Section D - Appeals

Complainants may appeal to OFO from final agency actions taken on their EEO complaints and when they believe that an agency has failed to comply with a settlement agreement or a final order fully implementing an AJ's finding of discrimination. Agencies must appeal to OFO if they do not fully implement a decision rendered by an EEOC AJ. The principle of demonstrated commitment from agency leadership extends to the appellate stage of complaints processing, where agencies are required to comply fully and timely with OFO corrective action.

1. Appellate Inventory
   • At the conclusion of FY 2003, OFO's appellate inventory stood at 3,831, a 20% reduction from the FY 2002 ending inventory of 4,809 and a 68% reduction in inventory from the inventory high of 11,918 appeals in January 2000.

   Figure 16 - Appellate Inventory
   FY 1999 - FY 2003

   
2. Appellate Receipts
   • 7,035 appeals were filed in FY 2003, a 4% increase from the 6,725 appeals filed in FY 2002, but a 19% decrease from the 8,690 appeals filed in FY 1999.

   Figure 17 - Appeals Filed
   FY 1999 - FY 2003

   
3. Appellate Closures
   • OFO closed a total of 8,013 cases in FY 2003, of which 6,403 were Title VII cases (80% of the total); 2,214 appeals involved the Rehabilitation Act (28% of the total); 1,981 appeals alleged violations of the ADEA (25% of the total); and 104 appeals involved the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (1% of the total).⁽¹²⁾
   • In FY 2003, OFO closed 3,370 appeals addressing the merits of the underlying discrimination claims, and made a total of 218 findings of discrimination (or 6.5% of the total). Reprisal, disability, and gender (female) were the most prevalent bases of discrimination in the findings OFO issued in FY 2003.

   Figure 18 Appellate Closures
   FY 1999 - FY 2003

   
   • OFO resolved 3,158 (45%) of the 7,035 appeals received in FY 2003, within 180 days.
   • The average age of an open appeal in the inventory at the end of FY 2003 was 190 days - a 26% reduction from the 256-day average age at the end of FY 2002 and a 41% reduction from the 321-day average age at the end of FY 1999.
   • The average processing time for appeals in FY 2003 was 285 days - a 39% decrease from FY 2002's average of 467 days.

   Figure 19 - Average Processing Days on Appeal
   FY 1999 - FY 2003

   
4. Monetary Benefits Awarded on Appeal
   • In FY 2003, the $20.9 million in monetary benefits awarded on appeal increased by 24% from the $16.9 million awarded in FY 2002 and increased 113% from the $9.8 million awarded in FY 1999.

   Figure 20 - Monetary Benefits Awarded on Appeal
   (In Millions of Dollars)

   

This page was last modified on May 14, 2004.

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