FW: Dysfunctional USDA Civil Right in 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

USDA Civil Rights in 2013

 

There are serious problems with the leadership of USDA Office of Civil Rights under the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack & Dr. Joe Leonard. 

 

Quid Pro Quo Contracting

 

The USDA Office of Civil Rights uses the 20 million dollar civil rights budget to fund a quid pro quo scheme with multiple contractors.  Their friends run the Procurement Division and are ramming through multi-million dollar contracts for friends. It is being said that these friends include Innovative Management Strategists, Management Solutions Consulting Group, Inc., US Postal Service, and other individual contracts.  They fund these groups to ensure that the reports of investigation and the final agency decisions are developed in a way that no discrimination will be uncovered.  They pay off friends outside USDA in exchange for their support.  There are rumors of illegal contracts being awarded.

 

Unreported Backlog of Complaints 

 

The backlog of EEO complaints is not counted in the numbers and reports issued by Dr. Leonard.  Findings of discrimination are not processed and investigations have stalled for 1000 days or more.   Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) complaints where the statute of limitations (SOL) for compensatory damage claims that have expired, haven't been processed since the Vilsack/Leonard administration took over.   There are a number of cases over 180 days just sitting, because the cases are not being in totals a total violation of the civil rights laws, rules and regulations. None, not even the Secretary of Agriculture cares.  There are only a few program FADs that have been written under this Administration, because hardly any program investigations have been conducted.

 

The Chief of the Employment Complaints Division is safe under Joe Leonard because she has consistently maintained a secret and separate database in iComplaints of all of the Joe Leonard and other ASCR management complaints.  The complaints in this "secret database" are not counted in the 462 Report, the Farm Bill Report, or any other reports. In addition, these complaints remain unprocessed.

 

 The Lean Six Sigma project reports show the way data is manipulated to hide the truth about processing times and to reinforce the false claims about reducing processing time.  Joe Leonard paid taxpayer dollars to contractors for the lean Six Sigma which lasted three years. Where is the final report?

 

USDA Civil Rights performance standards state that in order to successfully maintain a position in civil rights you cannot have more than two valid complaints.  Because these complaints are hidden in the system by the Chief of the Employment Complaints Division they are not counted, and the perpetrators of a variety of civil rights violations are not held accountable. 

 

 

 

African American Farmer's Land Loss

 

Under this Administration the number of African American Farmers that lost their land to foreclosure has increased.  USDA is calling in loans too soon, causing farmers to lose their land and go out of business, like Black farmer Harry Young, Kentucky.

 

GS-15 and SES Black females and males maligned, harassed, displaced and marginalized by political appointees

 

Tom Vilsack through Dr. Joe Leonard and his management team have seriously abused the competent, educated minority women under their supervision.  They smear, scream, yell, lash out, humiliate, and constantly move the women who will not lie to help them.  As soon as they file complaints to seek relief, they are maligned and moved out of their positions in retaliation.  Careers are ruined and families are destroyed because of the terror and tyranny these women suffer.  Resolution is not an option under Dr. Leonard's abusive leadership unless you are willing (to go along to get along) by helping the ASCR misrepresent the true numbers, the processing times, assist with procurement kickbacks, and  engage in other prohibited personnel and EEO practices.