U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION Office of Federal Operations P.O. Box 77960 Washington, DC 20013 Marguerite W.,1 Complainant, v. Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service (Eastern Area), Agency. Appeal No. 0120152970 Agency No. 4C150004815 DECISION Complainant filed a timely appeal with this Commission from the Agency's decision dated August 3, 2015, dismissing her complaint of unlawful employment discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. BACKGROUND At the time of events giving rise to this complaint, Complainant worked as a Rural Carrier at the Agency's facility in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. On July 10, 2015, Complainant filed a formal complaint alleging that the Agency subjected her to discrimination on the basis of age (69) when, on January 14, 2014, she was issued a Notice of Removal, which forced her to retire effective February 14, 2014. The Agency dismissed the complaint pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a)(2), for untimely EEO Counselor contact. The instant appeal followed. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS EEOC Regulation 29 C.F.R. § 1614.105(a)(1) requires that complaints of discrimination should be brought to the attention of the Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor within forty-five (45) days of the date of the matter alleged to be discriminatory or, in the case of a personnel action, within forty-five (45) days of the effective date of the action. EEOC regulations provide that limitation periods may be extended when the individual shows that she was not notified of the time limits and was not otherwise aware of them, that she did not know and reasonably should not have known that the discriminatory matter or personnel action occurred, that despite due diligence she was prevented by circumstances beyond her control from contacting an EEO counselor within the time limits, or for other reasons considered sufficient by the agency or the Commission. The record in this case discloses that the effective date of Complainant's alleged forced retirement was February 14, 2014, but Complainant did not initiate contact with an EEO Counselor until March 27, 2015, over a year after her retirement and well beyond the forty-five (45) day limitation period. Complainant asserts that she was not aware of her right to file an EEO complaint. However, we note that Complainant worked for the Agency for many years and the record contains a sworn statement that an EEO poster was posted on a bulletin board at the facility where Complainant was employed. The poster had the time limits for contacting an EEO counselor and information on initiating the EEO process. It is well-established by Commission precedent that EEO posters on display in the workplace constitute a presumption of constructive notice of EEO time limits. Drake v. Department of Justice, EEOC Appeal No. 0120131871 (August 5, 2013); Tutwittler v. U.S. Postal Service, EEOC Appeal No. 0120121325 (April 18, 2013); Pride v. U.S. Postal Service, EEOC Request No. 05930134 (August 19, 1993). Here, Complainant has failed to rebut this presumption. Accordingly, the Agency's final decision dismissing Complainant's complaint is AFFIRMED. STATEMENT OF RIGHTS - ON APPEAL RECONSIDERATION (M0815) The Commission may, in its discretion, reconsider the decision in this case if the Complainant or the Agency submits a written request containing arguments or evidence which tend to establish that: 1. The appellate decision involved a clearly erroneous interpretation of material fact or law; or 2. The appellate decision will have a substantial impact on the policies, practices, or operations of the Agency. Requests to reconsider, with supporting statement or brief, must be filed with the Office of Federal Operations (OFO) within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of this decision or within twenty (20) calendar days of receipt of another party's timely request for reconsideration. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.405; Equal Employment Opportunity Management Directive for 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 (EEO MD-110), at Chap. 9 § VII.B (Aug. 5, 2015). All requests and arguments must be submitted to the Director, Office of Federal Operations, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, P.O. Box 77960, Washington, DC 20013. In the absence of a legible postmark, the request to reconsider shall be deemed timely filed if it is received by mail within five days of the expiration of the applicable filing period. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.604. The request or opposition must also include proof of service on the other party. Failure to file within the time period will result in dismissal of your request for reconsideration as untimely, unless extenuating circumstances prevented the timely filing of the request. Any supporting documentation must be submitted with your request for reconsideration. The Commission will consider requests for reconsideration filed after the deadline only in very limited circumstances. See 29 C.F.R. § 1614.604(c). COMPLAINANT'S RIGHT TO FILE A CIVIL ACTION (S0610) You have the right to file a civil action in an appropriate United States District Court within ninety (90) calendar days from the date that you receive this decision. If you file a civil action, you must name as the defendant in the complaint the person who is the official Agency head or department head, identifying that person by his or her full name and official title. Failure to do so may result in the dismissal of your case in court. "Agency" or "department" means the national organization, and not the local office, facility or department in which you work. If you file a request to reconsider and also file a civil action, filing a civil action will terminate the administrative processing of your complaint. RIGHT TO REQUEST COUNSEL (Z0815) If you want to file a civil action but cannot pay the fees, costs, or security to do so, you may request permission from the court to proceed with the civil action without paying these fees or costs. Similarly, if you cannot afford an attorney to represent you in the civil action, you may request the court to appoint an attorney for you. You must submit the requests for waiver of court costs or appointment of an attorney directly to the court, not the Commission. The court has the sole discretion to grant or deny these types of requests. Such requests do not alter the time limits for filing a civil action (please read the paragraph titled Complainant's Right to File a Civil Action for the specific time limits). FOR THE COMMISSION: ______________________________ Carlton M. Hadden's signature Carlton M. Hadden, Director Office of Federal Operations January 7, 2016 __________________ Date 1 This case has been randomly assigned a pseudonym which will replace Complainant's name when the decision is published to non-parties and the Commission's website. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2 0120152970 2 0120152970