Veterans Affairs: VA Should Develop and Report an Estimate of Needed Equal Employment Opportunity Counselors

What GAO Found

Within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Office of Resolution Management, Diversity & Inclusion is responsible for managing equal employment opportunity (EEO) complaint processing. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 requires the Secretary of VA to make available to the public an annual report on several aspects of its employment discrimination complaint resolution system. Among other things, VA is to report an estimate of the required ratio of VA employees whose duties include EEO counseling functions relative to the number of full-time equivalent VA employees.

In December 2023, VA posted its Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 Annual Report to its website. VA reported, "The EEOC [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] has not published a recommended ratio of counselors to FTEE [full-time equivalent employees]." VA has since updated the report on its website to also include the current ratio of the number of employees whose duties include EEO counseling functions relative to the total number of FTEEs in the department, which is 1:7,043. However, VA still did not report an estimated ratio of the number of EEO counselors needed to carry out its EEO counseling functions relative to the number of VA FTEEs, as required by law. As a result, GAO is not in a position to assess "the [required] ratio reported by the Secretary."

According to VA officials, the agency did not report the required ratio because EEOC has not provided a suggested ratio of counselors to employees and it is challenging to develop one. EEOC officials told GAO that agencies are required to provide sufficient resources for their EEO programs. Further, VA previously told GAO that a current cap on the number of EEO counselors imposed by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 may hinder its ability to process EEO complaints in accordance with EEOC guidance. However, the Act also requires VA to notify Congress if this cap is insufficient for VA to meet its required obligations under the law. Without developing and using a sound methodology to estimate how many EEO counselors VA needs to effectively manage its program and reporting to Congress the department's needs, VA may not be well positioned to respond to employees' EEO complaints.

Why GAO Did This Study

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 includes a provision for GAO to submit an independent assessment of the required ratio reported by the Secretary. This report examines VA's reporting on the ratio of EEO counselors.

GAO reviewed VA's Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 Annual Report when it was posted in December 2023 as well as VA's subsequent update. GAO interviewed VA officials who were knowledgeable about the report and obtained information from EEOC.