The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Permanent Work Force:  219,647 Temporary Work Force:  20,042 Total Work Force: 239,689

Work Force Composition*

Total # Men Women Hispanic or Latino White Black or African American Asian Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander American Indian/ Alaska Native Two or More Races Individuals with Targeted Disabilities
Permanent Work Force

219,647

41.18%

58.82%

6.86%

61.46%

24.45%

6.13%

0.04%

0.95%

0.02%

1.55%

Major Occupations:
Miscellaneous Clerk and Assistant

15,861

27.91%

72.09%

8.01%

54.59%

33.11%

2.94%

0.08%

1.24%

0.03%

2.31%

Medical Officer

16,561

69.77%

30.23%

7.04%

63.93%

4.17%

24.06%

0.09%

0.69%

0.01%

0.50%

Nurse

40,513

15.04%

84.96%

6.35%

66.62%

15.33%

10.89%

0.02%

0.78%

0.00%

0.50%

GS-14 and GS-15*

13,411

67.89%

32.11%

5.74%

70.40%

6.84%

16.50%

0.04%

0.45%

0.01%

0.67%

Senior Pay Level*

948

78.69%

21.31%

4.32%

84.60%

4.64%

5.70%

0.00%

0.74%

0.00%

0.84%

SES

237

75.95%

24.05%

2.95%

85.23%

8.02%

1.27%

0.00%

2.11%

0.00%

2.53%

First-Level Officials/Managers

6,864

45.99%

54.01%

6.59%

67.93%

21.34%

3.13%

0.03%

0.98%

0.00%

0.80%

Mid-Level Officials/Managers

4,978

57.53%

42.47%

4.84%

80.25%

11.39%

2.87%

0.02%

0.62%

0.00%

1.21%

Senior-Level Officials/Managers

3,233

76.09%

23.91%

5.07%

79.18%

4.55%

10.83%

0.03%

0.34%

0.00%

0.68%

Unclassified Managers

6,140

43.26%

56.74%

5.80%

65.72%

23.39%

4.50%

0.02%

0.57%

0.02%

0.65%

*Includes data for only permanent employees in pay status as of September 30, 2006; does not include pay-banded employees.


Targeted Disabilities

VA employed 3,566 Individuals with Targeted Disabilities in FY 2006, which was 1.49% of its total work force.  This is the same as the number of employees in FY 2005 and an increase of 167 employees since FY 2002.  The participation rate for FY 2005 was 1.52% and for FY 2002 was 1.69%.  Over the 5-year period VA had a net decrease of 0.2% in employees with targeted disabilities.

EEO Complaint Processing

I.  Counseling

VA timely processed 98.4% of the 3,714 pre-complaint counselings (without remands) completed in FY 2006.

II.  Bases of Complaints Filed

The bases of alleged discrimination most often raised were: (1) Age; (2) Reprisal; and (3) Race (Black).  The 2,038 complaints filed at VA contained 364 allegations of race (Black) discrimination, 69 allegations of race (White) discrimination, 11 allegations of race (Asian) discrimination, 5 allegations of race (American Indian/Alaska Native) discrimination, 28 allegations of color discrimination and 356 allegations of disability discrimination.

III.  Complaint Processing Times

Of the 1,032 completed investigations, 54.8% were timely.  VA's average time for completing an investigation was 204 days.  Of the agencies completing 25 or more investigations, the Office of Personnel Management had the lowest average of 105 days.

VA's average processing time for all complaint closures increased from 261 days in FY 2005 to 301 days in FY 2006.  The government-wide average was 367 days.

IV.  Costs

VA agreed to pay $97,236 for 186 pre-complaint settlements, of which 10 were monetary settlements averaging $9,723.  VA expended a total of $4,270,911 for 1,032 complaint investigations, for an average expenditure of $4,138.

VA agreed to pay a total of $2,968,847 for 411 complaint closures through settlement agreements, final agency decisions, and final agency orders fully implementing AJ decisions.  For complaint closures with benefits, the average award was $7,223.



Outcome of Counselings Completed in FY 2006

Pre-Complaint Counseling Outcomes Completed by EEO Counselor Completed Using ADR All Completed Counselings
# % # % # %
Pre-Complaint Counselings:

2,957

762

3,719

Settlements

42

1.4%

144

18.9%

186

5%

Withdrawals or No Complaints Filed

1,013

34.3%

383

50.3%

1,396

37.5%

Complaints Filed*

1,960

52.7%

Decision to File Complaint Pending at End of Fiscal Year

177

4.8%

*Includes only complaints filed in FY 2006 where counseling was also completed during FY 2006.

Agency Use of ADR for EEO Dispute Resolution in FY 2006

Counseling Complaint**
Completed/Ended Counselings/Complaint Closures

3,719

1,887

Total Number Offered ADR

1,685

167

ADR Offer Rate*

45.3%

8.9%

ADR Participation Rate*

20.5%

6.3%

Total ADR Settlements

144

99

Total ADR Settlements Amount

$87,500.00

$657,887.00

*Using newly collected data, EEOC revised the formula for calculating the ADR offer and participation rates in FY 2006.

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

Timeliness in FY 2006

Total # # Timely % Timely FY 2005 APD* FY 2006 APD % Change
All Pre-Complaint Counselings (minus remands)

3,714

3,656

98.4%

All Investigations

1,032

565

54.7%

165

204

23.6%

All Complaint Closures

1,887

261

301

15.3%

Merit Decisions (no AJ)

502

329

65.5%

275

291

5.8%

Dismissal Decisions (no AJ)

419

58

53

-8.6%

*APD = Average Processing Days

Outcomes of Complaints in FY 2006

Complaint Closures Final Agency Decision (no AJ Decision) Final Order (AJ Decision Fully Implemented) Final Order (AJ Decision Not Fully Implemented)
# % # % # % # %
Total Complaints Filed

2,038

Total Closures

1,887

Settlements

402

21.3%

Withdrawals

190

10.1%

Total Final Agency Actions

1,295

68.6%

921

71.1%

367

28.3%

7

0.5%

Dismissals

430

33.2%

419

97.4%

11

2.6%

0

0%

Merit Decisions

865

66.8%

502

58%

356

41.2%

7

0.8%

Finding Discrimination

16

1.8%

6

37.5%

3

18.8%

7

43.8%

Finding No Discrimination

849

98.2%

496

58.4%

353

41.6%

0

0%



[1] The September 30 snapshot includes only employees in pay status thus, some permanent employees, like seasonal employees or those on active military tours of duty are not included.

[2] Employees classified as supervisors and managers who are at the GS-12 level or below are identified as First-Level Officials and Managers; those at the GS-13 or GS-14 level are identified as Mid-Level Officials and Managers; and those at the GS-15 or in the Senior Executive Service are identified as Senior-Level Officials and Managers.  If the CPDF was unable to determine the grade level of particular managers, they are identified as Unclassified Managers.


This page was last modified on June 21, 2007.

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