Substantial Evidence from doing something so trivial but important like saving your receipts.
This is the key to not only winning your eeoc civil rights claim, but how much you will be reimbursed. Save your receipts.
Reasonable costs incurred by the prevailing complainant in the course of litigating his own EEO claim are compensable. Hafiz v. Department of Defense, EEOC Petition No. 04960021 (July 11, 1997).
Which receipts are reimbursable?
These may include such items as:
- mileage
- postage
- telephone calls
- photocopying
- Any other reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the complaint.
Carver v. United States Postal Service, EEOC Petition No. 04950004 (June 19, 1996). It is complainant’s burden to prove that he incurred such costs, by providing documentation to support a claim for costs, such as bills for copying, telephone bills, or receipts for mailings. Hafiz, EEOC Petition No. 04960021.
The record contains no documentation to support complainant’s claim for “postage, copies etc.” Accordingly, we deny complainant’s claim for costs.
In another case, the complainant failed to present his bills and receipts. The agency states that it reimbursed complainant $2,281.00 for medical costs. Complainant does not dispute receiving this reimbursement. Although complainant argues that he is due more reimbursement (apparently even more than the $15,000 maximum in the agreement), the Commission finds that complainant did not submit to the agency, despite the agency’s
repeated requests, sufficient documentation to substantiate his claim for more reimbursement. Therefore, the Commission finds that complainant has failed to show that the agency did not comply with provision 4 of the settlement agreement.
