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Office of Employee Appeals highlights email filing uptake, timeliness gains and compliance process
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Summary
OEA told the oversight committee it has improved intake and timeliness using an email‑filing option, issued more decisions in FY 2024 than prior years, and described its compliance and enforcement steps when agencies fail to implement final orders.
The Office of Employee Appeals told the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor on Feb. 5 that it has introduced an email filing channel, improved average decision timelines compared with recent years and formalized its compliance process for agency failure to implement final OEA orders.
Executive Director Sheila Barfield reported that OEA issued 89 initial decisions and 16 opinions and orders on petitions for review in FY 2024 and that the office has improved processing speed after launching an email‑filing option that accounted for 55% of petition filings in FY 2024 (91 petitions total). Barfield said email filing reduces postage delays while preparing the agency for a planned move to a fully electronic filing system.
General Counsel LaSheka Brown Bassi told the committee that OEA’s average time to issue initial decisions was 197 business days in FY 2024 and 180 business days so far in FY 2025, representing progress from FY 2022–23 averages of 231 and 236 business days respectively. Barfield noted the statute allows 120 business days for decisions after cases reach OEA; she said extensions are often granted for good cause when parties request additional time for filings or scheduling.
OEA also described case types it handles — adverse actions, indefinite suspensions, reduction‑in‑force matters and safety‑sensitive appeals — and said it has not yet received cases invoking a newly created safety‑sensitive designation. Barfield said OEA has five full‑time administrative judges and one part‑time (WAE) judge; the office also added a paralegal specialist in November 2024 and is recruiting a senior administrative assistant.
Regarding enforcement, OEA explained that if a winning party reports noncompliance with a final decision the administrative judge may issue a compliance order and, if necessary, certify noncompliance to OEA’s general counsel, who can escalate to the mayor’s office and seek judicial enforcement through the Superior Court.
Ending — follow up: OEA said it will provide the committee with motion‑for‑compliance counts for FY 2023, FY 2024 and FY 2025 to date. The committee thanked the agency for the improvements while noting statutory timelines and the union testimony about some delayed police discipline appeals that will be examined with OEA’s docket records.
