C4C

The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C) P.O. Box 142 Washington DC 20044

July 4, 2011 The Honorable Tony West Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20530-0001 Dear Mr. West: On behalf of the membership of The Coalition for Change, Inc. (C4C), I am writing to encourage you to revisit the Civil Divisions past practice and policy of determining when, or even if, free legal counsel should be made available to Responsible Management Officials (RMOs) in all Federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) cases. Many African-Americans have suffered substantial harm from racial discrimination and reprisal in the Federal workplace. Many have complained about the great physical, emotional, and financial expense to themselves and their families. Adding to this harm is the fact that, we have to retain and pay for legal counsel to assist us in this ongoing fight for justice in the workplace. Often, we attempt to represent ourselves when our funds have been depleted. Meanwhile, the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) provides the supervisors and managers who have subjected us to the initial indignities of racial discrimination and retaliation in the workplace with taxpayer-funded attorney. Certainly, we recognize that the DOJs Civil Division is charged with defending the Federal Government in diverse legal challenges. We, however, are concerned with the Civil Divisions unmitigated defense of RMOs in EEO cases filed against Federal agencies. We find this practice to be inconsistent with the Civil Divisions dual and equally conflicting role to protect the public fiscally against unwarranted monetary claims while resolving fairly those claims which have merit. In this regard, we note that C4C members know of or have experienced situations during EEO proceedings in which: - RMOs either have no plausible or defensible rationale for their challenged employment decisions; - RMOs asserted reasons for their decisions change from one time to the next; RMOs give no credible explanation for the challenged employment decision; - RMOs have been found guilty of violations by the EEOC; and/or - RMOs have been found guilty of violations in district court. Nevertheless, while using taxpayers monies, your attorneys either represent or stand ready to represent all of these individuals. Throughout litigation, countless manhours are spent preparing motions, briefs and appeals at no cost to the offending agency or the RMO. This leads C4C to query whether DOJ officials make merit-based determination in this regard. Pointedly, our members would like the answer to the questions: Does DOJs Civil Division make a determination of the available evidence either before or during pending EEO cases OR does the Civil Division merely provide FREE (unreimbursed by agency) legal counsel to all RMOs without first rendering a merit-based determination?

Tanya Ward Jordan L.O.R., B, A., M.S. Founder Willie Berry, B.S. Treasurer Michael Castelle, Sr. Diversity Chair Milton Hill B.S., M.A., M.P.A. Outreach Chair Ricardo Jones, Sr. EEO Chair Arthuretta Holmes-Martin B.S., M.S. Mental and Spiritual Well-Being Chair Cecil Paris PMP, B.S. Management and Organization Chair Anthony Perry Communications Chair CIO Cert. B.A., B.B.A, M.S. Paulette Taylor A.A., B.A. Civil Rights Chair Diane Williams B.A., M.S., J.D. Legislative Research Chair

www.coailtion4change.org C4C@coalition4change.org 1-866-737-9783

The Honorable Tony West, Assistant Attorney General (p.2)

While many of us were encouraged by the election of President Obama, and your subsequent confirmation to head the Civil Division, we painfully find ourselves fighting the same battles with a different administration. We find ourselves still subjected to bias personnel practices. We find that the DOJ still fails to hold RMOs accountable when justifying their access to free attorney representation at the taxpayers expense. We certainly recognize the administration has inherited the ills of previous administrations. We also recognize it will take time to reverse the systemic bias entrenched in the Federal sector. Our challenge, however, stems from what appears to be little or no attention paid to the problem. Many report that the ongoing problem of discrimination and retaliation against African-American Federal employees has only intensified since the recession. This population remains the most targeted group. In its Annual Report of the Federal Workforce FY 2009, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asserted that race (Black) was one of the leading basis for complaints filed in the Federal sector. Many of us are still not hired for certain positions. Many of us are still not promoted to high-paying positions for which we are well qualified. Adding to our detriment, many of us are disproportionately subjected to disciplinary actions, including termination of our Federal employment. Terminations are fast becoming the norm for African-Americans who have the temerity to complain about acts of disparate treatment in the Federal workplace. In closing, we, encourage you to revisit the Civil Divisions practice and policy of determining when, or even if, you should avail (in all EEO cases) RMOs with free and unconditional legal counsel. We also invite you to visit our website at www.coalition4change.org to learn about our organization, activities and to view the C4C video entitled: Racism in the Federal Government (A-Z). The video plainly illustrates the discriminatory/retaliatory culture of the Federal workplace. We look forward to your prompt reply to our concerns. We stand ready to provide this administration with strategies to truly make the Federal government an equal opportunity employer. If you would like additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone 1-866-737-9783 or by e-mail at c4c@coalition4change.org.

Sincerely,

Tanya Ward Jordan, Founder The Coalition For Change, Inc. (C4C)

cc: President Barack Obama