The Law Offices of Gary M. Gilbert & Associates provides the following decisions from Baltimore EEOC Administrative Judge David Norken involving EEO complaints filed by Kathy Schnaubelt against the National Security Agency.

Schnaubelt v. NSA, EEOC No. 531-2008-00247X - Decision

Schnaubelt v. NSA, EEOC No. 531-2011-00016X - Decision

The Law Offices of Gary M. Gilbert & Associates P.C. is pleased to announce new additions to our legal team.

Daniel A. Katz, Senior Counsel
Daniel A. Katz joins the law firm as an experienced employment litigator, who has extensive experience representing plaintiffs in wage and hour and discrimination litigation in state and federal courts.  He serves as Senior Counsel at the Law Offices Gary M. Gilbert & Associates, and heads the Firm’s wage and hour practice.  In addition, he represents victims of discrimination before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, other fair employment practice agencies, and state and federal courts.

Mr. Katz served as a founding director of the District of Columbia Employment Justice Center, and presently serves on its Board of Advisors.  He provides pro bono legal services to low-income workers through that agency, as well as to Hispanic and immigrant workers, through assistance provided to CASA of Maryland, the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, the Women’s Law Center, and the Sexual Assault Legal Institute (SALI).  He serves on the Boards of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association (MWELA) and served as a director of the Maryland Employment Lawyers Association (MELA), organizations dedicated to defending the rights of employees on-the-job.
As part of Mr. Katz’ commitment to employee rights, he teaches at continuing legal education programs and other trainings sponsored by the Maryland State and District of Columbia bar associations, the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), MWELA and MELA.  These organizations have called upon him to participate in briefing both state and federal officials on issues affecting employees in the workplace, especially low-income workers.

Mr. Katz has a bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.  He graduated summa cum laude from the District of Columbia School of Law, where he received the Julius Hobson merit scholarship, served as editor of the law review, and received the Dean’s Cup for community service.  Prior to attending law school, he directed immigrant legal services projects in Harlingen,Texas and Washington, D.C., and helped develop immigrant legal services organizations in Dallas, Houston, El Paso, Tucson, El Centro, CA, New Orleans, and Oakdale, LA. 

Renn Fowler, Of Counsel
Mr. Fowler specializes in Federal government employment law, MSPB and EEOC.  He represents agencies, employees, and provides lectures regarding employment law.
Mr. Fowler also writes extensively on employment law and has coauthored the following books published by Dewey Publications, Inc.: MSPB Charges and Penalties, A Charging Manual (now in 4th edition); Adverse Actions and Performance Actions, Process, Law and Cases, Guidance, and Pitfalls; The Art of Advocacy: What to Do and How to Do It Before the Board and Arbitrators; Litigating Federal Sector Employment and Labor Law Disputes: A Guide to the Whistleblower Protection Act and Related Litigation; EEO Discovery Forms for Representatives; Drafting Disciplinary Charges; and Agency Advocacy Before MSPB and EEOC. 
Mr. Fowler has served as a director for Federal Employment Law Training Group (FELTG), the Federal Training Foundation, the Government Training Foundation, and the Academy of Personnel Law and Public Administration. 
Mr. Fowler was formerly with the General Counsel’s Office of GSA, serving in various positions, including Regional Counsel in San Francisco and Washington, DC.  Mr. Fowler is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars.  He graduated from the University of Maryland and the George Washington University Law School. 

Ernest Hadley, Of Counsel
Mr. Hadley has been representing federal sector employees before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board and in the federal courts for the past 25 years. He also occasionally represents agencies before the EEOC and is admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Mr. Hadley is the author of several books on federal sector employment law including A Guide to Federal Sector Equal Employment Law and Practice. He is also the co-author of Sexual Harassment: Federal Law; Federal Sector Workers’ Compensation Law; Motions Practice before the Merit Systems Protection Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Representing Agencies and Complainants before the EEOC; A Guide to Federal Sector Disability Discrimination Law and Practice; The EEO Counselors’ and Investigators’ Manual; and Effective Summary Judgment Motions.

Avis Sanders, Of Counsel
Avis Sanders is the Director of the Externship Program at the American University Washington College of Law, overseeing the field placements and externship seminars for over 350 law students each year. She is an adjunct professor of law.  Ms. Sanders has served as the co-chair of the AALS Executive Committee on Externships.  She is the author of the chapter on “Externships and Career Planning” for the second edition of Learning from Practice: A Professional Development Text for Legal Externs.  She is a regular presenter at national Externship Conferences. Ms. Sanders practiced employment discrimination law at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs from 1990 to 2002.  She directed the Committee’s EEO Intake Project and worked as a staff attorney on a number of its individual and class action EEO cases. She was also responsible for training and supervising hundreds of law students and attorneys who provided pro bono assistance to the Committee on employment discrimination cases. Ms. Sanders holds a J.D. from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.

In a decision dated July 5, 2011, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission upheld a judge’s opinion finding high level managers of the U.S. Postal Service’s operations in Baltimore conspired to discriminate and retaliate against John Knott.  At the time of the discrimination, Mr. Knott was employed as the Manager of Distribution Operations for the Baltimore Processing and Distribution Center.  He believed he was being treated discriminatorily by a co-worker of a different race, which culminated in her striking him with a heavy piece of equipment.  After complaining of race discrimination, Mr. Knott was subjected to harassment, including but not limited to: a meritless and biased misconduct investigation, threatened with unwarranted termination, and classification of him as being absent without leave, even though management had received and returned to Mr. Knott unopened his documentation supporting his request for sick leave.

After holding a hearing, an EEOC Administrative Judge issued a blistering decision finding that Mr. Knott was discriminated against because he is white and that there was a concerted effort by Postal Service management to retaliate against him for complaining of race bias.  The presiding judge’s opinion commented “In all my years of being an administrative judge, which is quickly approaching 25 years, I have never seen such a cover-up, a conspiracy, and lack of credibility by agency officials as … in this matter.”  To underscore the flagrant abuse by Postal Service management, the Judge found, “Everybody lied … In fact, only one witness, and that is [Mr. Knott] do I find at all credible in this matter.” 

LeiLani Hart, lead counsel for Mr. Knott stated, “John has endured a great ordeal and was courageous in fighting these despicable acts.  He is pleased with the Commission’s decision but also hopes the Postal Service does the right thing and takes disciplinary action against those responsible.”

In its decision, the EEOC awarded Mr. Knott $158,715.72 in damages plus 27 months of back pay.  Additionally, as the discrimination and harm perpetrated by management was so great, the EEOC ordered the Postal Service pay Mr. Knott front pay for a period of two years.

Gary Gilbert, an attorney representing Mr. Knott stated, “This decision is a warning to managers who believe they can cover-up and conspire to discriminate.  What is most shocking to me is the fact that to the best of my knowledge these senior managers are still working for the Postal Service drawing large salaries.”

For more information or a copy of the EEOC’s decision contact LeiLani Hart (301) 608-0880

Press Release