Opinion ID: 801202
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Exclusion of Evidence Regarding Whitmore's EEO Defense

Text: Whitmore raised an affirmative defense pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(9) based on his participation in the 2005 EEO proceeding, in which he implicated OSHA official Bob Pitulej, who later became Whitmore's second level supervisor, in discrimination claims. The AJ initially bifurcated the hearing to address the EEO issue only if the DOL failed to carry its burden to overcome Whitmore's whistleblower defense. After the hearing, the AJ explained that she now recognized that Whitmore's EEO participation was offered not only as whistleblowing activity to support Whitmore's whistleblower defense under § 2302(b)(8), but also to show retaliation for participation in an EEO proceeding, a distinct defense under § 2302(b)(9) and therefore a new claim, albeit based on the same evidence. A109. Accordingly, she deemed her previous decision to exclude Whitmore's EEO defense from the hearing to be erroneous, and reopened the record permitting Whitmore to submit additional evidence and argument to support the EEO defense. The record does not show that Whitmore submitted any new evidence or argument in response to the AJ's invitation.