Fedweek Legal

On October 3, Chief Administrative Judge Kenneth Chu of the EEOC’s New York District Office issued a default judgment against the Department of Homeland Security (agency), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), for failing to comply with its duty, under 29 C.F.R. §1614.108(e), to “complete its investigation within 180 days of the filing of an individual complaint” without good cause. Complainant, a female, African-American Federal Air Marshal, is represented by Debra D’Agostino of Passman & Kaplan.

The complainant filed a discrimination complaint on December 9, 2003, after the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) denied her request for a transfer from the NewYork to the Washington Field Office while granting transfers to 50-60 mostly white males. On July 9, 2004, TSA transferred the processing of her complaint to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a part of DHS, which had taken over FAMS. On July 22, 2004, complainant requested an EEOC hearing pursuant to 29 C.F.R.