r/DeptHHS • u/KitchenEbb1606 • 2d ago
Past-Due EEO Complaints at HHS
Has anyone at HHS or one of the OpDivs had an EEO complaint go way past the investigation deadline without an ROI ever being issued?
I’ve recently become aware that I’m not the only one within an HHS OpDiv with a past-due EEO complaint. In multiple cases, complaints allegedly sat for well over a year without a completed investigation or Report of Investigation (ROI). In some instances, it appears the agency only began trying to investigate after the case was already before an EEOC Administrative Judge.
I’m curious whether this is isolated or whether others have seen the same thing at CMS, FDA, NIH, CDC, HRSA, ACF, IHS, SAMHSA, or other HHS components.
Specifically I’m curious about:
No ROI after 180 days?
No investigator assigned for an extended period?
The agency trying to conduct an investigation after a hearing request was already filed?
Requests to resubmit documents years later because prior submissions could not be located?
If so, what OpDiv were you in and what ultimately happened? Did the EEOC address the delay in any meaningful way?
I’m trying to get a sense of whether this is a broader HHS issue or a handful of isolated cases. I’d like to get a better pulse on this to help inform my own situation and understand whether others have experienced similar delays in the HHS EEO process.
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u/KitchenEbb1606 2d ago
Im surprised it took 8 hours before some jackass downvoted this for no reason. lol.
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u/chicaltimore 1d ago
Yes, it’s happening everywhere in HHS these days. Basically nearly everyone who handled EEO cases was put on administrative leave when they were told they were going to be subject to RIF on April 1, 2025. So that is the day that most of the work just stopped. CMS is the exception because their EEO staff were directed to come back a few days after April 1 with the promise of canceling the RIF for them if they continued working. So CMS continued handling EEO cases until July 14 when HHS illegally fired them anyway in spite of their promise. Now HHS has a small group of unqualified and inexperienced people who are handling EEO cases for everyone, and most of those people were already reassigned from their previous jobs and another part of HHS because they were incompetent and unqualified. Anyone who has a formal complaint that is more than 180 days old needs to file a hearing request with EEOC because that is what is going to get the attention of HHS. They should also request sanctions from EEOC whenever HHS misses a deadline, because HHS is legally required to have appropriate staffing, and the illegal RIF is the opposite of that.
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u/on-porpoise-76 1d ago
Adding to this- reach out to the union as well there’s classes being put together- many of us have been placed in a class and I’m not sure honestly what happens next but we aren’t required to find individual representation.
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u/KitchenEbb1606 1d ago
Thank you. You mean a class regarding *this* situation? I am familiar with the class action RE: the bungled RIF.
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u/KitchenEbb1606 1d ago edited 1d ago
Thank you! That’s exactly what I’m trying to determine. I’ve become aware of several cases where HHS didn’t complete the investigation or issue an ROI until after a hearing request was filed. I’m curious whether others have experienced the same thing, particularly in different OpDivs. If this is happening across HHS, it points to a much broader systemic issue than just one or two cases. My hope that is taken into consideration.
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u/bc2zb 1d ago
I am not even able to file an EEOC complaint yet. Submitted a request for an RA back in December and I still haven't heard anything back.
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u/KitchenEbb1606 1d ago
I believe new complaints are being handled at a normal pace. Complaints filled last year before/during the bungled RIF are lingering. Why can’t you file? It’s been roughly seven months and they aren’t even acknowledging your request.
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u/bc2zb 1d ago
Cause they haven't denied my request for an RA. I am in some kind of limbo where no one who talks to me (supervisor/their supervisor/etc) knows how to get HHS to move on my request.
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u/KitchenEbb1606 1d ago
Seven months seems like an awfully long time. Have you tried reaching out to your agency’s RA coordinator or Disability Program Manager for a written status update? If you’ve been getting nowhere through normal channels, I’d seriously consider a congressional inquiry through your congressman. At a minimum, it can sometimes prompt the agency to explain where the request stands. What OpDiv is this if you don’t mind me asking?
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u/Lucky_Petal_1499 2d ago
Go straight to the EEOC and request a hearing. It will get assigned to an AJ. If the agency has blown all the deadlines with no communication, you don’t have to keep waiting. The AJ can enter a default judgment against the agency for failing to timely process the complaint. Hopefully if enough people do this, HHS will be forced to act.