Equal Employment Opportunity: Complaint Caseloads Rising, With Effects of
New Regulations on Future Trends Unclear (Letter Report, 08/16/1999,
GAO/GGD-99-128).

Inventories of unresolved discrimination cases at federal agencies and
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission continue to soar. From 1991
to 1998, complaint backlogs at federal agencies grew by 114 percent--to
about 36,000. During the same period, the backlog at the Commission grew
by 280 percent--to nearly 12,000--while the appeals inventory rose by
648 percent--to nearly 11,000. As caseloads grew, the average age of
cases also reached new levels. The size of the inventories and the age
of the cases in them continued their upward trend during fiscal year
1998 as agencies and the Commission were unable to keep pace with the
influx of new cases. The logjams at the agencies and the Commission are
likely to persist, at least in the short run, as long as the agencies
and the Commission receive more new cases than they can process and
close. The long-term outlook is unclear. Substantive revisions to
complaint program regulations and procedures are to be implemented
beginning in November 1999. These revisions are intended to reduce the
volume of cases flowing through the complaint process. However, the
Commission has yet to develop estimates of how the revisions to program
regulations will affect caseload trends and resource needs, nor has the
agency completed development of measures and indicators to track the
effects of these revisions once they are implemented.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  GGD-99-128
     TITLE:  Equal Employment Opportunity: Complaint Caseloads Rising,
	     With Effects of New Regulations on Future Trends
	     Unclear
      DATE:  08/16/1999
   SUBJECT:  Employment discrimination
	     Fair employment programs
	     Administrative remedies
	     Federal employees
	     Administrative hearings
	     Internal controls
	     Dispute settlement

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    United States General Accounting Office GAO               Report
    to Congressional Requesters August 1999       EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
    OPPORTUNITY Complaint Caseloads Rising, With Effects of New
    Regulations on Future Trends Unclear GAO/GGD-99-128 United States
    General Accounting Office
    General Government Division Washington, D.C.  20548 B-283327
    August 16, 1999 The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings Ranking Minority
    Member Subcommittee on Civil Service Committee on Government
    Reform House of Representatives The Honorable Albert R. Wynn House
    of Representatives In July 1998, we reported that from fiscal year
    1991 to fiscal year 1997, the inventory of unresolved equal
    employment opportunity (EEO) complaints at federal agencies and
    the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the
    time taken to process them had increased because agencies and EEOC
    had not been able to keep up with the influx of new cases.1 This
    report responds to your request that we update the analyses
    presented in our July 1998 report of (1) trends in the size of
    inventories and the age of cases in inventory at various stages of
    the EEO complaint process, (2) trends in the number of complaints
    filed by federal employees and the time taken by agencies and EEOC
    to process them, and (3) implications of these trends and how
    future caseloads may be affected by EEOC's regulatory changes to
    the complaint process.2 Inventories of unresolved federal sector
    discrimination cases at agencies Results in Brief
    and EEOC have continued to grow. Overall, from fiscal year 1991 to
    fiscal year 1998, complaint inventories at federal agencies rose
    by about 114 percent, to 36,333. At EEOC, during the same period,
    the hearings inventory rose by 280 percent, to 11,967, while the
    appeals inventory went up by 648 percent, to 10,966. As
    inventories grew, the average age of cases in agencies'
    inventories (446 days) and EEOC's hearings (320 days) and appeals
    (293 days) inventories also reached new levels. 1Equal Employment
    Opportunity: Rising Trends in EEO Complaint Caseloads in the
    Federal Sector (GAO/GGD-98-157BR, July 24, 1998). 2In Equal
    Employment Opportunity: Data Shortcomings Hinder Assessment of
    Conflicts in the Federal Workplace (GAO/GGD-99-75, May 4, 1999),
    we reported on faults in the EEO complaint caseload data. Several
    of those shortcomings relate to the lack of data needed to answer
    certain fundamental questions about workplace conflicts and are
    not necessarily related to total caseloads. These are, however,
    shortcomings that could affect total caseload measurements. On
    balance, total caseload data currently available, while needing
    further quality assurance checks, do present useful information on
    the volume of complaints actually being processed in the federal
    EEO complaint system. Page 1
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 The size of the
    inventories and the age of cases in them continued their upward
    trend during fiscal year 1998 as neither the agencies nor EEOC
    kept up with the influx of new cases. Agencies' inventories grew
    by 6 percent in fiscal year 1998 despite a 2.8 percent decline in
    the number of new complaints. The growth in EEOC's inventory of
    hearing requests during this period-19.5 percent-was greater than
    the increase in the number of new hearing requests, which rose by
    9.2 percent. At the same time, EEOC's appeals inventory increased
    by 9.9 percent, even though the number of new appeals filed
    remained almost unchanged. The average time to process a complaint
    at agencies showed a small decline in fiscal year 1998, from 391
    to 384 days, but there were sharp increases in the average time
    EEOC took to process hearing requests (rising from 277 to 320
    days) and appeals (rising from 375 to 473 days). A case traveling
    the entire complaint process-from complaint filing at the agency
    through hearing and appeal-could be expected to take 1,186 days
    (about 38 months) to process, based on fiscal year 1998 data. This
    was 91 days (3 months) longer than in fiscal year 1997. The
    logjams at EEOC and agencies are likely to persist, at least in
    the short run, as long as agencies and EEOC receive more new cases
    than they process and close. The long-term outlook, however, is
    unclear. Substantive revisions to complaint program regulations
    and procedures are to be implemented beginning in November 1999.
    These revisions are intended to reduce the volume of cases flowing
    through the complaint process.  The revisions include a
    requirement that agencies offer alternative dispute resolution
    (ADR), as well as other rules to reduce the opportunities for
    multiple complaints by the same complainant. However, EEOC has not
    yet developed estimates of how the revisions to program
    regulations will affect caseload trends and resource needs, nor
    has the agency completed development of measures and indicators to
    track the effects of these revisions once they are implemented.
    We recommend that EEOC develop such estimates and complete
    development of measures and indicators to track and assess the
    impact of these revisions on caseload trends. Federal employees,
    including postal workers, are protected by a variety of Background
    laws against discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion,
    national origin, age, or disability.3 In addition, federal
    employees are protected from 3We refer to the U. S. Postal Service
    as a federal agency, even though it is an independent governmental
    establishment, because it is bound by most of the same
    discrimination complaint processes that apply to most federal
    agencies. Page 2
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 retaliation for
    filing a complaint, participating in an investigation of a
    complaint, or opposing a prohibited personnel practice. 4 Federal
    employee EEO complaints are to be processed in accordance with
    regulations (29 C.F.R. part 1614) promulgated by EEOC. These
    regulations also establish processing time requirements for each
    stage of the complaint process. Under these regulations, federal
    agencies decide whether to dismiss or accept complaints employees
    file with them and investigate accepted complaints. After the
    investigation, a complainant can request a hearing before an EEOC
    administrative judge who may issue a recommended decision that the
    agency is to consider in making its final decision. An employee
    who is dissatisfied with a final agency decision or its decision
    to dismiss a complaint may file an appeal with EEOC.5 Generally,
    federal employees must exhaust the administrative process before
    pursuing their complaints in court.6 EEOC will be implementing
    changes to the complaint process beginning in November 1999. One
    of the most significant changes involves decisions issued by
    administrative judges. Under the regulations, these decisions
    would no longer be recommendations that agencies could modify.
    Rather, as its final action (as final decisions will be called),
    an agency would issue a final order indicating whether or not it
    would fully implement the administrative judge's decision. If the
    agency chooses not to fully implement the decision, it will be
    required to file an appeal of the decision with EEOC. Complainants
    would retain their right to appeal an agency's final order. For a
    further discussion of the complaint process and upcoming changes,
    see app. II. In July 1998, we reported on our analysis of
    inventories of unresolved EEO complaints at federal agencies and
    EEOC and how trends in the number of 4Applicants for federal
    employment may file complaints with a federal agency that they
    believe engaged in discriminatory conduct. 5Postal workers who are
    covered under collective bargaining agreements and who allege
    discrimination have more redress opportunities than other federal
    workers covered under collective bargaining agreements. These
    postal workers can take two courses of action concurrently: (1)
    file a discrimination complaint under the federal employee
    discrimination complaint process and also (2) file a grievance
    through procedures under the collective bargaining agreement.
    Other federal workers who are employed by agencies subject to the
    provisions of title 5 of the U.S. Code and covered under
    collective bargaining agreements must choose between these two
    redress paths. 6An individual may file suit in federal district
    court under certain circumstances. For example, (1) after 180 days
    from the date of filing a complaint, if there has been no final
    agency decision and no appeal has been filed or (2) after 180 days
    from the filing of an appeal if there has been no final decision
    by EEOC. Page 3
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 complaints filed
    and the time taken to process them had contributed to inventory
    levels.7 We found that *  agencies' complaint inventories, and
    even more so, EEOC's hearings and appeals inventories, had
    increased since fiscal year 1991; *  as the size of inventories
    grew, so did the average length of time that cases had been in
    inventory as well as the proportion of cases remaining in
    inventory longer than allowed by regulations; *  the size of the
    inventories and the age of cases in them increased as agencies and
    EEOC did not keep up with the influx of new cases; *  with the
    increased caseloads, EEOC and, to some extent, agencies, took
    longer on average to process complaints, contributing to the size
    and age of inventories; and *  the implications of these trends
    were that inventories of cases pending would grow even larger in
    the future, particularly at EEOC, and that cases would take even
    longer to process. In updating our analysis, we used preliminary
    data for fiscal year 1998 Scope and                       provided
    by EEOC and reviewed the agency's budget request for fiscal
    Methodology                     year 2000 and its Annual
    Performance Plans for fiscal years 1999 and 2000. We also examined
    EEOC's planned changes to the complaint process. In addition,
    because postal workers have accounted for about half of the
    complaints filed in recent years, we separately analyzed data
    reported by the U.S. Postal Service in order to compare statistics
    for the postal workforce with the nonpostal workforce (see app.
    III). Appendix I contains details about our scope and methodology.
    We requested comments on a draft of this report from the
    Chairwoman, EEOC, and the Postmaster General.  Their comments are
    discussed near the end of this letter. We performed our work from
    March through May 1999 in accordance with generally accepted
    government auditing standards. Since we last reported in July
    1998, agencies' complaint inventories and, Complaint Inventories
    even more so, EEOC's hearings and appeals inventories were, once
    again, Continued to Rise               higher. Table 1 shows the
    trends in the inventories of complaints at agencies and of hearing
    requests and appeals at EEOC for fiscal years 1991 to 1998.
    7GAO/GGD-98-157BR. Page 4
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 Table 1:
    Inventories of Complaints at Agencies and Hearing Requests and
    Appeals at EEOC for Fiscal Years 1991-1998 Number of cases
    Percent 1991        1992                1993
    1994                  1995                   1996
    1997                   1998            increase Complaints
    16,964     18,668            22,258                 27,044
    30,605                 31,195                 34,286
    36,333                   114.2 Hearing requests        3,147
    3,977               3,991                 5,177
    6,367                  8,275                10,016
    11,967                   280.3 Appeals                 1,466
    2,029               2,900                 4,363
    6,498                  8,376                  9,980
    10,966                   648.0 Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data.
    At agencies, the inventory of unresolved complaints had risen from
    16,964 at the end of fiscal year 1991 to 34,286 by the end of
    fiscal year 1997. One year later, agencies' inventories of
    unresolved complaints had increased by an additional 6 percent, to
    36,333.8 Inventory levels increased at the Postal Service and
    nonpostal agencies in fiscal year 1998, but growth was more rapid
    in the nonpostal agencies. Compared with fiscal year 1997, the
    Postal Service inventory increased by 3.3 percent, from 13,549 to
    13,996 (see app. III, table III.1), while the inventories at
    nonpostal agencies rose by 7.7 percent, from 20,737 to 22,337.
    Overall, from fiscal year 1991 to fiscal year 1998, complaint
    inventories at federal agencies rose by about 114 percent. The
    increase in agencies' inventories was accounted for mainly by the
    growing number of the agencies' cases pending a hearing before an
    EEOC administrative judge. An agency's inventory of unresolved
    complaints is affected by EEOC's handling of hearing requests
    because EEOC must resolve a hearing request before an agency can
    make a final decision on the complaint. Of the 36,333 cases in
    agencies' inventories at the end of fiscal year 1998, 13,357
    (about 37 percent) were awaiting a hearing before an EEOC
    administrative judge. The 13,357 cases awaiting a hearing before
    an EEOC administrative judge represented a 3,755 case (39 percent)
    increase over the fiscal year 1997 level of 9,602. The increase in
    the number of cases in the hearing stage more than offset
    reductions in the number of cases in agencies' inventories at the
    initial acceptance/dismissal and final agency decision stages of
    the complaint process. At EEOC, the inventory of hearing requests,
    which had increased from 3,147 at the end of fiscal year 1991 to
    10,016 at the end of fiscal year 1997, increased by an additional
    19.5 percent, to 11,967, by the end of fiscal year 1998. Overall,
    from fiscal year 1991 to fiscal year 1998, EEOC's hearing request
    inventory rose by about 280 percent. EEOC's inventory of appeals,
    which had increased from 1,466 to 9,980 during fiscal years 1991
    to 1997, increased by an additional 9.9 percent, to 10,966, by the
    end of fiscal year 8The figure for fiscal year 1997 is revised
    from the preliminary figure reported in GAO/GGD-98-157BR. Page 5
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 1998. Overall,
    from fiscal year 1991 to fiscal year 1998, EEOC's appeals
    inventory rose by 648 percent. (See app. IV, figure IV.2). As the
    size of the inventories continued to grow, so did the average
    length Age of Complaints in                      of time that
    cases, and the conflict underlying these complaints, remained
    Inventories Continued to                  unresolved. Table 2
    shows the trends in the average age of complaints in Grow
    agencies' inventories and of hearing requests and appeals in
    EEOC's inventories for fiscal years 1991 to 1998. Table 2:
    Average Age of Complaints in
    Average age of cases (days) Agencies' Inventories and Hearing
    1991        1992       1993     1994      1995     1996
    1997        1998 Requests and Appeals in EEOC's Inventories for
    Fiscal Years 1991-1998    Complaints         379         377
    368      289        367       397            438         446
    Hearing requests           128         171        105      125
    162       205            243         320 Appeals               a
    87       99      127        179       241            285
    293 aNot reported. Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. The
    Situation at Agencies                 The overall average age of
    unresolved complaints in agencies' inventories, after declining
    through fiscal year 1994, reached a new level of 446 days at the
    end of fiscal year 1998. The age of cases varied by the stage of
    the complaint process. Table 3 shows the average age of complaints
    in inventory, from the time a complaint was filed, at various
    stages of the complaint process, both overall and at the Postal
    Service and nonpostal agencies at the end of fiscal year 1998.
    (Also see app. IV, figure IV.3 for trends in the average age of
    complaints in inventory at the various stages of the complaint
    process for fiscal years 1991 to 1998.) Table 3:  Average Age of
    Cases in                                                    Stage
    of complaint process Inventory at the Postal Service and
    Acceptance/                                         Agency
    Nonpostal Agencies by Stage of the Complaint Process for Fiscal
    Year 1998                               dismissal Investigation
    Hearing    decision                 All cases Postal Service
    212            300         675               285
    450 Nonpostal agencies                          267            309
    621               589                 446 All federal agencies
    258            305         645               477
    446 Note:  Numbers represent days. Source: GAO analysis of EEOC
    data. As table 3 shows, the complaints that were in agencies'
    inventories the longest at the end of fiscal year 1998 were those
    awaiting a hearing before an EEOC administrative judge. The
    average age of cases awaiting a hearing had a significant impact
    on the overall average age of unresolved complaints in inventory,
    particularly at the Postal Service. Page 6
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 Because cases
    remained in inventory for lengthy periods, agencies frequently did
    not meet the regulatory requirement that they dismiss or accept a
    complaint, investigate an accepted complaint, and report the
    investigation results to the complainant within 180 days from the
    filing of a complaint (see app. IV, figure IV.4).9 The proportion
    of cases pending the initial acceptance or dismissal decision more
    for than 180 days stood at 32.5 percent in fiscal year 1998. At
    the Postal Service, 65.5 percent of cases in the
    acceptance/dismissal stage had been in inventory more than 180
    days at the end of fiscal year 1998 (see app. III, table III.3);
    the figure for nonpostal agencies was 26.2 percent. Of the
    complaints pending investigation, 48.3 percent had been in
    inventory more than 180 days. At the Postal Service, 36.5 percent
    of cases in the investigation stage had been in inventory more
    than 180 days at the end of fiscal year 1998 (see app. III, table
    III.3); the figure for nonpostal agencies was 52 percent. The
    Situation at EEOC    At EEOC, the average age of cases in both the
    agency's inventory of hearing requests and its inventory of
    appeals was higher in fiscal year 1998 than in fiscal year 1997
    (see table 2). The average age of hearing requests in inventory
    increased sharply, from 243 days in fiscal year 1997 to 320 days
    in fiscal year 1998. The figure for fiscal year 1998 is about 3
    times what is was in fiscal year 1993, when the average age of a
    hearing request in inventory had reached a low of 105 days. As a
    result of the rising age of hearing requests in inventory, a
    greater proportion of these cases did not meet the requirement in
    EEOC's regulations that administrative judges issue a recommended
    decision within 180 days of a request for a hearing. In fiscal
    year 1998, 56.2 percent of the hearing requests had been in
    inventory longer than the 180-day time limit, up from 50.3 percent
    the previous year. EEOC has had increasing difficulty meeting the
    180-day requirement since fiscal year 1993, when 13.3 percent of
    hearing requests had been in inventory longer than the 180 days.
    (See app. IV, figure IV.6.) The increasing age of EEOC's hearing
    request inventory has been a major factor in the size and age of
    cases in agencies' inventories awaiting a hearing before an
    administrative judge. In contrast to hearing requests, table 2
    shows a smaller increase in the average age of appeals in EEOC's
    inventory, from 285 days in fiscal year 1997 to 293 days in fiscal
    year 1998 (see app. IV, figure IV.5). Nonetheless, the figure for
    fiscal year 1998 is more than 3 times what it was in fiscal year
    1992, when the average age of appeals in inventory was 87 days.
    9By agreement with the complainant, agencies can extend this
    period for an additional 90 days. Page 7
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 Although EEOC
    regulations prescribe time limits for processing hearing requests,
    they do not prescribe time limits for processing appeals. However,
    one indicator of the time it takes EEOC to process appeals is the
    percentage of cases remaining in inventory more than 200 days.10
    EEOC's data show that in fiscal year 1998, 58.5 percent of the
    appeals cases remained in inventory longer than 200 days, a slight
    increase from fiscal year 1997, when this figure was 58 percent.
    However, the figures for fiscal years 1997 and 1998 represent a
    substantial increase compared with fiscal year 1991, when only
    about 3 percent of appeals had been in inventory longer than 200
    days. (See app. IV, figure IV.7.) The size of the inventories and
    the age of the cases in them continued their Agencies and EEOC
    upward trend as agencies and EEOC did not keep up with the influx
    of Unable to Keep Up                          new cases. As
    discussed later in this report, the increase in the number of
    complaints did not necessarily signify an equivalent increase in
    the actual With Influx of New                         number of
    individuals filing complaints. Table 4 shows the trends in the
    Cases                                      number of complaints
    filed with agencies and the number of hearing requests and appeals
    filed with EEOC for fiscal years 1991 through 1998. Table 4:
    Number of Complaints Filed With Agencies and Hearing Requests and
    Appeals Filed With EEOC for Fiscal Years 1991- 1998 Number of
    cases
    Percent 1991        1992              1993                   1994
    1995                   1996                    1997
    1998           increase Complaints           17,696      19,106
    22,327                 24,592                 27,472
    26,410                 28,947                 28,147
    59.1 Hearing requests       5,773      6,907             8,882
    10,712                 10,515                 10,677
    11,198                 12,218                    111.6 Appeals
    5,266      5,997             6,361                  7,141
    8,152                  8,001                  8,453
    8,480                    61.0 Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data.
    At agencies, the overall number of complaints, which had increased
    from 17,696 in fiscal year 1991 to 28,947 in fiscal year 1997,
    declined by 2.8 percent, to 28,147 in fiscal year 1998.11 At the
    nonpostal agencies, the number of new cases declined, from 14,621
    in fiscal year 1997 to 13,750 in fiscal year 1998. During this
    period, however, the number of new complaints at the Postal
    Service increased slightly, from 14,326 to 14,397 (see app. III,
    table III.5). Overall, the number of complaints filed with federal
    agencies in fiscal year 1998 was 59.1 percent higher than in
    fiscal year 1991. 10EEOC reports the age of cases in the appeals
    inventory along four time strata-1 to 100 days, 101 to 200 days,
    201 to 365 days, and over 365 days. 11The figure for fiscal year
    1997 is revised from the preliminary figure reported in GAO/GGD-
    98-157BR. Page 8
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 At EEOC, requests
    for hearings, which increased from 5,773 to 11,198 during fiscal
    years 1991 to 1997, rose again, by 9.1 percent, to 12,218, in
    fiscal year 1998. Appeals to EEOC of agency decisions, however,
    which increased from 5,266 to 8,453 during fiscal years 1991 to
    1997, increased only slightly, by three-tenths of 1 percent, to
    8,480, in fiscal year 1998. Historically, the rate of growth in
    the number of hearing requests filed has outpaced that of appeals.
    Compared with fiscal year 1991, the number of hearing requests
    filed in 1998 was 111.6 percent higher; the comparable figure for
    appeals was 61 percent. More recently, since fiscal year 1995, the
    number of hearing requests filed increased by about 16 percent,
    while the number of appeals filed increased by about 4 percent.
    Postal workers continue to account for a large and
    disproportionate share of complaints, hearing requests, and
    appeals. In fiscal year 1998, postal workers represented about 32
    percent of the federal workforce and accounted for about 51
    percent of complaints, about 47 percent of hearing requests, and
    about 47 percent of appeals.12 (See app. III , tables III.4 and
    III.5.) With increasing caseloads since fiscal year 1991, agencies
    and EEOC have Processing Times Rose With been taking longer on
    average to process complaints, contributing to the the Influx of
    New Cases                  size and age of the inventories. Table
    5 shows the average processing time for complaints at agencies and
    for hearing requests and appeals at EEOC for fiscal years 1991 to
    1998. Table 5:  Average Processing Time for
    Average processing time (days) Complaints at Agencies and Hearing
    1991             1992             1993             1994
    1995             1996              1997             1998 Requests
    and Appeals at EEOC for Fiscal Years 1991-1998
    Complaints                     341              349
    366              356               305              379
    391              384 Hearing requests                       173
    192              183              154               187
    234              277              320 Appeals
    109              120              148              185
    229              323              375              473 Source: GAO
    analysis of EEOC data. The Situation at Agencies
    The overall average number of days agencies took to close a case,
    which had reached a low of 305 days in fiscal year 1995, was 384
    days in fiscal year 1998. This represented a slight improvement
    over fiscal year 1997's 391-day average. 12In GAO/GGD-98-157BR, we
    reported that the Postal Service Manager, EEO Compliance and
    Appeals, identified two reasons for postal workers' higher
    propensity to file complaints. First, postal workers can
    simultaneously file an EEO complaint under the administrative
    process for federal employees and an EEO grievance under their
    collective bargaining agreement. About 40 percent of postal
    workers who have filed a complaint under the federal employee EEO
    complaint process have filed a grievance about the same matter.
    Second, about 85 percent of postal workers are blue-collar workers
    covered under collective bargaining agreements. This group of
    employees, according to the Postal Service official, tends to file
    complaints more often than white-collar workers. Page 9
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 Average closure
    time varied according to the type of closure action. In addition
    to closing cases by dismissing them or by issuing final decisions
    on their merits (with and without a hearing before an EEOC
    administrative judge), an agency may settle a case with a
    complainant or a complainant may withdraw his or her complaint.
    Table 6 shows average closure time for each type of closure
    overall and at the Postal Service and nonpostal agencies in fiscal
    year 1998 (see app. IV, figure IV.10 for average closure time by
    type of case closure for all agencies for fiscal years 1991 to
    1998). Table 6: Average Complaint Closure
    Type of case closure Time by Type of Case Closure at the
    Decision    Decision Postal Service and Nonpostal Agencies in
    Fiscal Year 1998
    without        with Dismissed Withdrawn              Settled
    hearing     hearing    All cases Postal Service                141
    261          355         477         749          322 Nonpostal
    agencies               313            352          435         569
    676          453 All federal agencies               203
    302          404         524         713          384 Note:
    Numbers represent days. Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. Table 6
    shows that, in general, the Postal Service processed cases more
    quickly than nonpostal agencies in fiscal year 1998. One factor
    may have been that the Postal Service investigated complaints more
    quickly compared with nonpostal agencies. In fiscal year 1998, a
    complaint investigation at the Postal Service took an average of
    174 days from the time a case was assigned to an investigator to
    when the investigation was completed. The comparable figure at
    nonpostal agencies was 283 days. Table 6 also shows that
    complaints with final agency decisions involving a hearing took
    the longest to close. This figure is affected by EEOC's
    performance because a hearing precedes an agency's final decision;
    the longer EEOC takes to process a hearing request, the longer it
    will take an agency to make its final decision. As will be
    discussed below, EEOC has been taking longer to process hearing
    requests. The Situation at EEOC                    The increases
    in the amount of time to process cases were most apparent at EEOC.
    The average amount of time EEOC took to process a hearing request,
    which had increased from 173 days in fiscal year 1991 to 277 days
    in fiscal year 1997, increased further, to 320 days, in fiscal
    year 1998, well in excess of the 180-day requirement in
    regulations. Also, the time EEOC took to adjudicate an appeal,
    which had increased from 109 days in fiscal year 1991 to 375 days
    in fiscal year 1997, rose substantially in fiscal year 1998 to 473
    days-or by 26 percent. Page 10
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 Because of the
    length of time taken by agencies and EEOC to process cases,
    parties to a case traveling the entire complaint process-from
    complaint filing through hearing and appeal-could expect the case
    to take 1,186 days, based on fiscal year 1998 data. In fiscal year
    1997, this figure was 1,095. The implications of these trends, at
    least in the short run, are that Implications of the
    inventories of unresolved cases may grow even larger, particularly
    at Trends in Inventories,             EEOC, and that cases, as
    well as the conflicts underlying these cases, may take even longer
    to resolve than they currently do. The long-term outlook New
    Cases, and                     is uncertain. Only when EEOC and
    agencies are able to process and close Processing Times
    more cases than they receive will progress be made toward reducing
    backlogs. The size of the caseloads will be influenced by the
    effect of revisions to the complaint process regulations and
    procedures, while agencies' and EEOC's capacity to process cases
    will be affected by available resources. EEOC projects that the
    number of new cases will continue to rise and exceed its capacity
    to process them, resulting in yet higher inventories and case
    processing times. EEOC's projections, however, do not take into
    account how complaint process revisions may affect caseload trends
    and resource needs. In our July 1998 report about rising trends in
    EEO complaint caseloads, we Factors Affecting the Size of reported
    that the increase in the number of discrimination complaints the
    Complaint Caseload             could be attributed to several
    factors, according to EEOC, dispute resolution experts, and
    officials of federal and private-sector organizations. One factor
    that experts and officials cited for the increase in complaints
    was downsizing, which resulted in appeals of job losses and
    reassignments. A second factor was the Civil Rights Act of 1991,
    which motivated some employees to file complaints by allowing
    compensatory damage awards of up to $300,000 in cases involving
    unlawful, intentional discrimination. A third factor was the
    Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, which expanded
    discrimination protection.13 EEOC and Postal Service officials
    also said that the current regulations governing the EEO complaint
    process, implemented in October 1992, were a factor because they
    provided improved access to the complaint process. In a report we
    issued in May 1999, however, we said that there were several
    factors indicating that an increase in the number of complaints
    did not necessarily signify an equivalent increase in the actual
    number of 13While federal workers were protected under the
    Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the publicity surrounding the
    Americans With Disabilities Act made federal workers more aware of
    their protections under the Rehabilitation Act, according to EEOC
    and Postal Service officials. Page 11
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 individuals filing
    complaints.14 First, an undetermined number of federal employees
    have filed multiple complaints.15 EEOC officials and
    representatives of the Council of Federal EEO and Civil Rights
    Executives said that, while they could not readily provide
    figures, it has been their experience that a small number of
    employees-often referred to as "repeat filers"-account for a
    disproportionate share of complaints. A Postal Service official
    said that between 60 and 70 employees account for every 100
    complaints filed. Additionally, an EEOC workgroup that reviewed
    the federal employee discrimination complaint process reported
    that the number of cases in the system was "swollen" by employees
    filing "spin-off" complaints-new complaints challenging the
    processing of existing complaints. Further, the work group found
    that the number of complaints was "unnecessarily multiplied" by
    agencies fragmenting some claims involving a number of different
    allegations by the same employee into separate complaints, rather
    than consolidating these claims into one complaint. In addition,
    there has been an increase in the number of complaints alleging
    reprisal, which, for the most part, involve claims of retaliation
    by employees who have previously participated in the complaint
    process. Further, in past reports and testimonies, we noted, among
    other things, that the discrimination complaint process was
    burdened by a number of cases that were not legitimate
    discrimination complaints; some were frivolous complaints or
    attempts by employees to get a third party's assistance in
    resolving workplace disputes unrelated to discrimination.16
    Similarly, EEOC reported in its 1996 study that a "sizable" number
    of complaints might not involve discrimination issues but instead
    reflect basic communications problems in the workplace. EEOC said
    that such issues may be brought into the EEO process because of a
    perception that there is no other forum to air general workplace
    concerns.17 The agency 14Equal Employment Opportunity: Data
    Shortcomings Hinder Assessment of Conflicts in the Federal
    Workplace (GAO/GGD-99-75, May 4, 1999). 15EEOC does not collect
    data on the number of employees who file complaints, nor on how
    often individual employees complain. 16Federal Employee Redress:
    An Opportunity for Reform (GAO/T-GGD-96-42, Nov. 29, 1995);
    Federal Employee Redress: A System in Need of Reform (GAO/T-GGD-
    96-110, Apr. 23, 1996); and Civil Service Reform: Redress System
    Implications of the Omnibus Civil Service Reform Act of 1996
    (GAO/T-GGD- 96-160, July 16, 1996). 17Only a small proportion of
    agency and EEOC decisions contains a finding of discrimination. In
    fiscal year 1998, for example, discrimination was found in 1.4
    percent of the cases agencies decided on the merits without a
    hearing, 7.2 percent of the cases EEOC administrative judges
    decided, and in 3.4 percent of appeals EEOC decided. Page 12
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 also said that
    there is little question that these types of issues would be
    especially conducive to resolution through ADR processes.18 EEOC
    will be implementing regulatory and procedural changes beginning
    in November 1999 to deal with some of the factors contributing to
    the volume of complaints flowing through the process. One change
    will allow agencies and administrative judges to dismiss spin-off
    complaints. Another change will allow agencies and administrative
    judges to dismiss complaints in which employees are abusing the
    process. The revised regulations and EEOC's policies will deal
    with the problem of fragmented complaints. In addition, EEOC will
    require agencies to make ADR processes available to
    complainants.19 Among the factors that can affect inventory levels
    and case processing EEOC's Capacity to Process times is the
    relationship between the influx of cases and the capacity of Cases
    staff to process them. Data that EEOC reports in the Federal
    Sector Report on EEO Complaints Processing and Appeals does not
    allow a precise comparison of the number of staff at agencies to
    caseloads at various stages of the complaint process.20 However,
    the data enable a comparison of EEOC's hearing and appeal
    caseloads to the number of nonsupervisory administrative judges
    and attorneys available to process these cases. These data show
    that as the overall number of hearing requests received each year
    increased by 111.6 percent, from 5,773 in fiscal year 1991 to
    12,218 in fiscal year 1998 (see table 4, p. 8), the number of
    administrative judges available for hearings increased at a lower
    rate (41.5 percent) during this period, from 53 to 75. These data
    also show that as the number of appeals increased by 61 percent,
    from 5,266 in fiscal year 1991 to 8,480 18ADR Study, U.S. Equal
    Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Federal Operations,
    Oct. 1996. 19In Alternative Dispute Resolution: Employers'
    Experiences With ADR in the Workplace (GAO/GGD- 97-157, Aug. 12,
    1997), we reported that 43 (49 percent) of 87 agencies responding
    to a 1996 EEOC survey made ADR processes available. We also said
    that ADR availability was not pervasive or widespread within
    federal agencies reporting some ADR capability. More recently, an
    EEOC official told us that 57 (52 percent) of 109 agencies
    responding to a 1998 survey made ADR available. 20EEOC limits its
    reporting of agency staffing to the number of counselors,
    counselor/investigators, and investigators. These numbers do not
    include agency staff making decisions about the merits of
    complaints. EEOC reported that the number of full-time, part-time,
    and collateral-duty staff declined from 16,169 in fiscal year 1992
    (fiscal year 1991 data were not reported) to 12,352 in fiscal year
    1997, the latest year for which staffing data were available. The
    reductions were mainly among part-time and collateral-duty staff
    whose levels decreased from 15,418 to 10,794. At the same time,
    the number of full- time counselors, counselor/investigators, and
    investigators was higher in fiscal year 1997 than in fiscal year
    1992-1,558 versus 751. Some agencies also use contract
    investigators. In fiscal year 1992, contract investigators
    performed 2,381 investigations; the figure for fiscal year 1997
    was 4,783. The number of contract investigations increased to
    5,192 in fiscal year 1998. Page 13
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 in fiscal year
    1998 (see table 4, p. 8), the number of attorneys processing
    appeals actually declined, from 40 in fiscal year 1991 to 39
    during fiscal years 1992 to 1998. Although EEOC officials
    recognized the need for additional staff to process hearings and
    appeals, they said that requested funds for the needed positions
    were not appropriated. New Cases Surpass Closures     At EEOC, the
    hearings and appeals inventories rose because the average Despite
    Productivity Gains     caseload for each administrative judge and
    attorney outpaced increases in their productivity. The number of
    hearing requests received each year per administrative judge rose,
    from 109 in fiscal year 1991 to 163 by fiscal year 1998. The
    hearings inventory grew larger because although the average number
    of cases processed and closed each year per administrative judge
    increased, this figure was, except for fiscal year 1993, always
    less than the average number of requests received. In fiscal year
    1991, administrative judges processed and closed 95 hearing
    requests, a figure that increased to 135 by fiscal year 1998. The
    situation for appeals was similar. The number of appeals received
    each year per attorney increased, from 133 in fiscal year 1991 to
    217 by fiscal year 1998. The appeals inventory grew because the
    average number of cases processed and closed each year per
    attorney, was, except for fiscal year 1991, always less than the
    average number of appeals received. In fiscal year 1991, attorneys
    processed and closed an average of 133 cases, a figure that
    increased to 192 by fiscal year 1998. To deal with the imbalance
    between new cases and closures, EEOC's fiscal year 1999 budget
    provided for an increase in its administrative judge and appeals
    attorney corps. Under the fiscal year 1999 budget, the authorized
    number of administrative judges increased by 19, from 75 to 94,
    while the authorized number of appeals attorneys increased by 14,
    from 39 to 53.21 Additional Inventory Growth    Even with these
    added resources, the hearings and appeals inventories Expected
    may continue to rise unless the flow of new cases is reduced. EEOC
    estimates that with the full complement of administrative judges
    on board in fiscal year 2000, it will be able to process and close
    11,280 hearing requests, or 120 cases per judge, each year. This
    figure is 938 cases less than the 12,218 hearing requests EEOC
    received in fiscal year 1998. If, for example, the number of
    hearing requests received in fiscal year 2000 remained at fiscal
    year 1998 levels, EEOC's hearings inventory would increase by 938
    cases during the year, while the average time EEOC takes 21As of
    June 2, 1999, there were 95 full-time and 5 part-time
    administrative judges and, as of June 25, 1999, 50 appeals
    attorneys available to process hearing requests and appeals. Page
    14
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 to process a
    hearing request would grow by about 30 days. Over 5 years, with no
    change in the number of new cases received each year or resources
    to process them, EEOC's hearings inventory could increase by 4,690
    cases, while adding 150 days to the average processing time.
    Similarly, when the full complement of appeals attorneys is on
    board by fiscal year 2000, EEOC estimates it will be able to
    process and close 7,685 appeals, or 145 cases per attorney, each
    year. This figure, however, is 795 cases less than the 8,480
    appeals filed in fiscal year 1998. If, for example, the number of
    appeals filed in fiscal year 2000 remained at fiscal year 1998
    levels, EEOC's appeals inventory would increase by 795 cases
    during that year, while the average processing time would increase
    by about 37 days. Over 5 years, with no change in the number of
    new cases filed each year or resources to process them, EEOC's
    appeals inventory could increase by 3,975, while adding about 186
    days to the average processing time. While our analysis assumed no
    increase in the number of new cases, EEOC's fiscal year 2000
    budget request projects that incoming hearing requests and appeals
    would rise at an annual rate of 3 percent, and exceed the number
    of cases it can close. As a result, according to the agency,
    hearings and appeals inventories and processing times will
    continue to climb, further affecting the agencies' inventories and
    case processing times. To deal with this situation, EEOC's fiscal
    year 2000 budget proposal requests funding for 19 additional
    administrative judges to process hearing requests and 13
    additional attorneys to process appeals.22 The agency projects
    that with these additional resources, the hearings and appeals
    inventories and processing times would initially decline in fiscal
    year 2000, only to begin rising again in fiscal year 2004. Effects
    of Revisions to        Neither our analysis nor EEOC's projections
    and requested funding Complaint Process Not Known    increase take
    into account, however, the possible effects of changes to program
    regulations and procedures intended to reduce the number of cases
    flowing into and through the complaint process. Since EEOC's
    workload is dependent on the number of cases in the pipeline at
    agencies, it is important to understand how the program changes
    are likely to affect caseloads at agencies. The requirement that
    agencies offer ADR processes to employees, including in the
    counseling phase before a formal complaint is filed, should
    resolve some workplace disputes without a complaint being 22EEOC
    is also requesting funding for eight other positions to support
    the hearing and appeals processes. Page 15
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 filed and resolve
    other disputes in the early complaint stages.23 Other changes
    allowing dismissal of spin-off complaints and other complaints in
    which an employee is believed to be abusing the process should
    halt the processing of these cases early in the process and
    possibly discourage the filing of such complaints. In addition,
    policies to prevent agencies from fragmenting cases should also
    reduce the number of new complaints. However, although EEOC
    designed its changes to program regulations and procedures to
    reduce the flow of new cases, it has not estimated the likely
    effect of these changes on the volume of complaints. EEOC
    officials explained that they had been deferring developing
    estimates until the regulations had been approved because of how
    the details of the final regulations could affect caseload
    estimates. They also said that although one goal of the
    regulations is to reduce caseloads, another goal is to improve the
    fairness of the process. The EEOC officials said that one measure
    to improve fairness is to remove agencies' ability to reject or
    modify administrative judges' decisions in arriving at final
    decisions. The officials said that complainants could view this
    change as giving the administrative judges more authority, and
    they speculated that more complainants might seek a hearing.
    Estimates of the expected changes in complaint levels are
    important because a decrease in new complaints would affect how
    quickly EEOC might be able to reduce its inventories, and thus how
    many, if any, additional staff would be needed and for how long.
    EEOC's Compliance and Control Division Director said that it would
    be appropriate to consider the effects of these changes when the
    agency prepares its fiscal year 2001 budget request. Because the
    changes could begin affecting complaint levels in fiscal year 2000
    and because any new staff, if not hired on a temporary basis,
    could be with EEOC a long time, estimates of likely changes in
    complaint levels also could be important to congressional
    consideration of EEOC's future budget requests. EEOC also has not
    completed the development of the measures and indicators that it
    will use in the future to gauge the actual effect of the 23In
    Alternative Dispute Resolution: Employers' Experiences With ADR in
    the Workplace (GAO/GGD- 97-157, Aug. 12, 1997), we reported that
    data from two federal agencies we studied indicated that ADR
    processes, by resolving discrimination complaints in their early
    stages, had reduced the number of formal complaints filed as well
    as the time required for seeing them through to resolution. More
    recent data from the Postal Service showed that during the first
    10 months of fiscal year 1999, a formal complaint was filed in
    only 1,081 (about 17 percent) of the 6,252 cases mediated in the
    counseling or precomplaint phase under its REDRESS program. In
    contrast, about 72 percent of the 8,314 cases not mediated
    resulted in a formal complaint being filed. Overall, the data show
    that the number of complaints filed by postal workers during the
    first 10 months of fiscal year 1999 is about 17 percent below the
    same period in fiscal year 1998 (7,050 versus 8,522). Page 16
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 changes. In its
    fiscal year 1999 annual performance plan, EEOC said that it would
    develop measures and indicators for assessing the effectiveness of
    these revisions, which, according to the agency's fiscal year 2000
    Annual Performance Plan, would be implemented in fiscal year
    2000.24 Rising inventory levels of unresolved EEO complaints and
    lengthy case Conclusions    processing times to resolve these
    workplace disputes remain stubborn problems for agencies and EEOC.
    The struggle of nonpostal agencies was especially evident in that
    their inventories rose by almost 8 percent in fiscal year 1998
    despite a 6 percent decline in new complaints. Similarly, despite
    increases in its productivity, EEOC's appeals inventory increased
    by almost 10 percent in fiscal year 1998, even though the number
    of appeals filed remained almost unchanged. At the same time,
    EEOC's inventory of hearing requests rose by almost 20 percent,
    about twice the rate of increase in new hearing requests that the
    agency received. How long present conditions will continue, and
    whether they will improve or deteriorate further, depends on the
    ability of agencies and EEOC to process cases currently in the
    complaint pipeline as well as on the volume of new complaints
    entering the pipeline in the future. Future trends and, therefore,
    agencies' and EEOC's resource needs, are likely to be affected by
    the revisions to the complaint process. However, EEOC has not
    developed estimates of the extent to which revisions to complaint
    process regulations and procedures may affect the flow of cases
    into and through the process. Among the changes, the requirement
    that agencies offer ADR to complainants could reduce the number of
    new cases filed, or resolve disputes in the early stages. In
    addition, other changes to be implemented dealing with fragmenting
    of complaints, spin-off complaints, and abuse of process could
    reduce the number of new complaints or short-circuit them early in
    the process. EEOC's request for additional funding for attorneys
    and judges and the implementation of changes to program
    regulations and procedures in November 1999 lend urgency to
    gaining an understanding of the likely effects of the proposed
    changes on the complaint process and complaint inventories. In
    addition, until the measures and indicators promised in EEOC's
    fiscal year 1999 Annual Performance Plan are developed and
    implemented, the actual effect of the revisions on the EEOC
    complaint process will be difficult to track. Estimates of the
    effect of the changes combined with anticipated productivity
    levels could be used to further estimate the resources needed to
    reduce EEOC's inventory of hearing 24The annual performance plans
    are required by the Government Performance and Results Act. Page
    17
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 requests to levels
    that would allow the average case to be processed within the 180-
    day requirement in regulations. In addition, current regulations
    do not prescribe a processing time standard for appeals, which
    could be used to establish and develop estimates of the resources
    needed to reduce the average appeal processing time to an
    acceptable level of timeliness. In the case of both hearing and
    appeal processing, the estimates could be useful in determining
    how many, if any, additional staff are needed to reduce the
    backlogs and whether the staff should be a permanent or temporary
    addition to EEOC's workforce. Given the size of the backlogs,
    estimates for reducing them to acceptable levels over different
    time frames could allow EEOC and Congress to weigh the trade-offs
    between additional cost and the rapidity with which the inventory
    of cases is resolved. Measures and indicators to assess the actual
    effect of changes in program regulations should be adopted before
    the changes are implemented to ensure that consistent data are
    collected from the start and to ensure that systems are in place
    to generate valid and reliable data. To provide Congress with a
    clear picture of future caseload trends and the Recommendations
    resources that are needed to deal with current backlogs, as well
    as the volume of cases expected in the future, we recommend that
    the EEOC Chairwoman take steps to (1) develop estimates of the
    effects of the forthcoming changes in program regulations and
    procedures on agencies' and EEOC's caseloads and (2) complete
    development of measures and indicators to track and assess the
    impact of these revisions on caseload trends. We also recommend
    that the Chairwoman use these data to develop estimates, under
    various time frames, of the resources needed to reduce its average
    hearings processing time to meet the 180-day requirement in
    regulations. We further recommend that the Chairwoman establish a
    policy of an acceptable level of timeliness for processing appeals
    and develop estimates, under various time frames, of the resources
    needed to reduce its average appeals processing time to meet this
    standard. We received comments on a draft of this report from EEOC
    and the Postal Agency Comments and Service. The EEOC Chairwoman
    said in her written comments (see app. V) Our Evaluation
    that she shared our concerns that complaint inventories are too
    high and that federal employees wait far too long for their
    complaints to be processed by their agencies and EEOC. She said
    that analyses of the kind in our 1998 report on rising EEO
    complaint caseloads in the federal sector had persuaded her that
    bold steps were necessary to bring about Page 18
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 improvements.25
    She said that, in addition to the changes in regulations, EEOC is
    implementing a comprehensive, strategic approach to link the
    hearings and appeals programs with strong oversight, technical
    assistance, and educational initiatives. These efforts are to
    include on-site reviews, which EEOC believes are one of the most
    important vehicles with which to focus on and correct root causes
    of persistent problems. Also, the Chairwoman said that with
    additional resources, EEOC would increase its efforts on conflict
    prevention and early intervention, since these are the most cost-
    effective ways to reduce inventories. Further, the Chairwoman
    pointed out that EEOC, with the National Partnership for
    Reinventing Government (NPR), is cosponsoring the Interagency
    Federal EEO Task Force that will look into ways to enhance the
    fairness, efficiency, and effectiveness of the federal employee
    EEO complaint process. EEOC also responded to the first three of
    our four recommendations that it (1) develop estimates of the
    effects of changes in regulations on caseloads, (2) complete
    development of measures and indicators to track and assess the
    impact of these revisions, and (3) develop estimates of the
    resources needed under various time frames to reduce hearings and
    appeals processing times. EEOC said that right now it would be
    premature and highly speculative for the agency to venture guesses
    on what the actual experiences under the revised regulations might
    be. In addition, EEOC said that it was not possible to develop
    measures and indicators for assessing the effectiveness of the
    revisions to the federal sector EEO complaint process before the
    draft regulations were approved. However, with the publication of
    the final rules in the Federal Register on July 12, 1999, EEOC
    said that it expects to complete development of the measures and
    indicators by the end of fiscal year 1999. The Chairwoman added,
    however, that other complex issues must be resolved, including how
    baseline data will be collected and what data collection method
    will be used. Consequently, she said that the first year for which
    data will be collected on experiences under the revised
    regulations will be fiscal year 2001. She said that when these
    data are available at the end of calendar year 2001, it would be
    possible to estimate resource requirements under various time
    frames. The Chairwoman further said that these data would be used
    to prepare EEOC's fiscal year 2004 budget request, which would be
    submitted to the Office of Management and Budget in September 2002
    and to Congress in early 2003. We continue to believe that in
    order for Congress to carry out its oversight and appropriation
    responsibilities and make informed budget decisions, it 25GAO/GGD-
    98-157BR. Page 19
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 needs timely
    estimates from EEOC of how changes in the complaint process may
    affect caseloads and resource requirements. Further, we believe
    congressional decisionmaking would benefit from EEOC's best
    estimate of the resources needed under various time frames to
    reduce hearings and appeals processing times to acceptable levels.
    With such estimates, Congress could consider options to deal with
    this serious situation. We recognize that early estimates may be
    inexact. However, without any estimate of the effect the new
    regulations may have on caseloads and of information on how
    quickly, if at all, additional staff might be able to reduce the
    current case backlogs, Congress has no basis to judge whether
    requested resources to increase staffing are reasonable. Although
    initial estimates of necessity involve considerable judgment, we
    believe it would be better to offer estimates than to provide no
    perspective on the regulations' anticipated effect. Estimation is
    an iterative process, and EEOC can improve the precision of its
    estimates as more and better data become available. The Chairwoman
    said that EEOC will explore alternative means for obtaining
    feedback on the kinds of changes that may flow from the revised
    regulations. In addition to EEOC examining its own caseloads, such
    alternatives, we believe, could include obtaining data during on-
    site visits, through the NPR/EEOC Interagency Federal EEO Task
    Force, or through informal surveys of agencies. As EEOC and
    agencies scrutinize inventories to see how the new provisions
    apply to existing cases, such data-gathering initiatives could
    yield increasingly reliable and timely information on the effects
    of the new provisions. In response to our fourth recommendation
    that an acceptable level of timeliness be established for the
    processing of appeals, the Chairwoman said that 180 days is an
    appropriate goal. She did not say how this goal might be
    operationalized. We believe that such a goal would carry more
    significance and accountability if it were articulated in writing
    as a policy, such as by inclusion in EEOC's annual performance
    plan. In oral comments on a draft of this report made on July 7,
    1999, the Postal Service Manager, EEO Compliance and Appeals,
    concurred with our observations. He added that the Postal Service
    will be in compliance with the new EEOC regulation requiring that
    ADR be available to complainants because of its REDRESS (Resolve
    Employment Disputes, Reach Equitable Solutions Swiftly) program.
    In a separate discussion, the Postal Service's National REDRESS
    Program Manager said that the program, which uses outside
    mediators in the Page 20                                  GAO/GGD-
    99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 precomplaint stage, was
    fully implemented as of July 1999. She provided statistics showing
    that during the first 10 months of fiscal year 1999-a period
    during which the program was still being rolled out-there were
    about 17 percent fewer formal EEO complaints, compared with the
    same period in fiscal year 1998 (7,050 versus 8,522). She and the
    EEO Compliance and Appeals Manager said this decline was in "large
    measure" due to the REDRESS program. The EEO Compliance and
    Appeals Manager also said that the Postal Service was expanding
    ADR to complaints awaiting a hearing before an EEOC administrative
    judge. He said that pilot programs have shown promise in reducing
    the inventory of complaints at this stage, with about one-third of
    the cases reviewed found to be candidates for settlement and
    another one-third found to be candidates for mediation. The
    remaining one-third, he said, will probably go to hearing. The
    official said that agencies have a responsibility to address these
    cases and can play an important role in reducing not only their
    own caseloads, but EEOC's as well. The implications of the Postal
    Service's experience with ADR, if the reported results are
    sustained, are significant for several reasons. First, they show
    that an agencywide ADR program to resolve disputes at an early
    stage can reduce the number of formal complaints. Second, because
    postal workers account for about half of the EEO complaints filed
    by federal employees, a substantial reduction in the number of
    formal complaints by postal workers could mean a reduction in the
    number of cases entering EEOC's hearings and appeals pipeline.
    Third, the Postal Service's limited experience, under its pilot
    programs, of applying ADR to cases awaiting a hearing show that
    some portion of this inventory can be resolved without using EEOC
    hearing resources. Although the Postal Service has not had broad
    experience with applying ADR to cases awaiting a hearing, the
    experiences of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) may be
    instructive to agencies and EEOC in establishing dispute
    resolution strategies and allocating resources. MSPB has had a
    long-established policy of trying to settle cases it does not
    dismiss on jurisdictional or timeliness grounds. Over the past 10
    years, MSPB has avoided hearings by settling about half of
    employee appeals of personnel actions. We are sending copies of
    this report to Senators Daniel K. Akaka, Thad Cochran, Joseph I.
    Lieberman, and Fred Thompson; and Representatives Robert E.
    Andrews, John A. Boehner, Dan Burton, William L. Clay, Chaka
    Fattah, William F. Goodling, Steny H. Hoyer, Jim Kolbe, John M.
    McHugh, David Obey, Harold Rogers, Joe Scarborough, Jose E.
    Serrano, Henry A. Page 21
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads B-283327 Waxman, and C. W.
    Bill Young in their capacities as Chair or Ranking Minority
    Members of Senate and House Committees and Subcommittees. We will
    also send copies to the Honorable Ida L. Castro, Chairwoman, EEOC;
    the Honorable William J. Henderson, Postmaster General; the
    Honorable Janice R. Lachance, Director, Office of Personnel
    Management; the Honorable Jacob Lew, Director, Office of
    Management and Budget; and other interested parties. We will make
    copies of this report available to others on request. If you or
    your staff have any questions concerning this report, please
    contact me or Assistant Director Stephen Altman on (202) 512-8676.
    Other major contributors to this report were Anthony P. Lofaro,
    Gary V. Lawson, and Sharon T. Hogan. Michael Brostek Associate
    Director, Federal Management and Workforce Issues Page 22
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Page 23    GAO/GGD-99-128
    EEO Complaint Caseloads Contents 1 Letter 28 Appendix I Scope and
    Methodology 30 Appendix II Processing Federal Employee EEO
    Complaints 32 Appendix III Selected Complaint Data on U.S. Postal
    Service 35 Appendix IV Selected Federal Sector EEO Complaint Data
    for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998 47 Appendix V Comments From the U.S.
    Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Tables
    Table 1:  Inventories of Complaints at Agencies and
    5 Hearing Requests and Appeals at EEOC for Fiscal Years 1991-1998
    Page 24                               GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint
    Caseloads Contents Table 2:  Average Age of Complaints in
    Agencies'                            6 Inventories and Hearing
    Requests and Appeals in EEOC's Inventories for Fiscal Years 1991-
    1998 Table 3:  Average Age of Cases in Inventory at the Postal
    6 Service and Nonpostal Agencies by Stage of the Complaint Process
    for Fiscal Year 1998 Table 4:  Number of Complaints Filed With
    Agencies and                      8 Hearing Requests and Appeals
    Filed With EEOC for Fiscal Years 1991-1998 Table 5:  Average
    Processing Time for Complaints at                         9
    Agencies and Hearing Requests and Appeals at EEOC for Fiscal Years
    1991-1998 Table 6: Average Complaint Closure Time by Type of
    10 Case Closure at the Postal Service and Nonpostal Agencies in
    Fiscal Year 1998 Table III.1: Total and Postal Service Inventories
    of                       32 Compliants, Hearing Requests, and
    Appeals and Postal Service as a Percentage of the Totals for
    Fiscal Years 1991-1998 Table III.2:  Average Age (Days) of
    Complaints in the                      32 Postal Service's
    Inventory Since Complaint Filed, by Stage of the Complaint Process
    for Fiscal Years 1991- 1998 Table III.3:  Percentage of Postal
    Workers' Complaints                     33 Pending
    Dismissal/Acceptance and Investigation More Than 180 Days for
    Fiscal Years 1991-1998 Table III.4:  Postal Workers as a
    Percentage of the                        33 Federal Workforce for
    Fiscal Years 1991-1998 Table III.5:  Total and Postal Workers'
    Complaints,                        33 Hearing Requests, and
    Appeals and Postal Workers as a Percentage of Total Complaints,
    Hearing Requests, and Appeals for Fiscal Years 1991-1998 Table
    III.6:  Postal Service Complaint Processing Time in
    34 Days by Closure Category Figure IV.1: Agencies' Complaint
    Inventories Continue to                   35 Figures      Grow
    Figure IV.2: EEOC's Hearings and Appeals Inventories
    36 Continue to Increase Figure IV.3: Average Age of the Complaint
    Inventory at                     37 Agencies FYs 1991 - 1998
    Figure IV.4: Frequently, Agencies Did Not Dismiss/Accept
    38 and Investigate Complaints Within 180 days Page 25
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Contents Figure IV.5:
    Average Age of EEOC's Hearings and
    39 Appeals Inventories Has Increased Figure IV.6: Proportion of
    EEOC's Hearings Inventory                                40 Older
    Than 180 Days Has Risen Figure IV.7: More Appeals Have Been in
    Inventory For                                41 Longer Periods of
    Time at EEOC Figure IV.8: The Number of Complaints Filed With
    42 Agencies Has Generally Increased Figure IV.9:  Hearings
    Requested and Appeals Filed Have                             43
    Increased at EEOC Figure IV.10: Complaint Processing Time at
    Agencies FYs                             44 1991-1998 Figure
    IV.11: Average Time For Agencies' Complaint
    45 Investigations Figure IV.12: EEOC Processing Times For Hearings
    and                                46 Appeals Continue to Increase
    Abbreviations ADR            alternative dispute resolution EEO
    equal employment opportunity EEOC           Equal Employment
    Opportunity Commission Page 26
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Page 27    GAO/GGD-99-128
    EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix I Scope and Methodology As with
    our previous report1 about complaint caseloads, we developed
    information on complaints falling within the jurisdiction of the
    Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and not the Merit
    Systems Protection Board (MSPB), 2 because (1) the vast majority
    of discrimination complaints fall within EEOC's jurisdiction and
    (2) concerns about case inventories and processing times raised in
    hearings before the House Subcommittee on Civil Service focused on
    complaints within EEOC's jurisdiction. We updated (1) trends in
    the size of inventories and the age of cases in inventory at the
    various stages of the equal employment opportunity (EEO) complaint
    process and (2) trends in the number of complaints filed by
    federal employees and the time taken by agencies and EEOC to
    process them to include fiscal years 1991 through 1998.  Agencies'
    complaint data for fiscal year 1998, which EEOC provided and which
    we used in our analysis, were preliminary.  We selected 1991 as a
    base year because it preceded intensive government downsizing, the
    implementation of new laws expanding civil rights protections and
    remedies, and the implementation of new regulations governing the
    federal employee EEO complaint process.  Because postal workers
    accounted for about half the complaints filed since fiscal year
    1995, we separately analyzed data reported by the Postal Service
    in order to compare statistics for the postal workforce with the
    nonpostal workforce. To update and analyze information about (1)
    the trends in the size and age of complaint inventories and (2)
    the number of complaints filed by federal employees and the amount
    of time taken by federal agencies and EEOC to process them, we
    obtained data reported (1) to EEOC by the Postal Service and other
    agencies and (2) by EEOC in its annual Federal Sector Report on
    EEO Complaints Processing and Appeals.  We did not verify the data
    in EEOC's reports or data provided by the Postal Service.  To make
    observations about the implications of the trends, we drew upon
    our analysis of the trend data, our past work, and discussions
    with EEOC officials.  In addition, we reviewed EEOC's budget
    request for fiscal year 2000 and its annual performance plans for
    fiscal years 1999 and 2000.3  We 1Equal Employment Opportunity:
    Rising Trends in EEO Complaint Caseloads in the Federal Sector
    (GAO/GGD-98-157BR, July 1998) page 6. 2MSPB adjudicates, among
    other things, employee appeals of firings or suspensions of more
    than 14 days, including cases in which an appellant alleges that
    the firing or suspension occurred because of unlawful employment
    discrimination.  These are known as "mixed cases."  MSPB's
    decisions in mixed cases may be reviewed by EEOC. 3The annual
    performance plans are required by the Government Performance and
    Results Act. Page 28
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix I Scope and
    Methodology also reviewed changes to the regulations governing the
    federal employee complaint process (29 C.F.R. part 1614) that are
    to be implemented beginning in November 1999. We have previously
    noted limitations to the data presented in our reports because of
    concerns about the quality of data available for analysis.4
    Although we have no reason to question EEOC's statistics about its
    own hearings and appeals activities, we had identified errors and
    inconsistencies in the data on agencies' inventory levels and on
    the age of cases in inventory.  Because EEOC had not verified the
    data it received from agencies, it is possible that other data
    problems may have existed. EEOC corrected the errors we identified
    and, in response to a recommendation we made, said that it would
    take action to address our concerns about data consistency,
    completeness, and accuracy.  Before providing the fiscal year 1998
    agency data to us, EEOC reviewed agencies' hard-copy submissions
    of complaint statistics and compared these data to statistics the
    agencies provided in an automated format.  EEOC also tested the
    accuracy of its computer program to aggregate the data submitted
    by agencies. In response to our recommendation in an earlier
    report, before it publishes the complaint statistics in the fiscal
    year 1998 Federal Sector Report on EEO Complaints Processing and
    Appeals, EEOC said it would visit selected agencies to assess the
    reliability of the reported data.  On balance, total caseload data
    currently available, while needing further quality assurance
    checks, present useful information on the volume of complaints
    actually being processed in the federal EEO complaint system. We
    performed our work in Washington, D.C., from March through May
    1999 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
    standards. 4Equal Employment Opportunity:  Data Shortcomings
    Hinder Assessment of Conflicts in the Federal Workplace (GAO/GGD-
    99-75, May 4, 1999); GAO/GGD-98-157BR;  Equal Employment
    Opportunity: Administrative Judges' Recommended Decisions and
    Agencies' Actions (GAO/GGD-98-122R, June 10, 1998). Page 29
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix II Processing
    Federal Employee EEO Complaints Agencies and EEOC process federal
    employees' EEO complaints under regulations1 promulgated by EEOC,
    which also establish processing time standards. Employees unable
    to resolve their concerns through counseling can file a complaint
    with their agency, which either dismisses or accepts it (the first
    stage) and, if the complaint is accepted, conducts an
    investigation (the second stage). Agencies are to decide whether
    to accept a complaint, investigate it, and report investigation
    results within 180 days from the complaint's filing. After
    receiving the investigation results, an employee who pursues a
    complaint has two choices: (1) request a hearing before an EEOC
    administrative judge (the third stage) who issues a recommended
    decision, which the agency can accept, reject, or modify in making
    its final decision or (2) forgo a hearing and ask for a final
    agency decision (the fourth stage). An employee has 30 days to
    make this decision. When a hearing is requested, the
    administrative judge is to issue a recommended decision within 180
    days of the request. An agency is to issue its final decision
    within 60 days of receiving an administrative judge's
    recommendation or a request for a final decision. Up to this
    point, EEOC standards have allowed complaint processing to take up
    to 270 days without a hearing, 450 days with one. An employee
    dissatisfied with a final agency decision or its decision to
    dismiss a complaint may appeal to EEOC, which is to conduct a de
    novo2 review (the fifth stage). The employee has 30 days to file
    an appeal, but regulations do not establish time standards for
    EEOC's review. The final (sixth) stage within the administrative
    process is that the complainant or agency may request EEOC to
    reconsider its decision from the appeal within 30 days of
    receiving the decision. However, regulations do not establish time
    standards for the EEOC's reconsideration. EEOC will be
    implementing revisions to the regulations, including changes to
    hearing and appeal procedures, beginning in November 1999. Under
    the new rules, administrative judges will continue to issue
    decisions on complaints referred to them for hearings. However,
    agencies will no longer be able to modify these decisions.
    Instead, as its final action (as final decisions will be called),
    an agency will issue a final order indicating whether or not it
    will fully implement the administrative judge's decision. If the
    agency does not fully implement the decision, it will be required
    to 129 C.F.R. part 1614. 2A complete review of all evidence from
    the beginning of a case. Page 30
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix II Processing
    Federal Employee EEO Complaints file an appeal of the decision
    with EEOC. Employees will retain the right to appeal an agency's
    final action to EEOC. In addition, the decision on an appeal from
    an agency's final action will be based on a de novo review, except
    that the review of the factual findings in a decision by an
    administrative judge will be based on a substantial evidence
    standard of review.3 3Substantial evidence is the degree of
    relevant evidence that a reasonable person might accept as
    adequate to support a conclusion. Page 31
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix III Selected
    Complaint Data on U.S. Postal Service Table III.1: Total and
    Postal Service Inventories of Compliants, Hearing Requests, and
    Appeals and Postal Service as a Percentage of the Totals for
    Fiscal Years 1991-1998 1991
    1992                       1993             1994             1995
    1996           1997             1998 Complaints Total
    16,964                                18,668
    22,258         27,044            30,605             31,195
    34,286           36,333 Postal workers
    3,963                                  4,626
    5,026           6,893           10,105             11,357
    13,549           13,996 Percent
    23.4%                                 24.8%
    22.6%           25.5%            33.0%              36.4%
    39.5%            38.5% Hearing requests Total
    3,147                                  3,977
    3,991           5,177            6,367              8,275
    10,016           11,967 Postal workers
    1,440                                  1,837
    1,094           1,827            2,567              3,327
    4,594            5,474 Percent
    45.8%                                 46.2%
    27.4%           35.3%            40.3%              40.2%
    45.9%            45.7% Appeals Total
    1,466                                  2,029
    2,900           4,363            6,498              8,376
    9,980          10,966 Postal workers
    a                                  837                     940
    1,470            2,563              3,558          4,317
    4,961 Percent                                                    a
    41.3%                         32.4%           33.7%
    39.4%              42.5%          43.3%            45.2% aNot
    available. Source: GAO analysis of EEOC and Postal Service data.
    Table III.2:  Average Age (Days) of Complaints in the Postal
    Service's Inventory Since Complaint Filed, by Stage of the
    Complaint Process for Fiscal Years 1991-1998 Stage of
    1991                                    1992
    1993            1994             1995               1996
    1997             1998 process Dismiss/accept
    a                                    27                   146
    182               540               582            320
    212 Investigation                                     207
    217                      183             212               145
    163            405              300 Investigation
    267                                       237
    c               c                 c                 c
    c                   c Dispositionb Hearing
    494                                       502
    180             284               307               322
    887              675 Agency
    a                                               a         179
    210               239               251            302
    285 decision Overall                                           399
    356                      176             212               287
    315            494              450 aNo cases reported. b When the
    agency notified the complainant in writing of its proposed
    disposition of the complaint and of the right to a final decision
    with or without an EEOC hearing. cDiscontinued as a reporting
    category. Source: GAO analysis of EEOC and Postal Service data.
    Page 32                                                   GAO/GGD-
    99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix III Selected Complaint
    Data on U.S. Postal Service Table III.3:  Percentage of Postal
    Workers' Complaints Pending Dismissal/Acceptance and Investigation
    More Than 180 Days for Fiscal Years 1991-1998 Stage of process
    1991           1992            1993         1994          1995
    1996       1997        1998 Dismissal/acceptance
    a              0         62.2        40.0           53.7
    61.9       26.2        65.5 Investigation                    50.4
    48.2             71.8        55.8           40.4          58.6
    48.6        36.5 aNo cases reported. Source:  GAO analysis of EEOC
    and Postal Service data. Table III.4:  Postal Workers as a
    Percentage of the Federal Workforce for Fiscal Years 1991-1998
    Fiscal year                   1991           1992
    1993        1994           1995           1996        1997
    1998 Percent of workforce           23.9           23.2
    23.5         27.2           28.6          31.2        31.8
    32.2 Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. Table III.5:  Total and
    Postal Workers' Complaints, Hearing Requests, and Appeals and
    Postal Workers as a Percentage of Total Complaints, Hearing
    Requests, and Appeals for Fiscal Years 1991-1998 1991
    1992             1993         1994           1995          1996
    1997        1998 Complaints Total                         17,696
    19,106           22,237      24,592         27,472         26,410
    28,947      28,147 Postal workers                 7,772
    8,469            8,858      10,221         13,322         13,252
    14,326      14,397 Percent                       43.9%
    44.3%            39.8%       41.6%          48.5%          50.2%
    49.5%        51.1% Hearing requests Total
    5,773          6,907            8,882      10,712         10,515
    10,677     11,198      12,218 Postal workers                 2,605
    3,337            2,933       3,934          4,451          4,583
    5,275        5,795 Percent                       45.1%
    48.3%            33.0%       36.7%          42.3%          42.9%
    47.1%        47.4% Appeals Total                          5,266
    5,997            6,361       7,141          8,152          8,001
    8,453        8,480 Postal workers                 2,250
    2,649            2,227       2,450          3,436          3,534
    3,734        3,958 Percent                        42.7%
    44.2%            35.0%       34.3%          42.1%          44.2%
    44.2%        46.7% Source: GAO analysis of EEOC and Postal Service
    data. Page 33                                           GAO/GGD-
    99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix III Selected Complaint
    Data on U.S. Postal Service Table III.6:  Postal Service Complaint
    Processing Time in Days by Closure Category Closure category
    1991        1992            1993           1994            1995
    1996     1997        1998 Dismissed                        134
    150             154             135            116             208
    197         141 Withdrawn                        256         256
    266             213            218             296      300
    261 Settled                          217         211
    307             279            280             341      401
    355 Decision without hearing            a            a
    227             520            393             512      439
    477 Decision with hearing               a            a
    734             721            510             527      689
    749 Overall                          230         233
    296             315            247             330      353
    322 aSeparate data not reported for closures with and without
    hearings. Source:  GAO analysis of EEOC and Postal Service data.
    Page 34                                              GAO/GGD-99-
    128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected Federal Sector
    EEO Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998 The following
    figures show the trends in (1) inventories of unresolved equal
    employment opportunity (EEO) complaints at federal agencies and
    the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); (2) the age of
    cases in the inventories; (3) the number of complaints, hearing
    requests, and appeals filed; and (4) processing times for
    complaints, hearings, and appeals. Figure IV.1: Agencies'
    Complaint Inventories Continue to Grow Source: GAO analysis of
    EEOC data. Page 35                                GAO/GGD-99-128
    EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected Federal Sector EEO
    Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998 Figure IV.2: EEOC's
    Hearings and Appeals Inventories Continue to Increase Source: GAO
    analysis of EEOC data. Page 36
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected
    Federal Sector EEO Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998
    Figure IV.3: Average Age of the Complaint Inventory at Agencies
    FYs 1991 - 1998 Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. Page 37
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected
    Federal Sector EEO Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998
    Figure IV.4: Frequently, Agencies Did Not Dismiss/Accept and
    Investigate Complaints Within 180 days Source: GAO analysis of
    EEOC data. Page 38                                       GAO/GGD-
    99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected Federal Sector
    EEO Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998 Figure IV.5:
    Average Age of EEOC's Hearings and Appeals Inventories Has
    Increased aNot reported. Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. Page
    39                                       GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO
    Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected Federal Sector EEO
    Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998 Figure IV.6:
    Proportion of EEOC's Hearings Inventory Older Than 180 Days Has
    Risen Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. Page 40
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected
    Federal Sector EEO Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998
    Figure IV.7: More Appeals Have Been in Inventory For Longer
    Periods of Time at EEOC Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. Page 41
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected
    Federal Sector EEO Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998
    Figure IV.8: The Number of Complaints Filed With Agencies Has
    Generally Increased Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. Page 42
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected
    Federal Sector EEO Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998
    Figure IV.9:  Hearings Requested and Appeals Filed Have Increased
    at EEOC Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. Page 43
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected
    Federal Sector EEO Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998
    Figure IV.10: Complaint Processing Time at Agencies FYs 1991-1998
    aSeparate data not reported for closures with and without
    hearings. Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data Page 44
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected
    Federal Sector EEO Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998
    Figure IV.11: Average Time For Agencies' Complaint Investigations
    Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. Page 45
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix IV Selected
    Federal Sector EEO Complaint Data for Fiscal Years 1991 to 1998
    Figure IV.12: EEOC Processing Times For Hearings and Appeals
    Continue to Increase Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data. Page 46
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix V Comments From
    the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Page 47
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix V Comments From
    the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Page 48
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix V Comments From
    the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Page 49
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Appendix V Comments From
    the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Page 50
    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint Caseloads Page 51    GAO/GGD-99-128
    EEO Complaint Caseloads Page 52    GAO/GGD-99-128 EEO Complaint
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