EEOC complaint process a joke—Angello

A former employee involved in a discrimination case against the Northern Marianas College said the complaint process of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which recently terminated the processing of his case, is a joke and an exercise in futility.

Jack Angello said the U.S. EEOC-Hawaii office, which handles discrimination cases from Northern Marianas workers, does not have the budget or incentive to investigate complaints from the CNMI. Thus, “any investigation they undertake is underlined by a cynical need to issue ‘right-to-sue’ notices as soon as possible,” Angello said.

“The EEOC complaint process is basically a tragic comedy and an exercise in futility. However, people who have suffered discrimination must file with EEOC in order to later file their Title VIII discrimination case in federal court,” he noted.

The EEOC’s purported notoriety for failing to thoroughly investigate CNMI cases is the reason he requested a “right-to-sue” notice, Angello said.

Under EEOC policy, a charging party can request a notice from EEOC after the charge was first filed with the commission. He or she may then file a case in federal court within 90 days after receiving the notice.

“I’ve talked to the EEOC investigators on several occasions and after hearing them whine about their lack of budget and all their cases in Hawaii, and having to tolerate their obvious ineptitude in discussing CNMI legal matters while sitting in an obscure office in Honolulu, you just end up saying give me my ‘right to sue’ so I can go head to federal court,” Angello said.

Responding to Angello’s request for a notice, EEOC issued last week a notice saying that it is terminating the processing of Angello’s complaint. The commission noted that although less than 180 days have passed since the filing of the charge, it is unlikely that EEOC will be able to complete its administrative processing within the normal 180-day period.

Therefore, Angello may now file a case in federal court on his own, as opposed to having EEOC file the case on his behalf.

Angello also criticized EEOC for apparently ignoring his complaint that he had been coerced into requesting his right-to-sue notice. “EEOC made no mention or took any action in this alleged coercion and just issued the notice anyway,” he said.

Further, Angello maintained that EEOC’s dismissal of two discrimination cases filed by Kathryn Tuten-Puckett and Martin L. Gerbens does not entirely clear NMC of the discrimination allegations.

EEOC had said it was “unable to conclude from the information obtained [regarding each case] that establishes violations of the statutes.”

Angello said that despite EEOC’s finding, Gerbens and Tuten-Puckett have every right now to file their cases in federal court, “in which they will receive a more comprehensive hearing in order to judge the merits of their cases.”

The Northern Marianas College last week described EEOC’s actions on the cases as a good sign for the college. Jesus C. Borja, legal counsel for NMC, said that EEOC itself would have filed the cases in federal court if it found that the college committed discrimination against the complainants.