In addition, (1) OCR’s new program cases are often missing interim milestones and are not on track for being closed in a timely manner and (2) employment cases are continuing to exceed EEOC time frames. Substantial Backlogs Remain, and OCR Has Extended Deadlines for Closure Several Times

As of October 1, 1998, OCR had closed only 477 (or 44 percent) of its backlog of 1,088 program cases and 1,381 (or 64 percent) of its backlog of 2,142 employment cases. OCR’s goal was to close all remaining backlog cases by December 31, 1998—its fourth deadline for backlog program cases and its third deadline for backlog employment cases. As with program complaints, July 1, 1997, was the initial target date for resolving backlog employment cases. As of October 1, 1998, 69 cases had exceeded the 180-day goal for closing new program cases. Several Factors Hinder Efforts to Improve Timeliness

Although USDA has taken a number of actions to strengthen its civil rights processes, such as providing additional resources for its program complaint process, several problems are impeding its efforts to process complaints more efficiently. First, conditions that caused delays in the past continue to undermine current efforts—continuing management turnover and reorganizations in OCR; inadequate staff and management expertise; a lack of clear, up-to-date guidance and procedures; and poor working relationships and communication within OCR and between OCR and other USDA entities. These problems are long-standing. Furthermore, they had virtually no knowledge of the complexities of USDA programs. USDA’s Use of ADR in Addressing Workplace and Other Disputes Has Been Sporadic

USDA is not consistently using ADR techniques to address workplace and other disputes. Recent laws and regulations have supported the use of ADR in resolving federal workplace disputes. On December 21, 1998, the Secretary of Agriculture issued a conflict management policy. To facilitate the resolution of program discrimination complaints, develop and implement a program for using alternative dispute resolution early in the program complaint process. To determine the timeliness of USDA’s processing of program and employment complaints, we reviewed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations, laws and regulations concerning discrimination in USDA’s conducted and assisted programs, and OCR’s operations manuals for processing conducted program complaints and employment complaints.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) efforts to process discrimination complaints, focusing on: (1) the timeliness of USDA's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) processing and closing of program and employment discrimination complaints; and (2) the reasons for delays in the processes.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) USDA's efforts to process discrimination complaints are falling short of its goals for closing its complaint backlog--one of the Secretary's top priorities; (2) the dates USDA established for closing its backlogs of program and employment discrimination complaints have been extended several times beyond its initial target date of July 1, 1997; (3) as of October 1, 1998, USDA had closed only 44 percent of its 1,088 backlog program cases and 64 percent of its 2,142 backlog employment cases; (4) its most recent goal was to close all remaining backlog cases by December 31, 1998--the fourth deadline it has set for backlog program cases and its third deadline for backlog employment cases; (5) in addition: (a) many of USDA's new program cases are missing interim milestones and are therefore not on track for being closed in a timely manner; and (b) the time spent processing its employment cases continues to far exceed federally mandated time frames; (6) for example, on October 1, 1998, 82 percent of the 397 employment cases being investigated by USDA had already exceeded the 180-day mandated time frame for investigations; (7) although USDA has provided additional resources to enhance its capabilities to address discrimination complaints, a number of problems are impeding its efforts to process complaints more expeditiously; (8) these problems include such long-standing issues as: (a) continuing management turnover and reorganizations in OCR; (b) inadequate staff and managerial expertise; (c) a lack of clear, up-to-date guidance and procedures; and (d) poor working relationships and communication within OCR and between the office and other USDA entities; (9) furthermore, the Department is not consistently using alternative dispute resolution techniques, such as mediation, to address workplace and other disputes before they become formal employment complaints; and (10) federal law and regulations encourage the use of alternative dispute resolution in resolving federal workplace and other disputes.