EPA, under the direction of Administrator Lisa Jackson, has released a redacted version of the Deloitte Consulting LLP Final Report on the Evaluation of the EPA Office of Civil Rights (OCR).
Rosemere Neighborhood Association (RNA) Title VI Complaint and subsequent Settlement Agreement between RNA and EPA of March 2010 figure prominently in the Report (See page 2 of Deloitte Report, link provided below):
This situation has exposed EPA’s Civil Rights programs to significant consequences which have damaged its reputation internally and externally. In the Rosemere Neighborhood Association case regarding the timeliness of a Title VI complaint response, it was found that “OCR’s failure to process the Retaliation Complaint in accordance with the timeline set forth in 40 C.F.R. S7.115(c)(1) constitutes agency action unlawfully withheld pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. S706(1).” 5 OCR’s performance has also damaged its reputation within EPA. It was noted repeatedly in interviews with EPA staff and management that OCR has been viewed as an organization that performs poorly and does not offer specialized expertise.
Deloitte’s assessment reveals a bleak accounting of the anti-discrimination processes within the OCR, listing, among others, these issues:
- The Office of Civil Rights lacks “the rudiments of organizational infrastructure,” such as established procedures, defined staff duties or the ability to track cases. Its handling of employee complaints “is known for poor investigative quality and a lack of responsiveness”;
- Dismally “poor performance” with backlogs and long delays in investigations of discrimination complaints. A review of complaints from EPA employees found that none received a final agency decision on time, with many several months overdue; and
- A confused “fire drill mentality has resulted in significant financial and reputational consequences for the Agency” in the form of large cash settlements from botched discrimination investigations.
A summary of their Findings and Conclusions is as follows:
EPA’s senior leadership has increased the Agency’s emphasis on resolving civil rights issues that are critical to fulfilling its mission. Recently, EPA leaders have been providing significant support to OCR, investing both time and resources needed to address significant performance challenges, including the following:
- The Office has not adequately adjudicated Title VI complaints – those addressing allegations of discrimination against communities of citizens affected to environmental rules promulgated by the EPA.
- OCR has struggled to track, investigate, and resolve Title VII cases – those addressing Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) violations inside the Agency – in a timely or effective manner.
- OCR has not completed compliance checks of EPA grantees, in a timely or effective manner, to ensure that grantees are not engaging in discrimination in their work.
- OCR has not consistently filed its statutory affirmative employment reports over the past five years, although the 2010 MD-715 was submitted on time.……………….
OCR staff members also suffer from the absence of the rudiments of organizational infrastructure – well-documented policies and procedures, standardized processes, and effective systems. Staff members are often confused about their job duties. Managers lack the performance tracking and management systems and processes needed to manage the office’s business and hold staff members accountable for effectively executing their jobs. OCR has not implemented the processes needed to collect and maintain information needed to fulfill statutory recordkeeping requirements.
Finally, OCR has operated in an insular fashion that has limited its effectiveness. It has not taken full advantage of the extensive technical expertise available in the program areas of EPA that would enable it to conduct better investigations and achieve more expeditious resolutions. OCR has not provided sufficient clarity to the program management, human resources and EEO offices to secure the data it needs to complete its submissions in a timely fashion. Nor has it effectively leveraged other EPA and state government officials whose relationships, contacts and local knowledge would enhance its field investigations. Additionally, OCR has not conducted much outreach to state government departments of environmental quality to build awareness of circumstances that can give rise to allegations of discrimination from communities with environmental concerns.
This set of circumstances has resulted in a record of poor performance:
- Only 6% of the 247 Title VI complaints have been accepted or dismissed within the Agency 20-day time limit.1 2
- OCR’s backlog of Title VI cases stretches back to 2001. At the time of this report’s publication, there were numerous cases that have been awaiting action for up to four years. Two cases have been in the queue for more than eight years.
- In the area of Affirmative Employment and Diversity, OCR did not even complete its annual Management Directive 715 (MD-715) EEO report (a basic administrative task required of all Federal agencies) for 2006, 2007, and 2008.3 4 It is our understanding that 2010 MD-715 was filed on time.
- OCR’s Title VII function is known for poor investigative quality and a lack of responsiveness. It has not been able to perform its most fundamental Title VII administrative tasks related to filing mandatory reports and processing complaints and writing final agency decisions.
You can view the entire Deloitte Report here http://www.rosemerena.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/epa-ocr_20110321_finalreport.pdf
To view Settlement Agreement between RNA and EPA go to Rosemere Settles Landmark Environmental Justice Case Against EPA
