A GS-14 employee at the U.S. Agency for International
Development who won money and damages after suing his
employer for race discrimination after being passed over
for three different GS-15 positions has lost an appeal
seeking back pay and a promotion, according to a recent
opinion from a federal appeals court.
The employee, an African-American male, worked in the HR
office from 1985 until 1995, at which point he was
transferred to the bureau for policy and program coordination
because of alleged hostility toward him for filing an
equal opportunity complaint in 1994, after being passed
over for promotion despite positive performance evaluations,
the court said.
It said the employee claimed that an “atmosphere of
hostility and opposition towards the professional
advancement of black males within the agency,” prevented
him from moving forward.
While a jury rejected that claim and found other reasons
for the agency’s decisions, it did find that retaliation
against the employee for complaints of discrimination was
a factor in his being passed over for two of three
positions he applied for, and awarded him $30,000,
additional relief, and an injunction against further
retaliation, according to the court.
