Opinion ID: 184674
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Final Ruling

Text: 13 On June 3, 1996, the ALJ recommended dismissal of the agents' class claims. He found that complainants had failed to present evidence sufficient to show the commonality and typicality of discrimination claims required for a class complaint encompassing all African-American secretaries at the Board. In response to my request for information concerning whether there is a centralized administration and/or decision-making system, the class representative stated that although class members belong to more than one Agency division, the Agency has a centralized personnel system (and therefore centralized decision-making). The ALJ found this proffer to be inadequate: [C]ommonality requires that there be questions of fact common to the class. Conclusory allegations of discrimination in different [personnel] practices are not certified merely because the purported class members share the same race, national origin, or sex. On June 28, the Board adopted the ALJ's recommendation with the additional finding that dismissal of the amended complaints is also warranted because events allegedly occurring outside of the Legal Division have not been the subject of counseling as required under the EEO rules.