal
Operations (OFO) adjudicates appeals arising from federal sector
discrimination complaints. The EEOC's regulations, found at 29
C.F.R. Part 1614, Sections 401-409, set forth the rules that govern
such appeals. These rules allow complainants to appeal a range of
actions, including agency and EEOC administrative judge (AJ)
decisions, grievances and appellate decisions of the Merit Systems
Protection Board (MSPB) which raise discrimination issues, and
decisions on claims of breach of settlement agreements between an
agency and a complainant. These rules also require agencies to
appeal to OFO each time an agency decides not to fully implement a
decision rendered by an EEOC AJ.
B. APPELLATE RECEIPTS
- OFO received 6,725 appeals in FY 2002 - Two percent less than
the 6,894 appeals OFO received in FY 2001.
Appellate Receipts
FY 1999 - FY 2002
Figure VI-A
- Only 141 of these FY 2002 appeals were brought by
agencies.
- Approximately 76% of all appeals were filed from final actions
by agencies.
Appellate Receipts By
Category
Figure VI-B
| Type of Case |
Number |
Percent |
| Final Agency Orders and Decisions |
5,102 |
75.80% |
| Agency Appeals of AJ Decisions |
141 |
2.10% |
| Grievances |
29 |
0.40% |
| MSPB Decisions |
101 |
1.50% |
| Petitions for Enforcement and Clarification |
39 |
0.60% |
| Requests for Reconsideration |
1,323 |
19.60% |
| Total |
6,725 |
100% |
- Most appeals were filed to challenge final actions issued by
the U.S. Postal Service and the Departments of Defense, Justice,
Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.
Appellate Receipts By Agency
Figure VI-C
| Agency |
Number of Appeals
|
| U.S. Postal Service |
2,839 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs |
614 |
| Department of the Army |
473 |
| Department of the Navy |
372 |
| Department of the Treasury |
348 |
C. APPELLATE RESOLUTIONS
- OFO resolved 9,452 appeals in FY 2002 - a 37.90% increase from
the 6,850 resolutions issued in FY 1997.
Appellate Resolutions
FY 1997 - FY 2002
Figure VI-D
- Resolutions increased in virtually every category of appellate
receipt.
Appellate Resolutions By
Category
Figure VI-E
| Type of Case |
Number |
Percent |
| Final Agency Orders and Decisions |
7,587 |
80.30% |
| Agency Appeals of AJ Decisions |
86 |
0.90% |
| Grievances |
29 |
0.30% |
| MSPB Decisions |
149 |
1.50% |
| Petitions for Enforcement and Clarification |
42 |
0.40% |
| Requests for Reconsideration |
1,559 |
16.60% |
| Total |
9,452 |
100% |
- Title VII cases represent the largest percentage of appeals
resolved in FY 2002. OFO resolved 7,513 Title VII cases (59% of the
total).
- OFO also resolved 2,724 appeals involving the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 (21% of the total), 2,358 appeals dealing with the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (18% of the total), and
154 appeals implicating the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (1% of the
total).(1)
Appellate Resolutions By
Statute
Figure VI-F
- In FY 2002, OFO resolved a record 4,383 appeals addressing the
merits of the underlying discrimination claim(s).
Merits Resolutions
FY 2000 - FY 2002
Figure VI-G
- Of these 4,383 merits decisions, OFO made a total of 227
findings of discrimination (or 5.20% of the total) - a 14% increase
in such findings over FY 2001.
- Retaliation, disability, and gender (female) were the most
prevalent bases of discrimination in the findings OFO issued in FY
2002.
Findings of Discrimination on
Appeal
Major Bases
Figure VI-H
| Selected Bases Found |
FY 2002 |
FY 2001 |
| Gender Female |
40 |
36 |
| Gender Male |
23 |
10 |
| Physical Disability |
57 |
72 |
| Age |
16 |
15 |
| Color - Other |
3 |
0 |
| Reprisal |
84 |
51 |
| Race - Black |
35 |
20 |
| Race - Other |
4 |
0 |
| National Origin - Hispanic |
8 |
3 |
| National Origin - Asian |
1 |
2 |
| National Origin - Other |
8 |
3 |
- Harassment and promotion-related employment decisions were the
most prevalent issues among the findings OFO issued in FY
2002.
Findings of Discrimination on
Appeal
Major Issues
Figure VI-I
| Selected Issues Found |
FY 2002 |
FY 2001 |
| Assignment |
24 |
17 |
| Working Conditions |
4 |
3 |
| Removal |
16 |
23 |
| Discipline |
19 |
8 |
| Harassment |
48 |
51 |
| Hiring |
14 |
6 |
| Promotion |
38 |
31 |
D. AVERAGE PROCESSING TIME FOR
APPEALS
- OFO resolved 2,709 (40.30%) of the 6,725 appeals received in FY
2002, within 180 days.
- The average processing time for appeals in FY 2002 was 467
days.
Average Processing Days on
Appeal
FY 1999 - FY 2002
Figure VI-J
- Although average appeal processing time has been increasing
since FY 2000, this is because OFO has been working on resolving
the oldest cases in its pending appeals inventory.
- In FY 2002, OFO greatly reduced the age of appeals in this
inventory. The average age of open appeal in the inventory at the
end of FY 2002 was 256 days - a 40.40% reduction from the 430-day
average age as of the end of FY 2001.
Age of Pending Appeals in
Inventory
FY 2001 v. FY 2002
Figure VI-K
1 to 100 Days 101 to 200 Days 201 to 300 Days 301 to 365 Days
366 to 500 Days 501+ Days
- The most dramatic achievement in the reduction of the age of
the open inventory during FY 2002 was a 77% reduction in the number
of appeals that were more than 500 days old.
Reduction in 500+ Day-Old
Appeals
Figure VI-L
E. REDUCTION IN TOTAL APPELLATE
INVENTORY
- At the end of FY 2002, there were 4,809 appeals in OFO's
inventory.
- This represents a 36% decrease from the inventory pending at
the end of FY 2001 (7,536 appeals), and a 60% reduction from the
inventory high reached during the course of FY 2000 (11,918
appeals).
- FY 2002 was the fourth consecutive year to reflect a decrease
in inventory.
FY-End Appellate Inventory
FY 1999 - FY 2002
Figure VI-M
F. MONETARY AWARDS AND BENEFITS
SECURED ON APPEAL
- In FY 2002, OFO obtained from agencies a record amount of
monetary relief (e.g., compensatory damages, front and/or back pay,
attorney's fees, etc.) for complainants as a result of compliance
monitoring of appellate decisions.
- In FY 2002, OFO secured $16.9 million in monetary benefits - an
over 100% increase from FY 2001.
Monetary Relief Secured for Victims of
Discrimination
FY 1997 - FY 2002
Figure VI-N
1. The number and percentage of resolutions
by statute will be greater than the number of cases closed, since
one or more statutory basis or bases may be alleged in each
appeal.
This page was last modified on June 26, 2003.
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