Agencies report these data on EEOC form 462, Annual Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Statistical Report of Discrimination Complaints. EEOC requires agencies to report statistics on the length of time that cases have been in the agencies’ inventories of unresolved complaints, from the date of complaint filing. In addition, the Service provided the corrected figures to EEOC. In addition to the discrepancies already noted, we found that the Postal Service’s statistical reports to EEOC for fiscal years 1996 and 1997 did not include data for complaints involving certain categories of primary issues. After we brought the underreporting to the attention of the Postal Service officials, they provided corrected data to EEOC and us. However, because we examined only a limited portion of the reported data for obvious discrepancies and because the errors we identified were related to data generated by an automated complaint information system put in place in 1995, we have concerns about the completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data that we did not examine. In response to our recommendation that the Service’s controls over the recording and reporting of EEO complaint data to EEOC be reviewed, this official said that the Postal Service plans to adopt more comprehensive management controls to ensure that the data submitted are complete, accurate, and reliable.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO reviewed certain discrepancies in the complaint data that the Postal Service reported to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the need for the Service to take additional steps to ensure that such data are complete, accurate, and reliable.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) in GAO's limited analyses of the data the Service reported to EEOC, GAO found errors in statistics on the underlying bases for EEO complaints and on the length of time complaints had been in inventory; (2) GAO also found that required data on the issues raised in complaint information system; (3) these discrepancies were generally linked to statistical reports generated by the Service's automated complaint information system; (4) after GAO brought these discrepancies to the attention of Postal Service staff, they promptly corrected them and appeared to correct the underlying causes for the errors, with one exception; (5) that situation need not be resolved until EEOC revises its reporting form; and (6) because GAO examined only a portion of the reported data for obvious discrepancies and because the errors GAO identified were related to data generated by an automated complaint information system put in place in 1995, GAO has concerns about the completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data that GAO did not examined.