Central Issues: ADA Retaliation, Procedural Delay, Overpayment Vacatur, Final Decision Noncompliance, FOIA Violations, Federal Coordination Failures
| Element No. | Case Element | Completion Status | Current Stage | Main Source Link | Statute/Regulation Reference | Notes/Comments | Follow-up Required | Responsible Agency | Last Updated | Extra Column 1 | Extra Column 2 | Extra Column 3 | Extra Column 4 | Extra Column 5 | Extra Column 6 | Extra Column 7 | Extra Column 8 |
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| 1 | Termination from Cox Communications during open ADA-related interactive process | ADA (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.) | Yes | Cox Communications | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Concurrent short-term disability (STD) dispute with MetLife (acting as employer’s proxy) | Employer policies | Yes | MetLife | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Initial deputy determination denies UI benefits – no ADA consideration evident | UI Code | Yes | Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) | |||||||||||||
| 4 | First appeal filed with VEC challenging denial and improper employer conduct | VEC Appeals Manual § 3.3.7 | Yes | VEC | |||||||||||||
| 5 | FOIA request to Cox & MetLife yields incomplete records | Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) | Yes | Cox, MetLife | |||||||||||||
| 6 | EEOC Charge #12K-2025-00001 filed alleging retaliation and ADA breakdown | EEOC regs 29 CFR Part 1600 | Yes | EEOC | |||||||||||||
| 7 | EEOC opens inquiry and later confirms charge; Cox fails to produce certified response | 29 CFR § 1601.15(c) | Yes | EEOC | |||||||||||||
| 8 | VEC issues overpayment finding despite pending appeal | VEC Payment Regs | Yes | VEC | |||||||||||||
| 9 | VEC Commission Decision UI-145419-C issued (May 8, 2025), reversing all prior denials | VEC UI Code & Final Order | No | VEC | |||||||||||||
| 10 | Overpayment vacated ab initio by Order UI-25009642 | VEC Overpayment Regs | No | VEC | |||||||||||||
| 11 | VEC fails to update claim system or disburse benefits despite May 8 reversal | Yes | VEC | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | FOIA requests escalated after no correction to claimant record (CLM-LOG-ACTIVE remains wrong) | FOIA (5 U.S.C. § 552) | Yes | Cox, MetLife, VEC | |||||||||||||
| 13 | EEOC Norfolk prematurely closes inquiry despite pending evidentiary obligations | ADA, EEOC Regs | Yes | EEOC | |||||||||||||
| 14 | FOIA-FSC-320 and RTN-FOIA-MGR logs show incomplete release of Cox/EEOC docs | FOIA Logs | Yes | VEC, EEOC | |||||||||||||
| 15 | Thomas files formal enforcement demand (July 10, 2025) referencing VEC Procedural Manual § 3.3.7 | VEC Procedural Manual §3.3.7 | Yes | Thomas Coates | |||||||||||||
| 16 | Simultaneous referral to DOL (Program Integrity), OSIG, and DOJ Civil Rights Division | DOL, DOJ regulations | Yes | DOL, OSIG, DOJ | |||||||||||||
| 17 | DOJ ADA Complaint #536785-LFD opened | ADA (42 U.S.C.) | Yes | DOJ | |||||||||||||
| 18 | EEOC FOIA requests overdue; no certified employer rebuttals produced (29 CFR § 1601.15(c) violated) | 29 CFR § 1601.15(c) | Yes | EEOC | |||||||||||||
| 19 | EEOC Director Rosa Ramos closes Inquiry 437-2025-01925 same day as scheduling invitation | EEOC Regs | Yes | EEOC | |||||||||||||
| 20 | July 15: Appeal filed with EEOC Office of Federal Operations (OFO) demanding protection | EEOC OFO Procedures | Yes | EEOC | |||||||||||||
| 21 | Additional DOJ supplement submitted citing retaliatory patterns (Butler v. DHS cited) | Butler v. DHS, DOJ guidelines | Yes | DOJ | |||||||||||||
| 22 | VEC begins fallback to voided deputy decisions despite UI-25009642 vacatur | VEC Overpayment Regs | Yes | VEC | |||||||||||||
| 23 | Procedural logs show use of HLD-ERR-MANUAL, CLM-OVRD-078, and MDARCIIS4 inappropriately | Internal Logs | Yes | VEC | |||||||||||||
| 24 | Claimant submits formal demand for Non-Appealable Directive per Va. Code § 60.2-622 | Va. Code § 60.2-622 | Yes | Thomas Coates | |||||||||||||
| 25 | JLARC contacted for legislative oversight referral (VAC-RPT-2021-JLARC) | JLARC Reports | Yes | JLARC | |||||||||||||
| 26 | VEC fails to issue required Payment Automation Priority Queue activation | Internal Policy | Yes | VEC | |||||||||||||
| 27 | UI claim remains uncorrected in internal system (INT-LOG-VAC40, PAYQ-PROC-LVL2 flagged) | Internal Logs | Yes | VEC | |||||||||||||
| 28 | Cox fails to submit ADA accommodation records; MetLife docs remain unverified | ADA policy, MetLife docs | Yes | Cox, MetLife | |||||||||||||
| 29 | Cross-agency conflict logs created: VEC, EEOC, DOJ, and DOL misaligned on enforcement | Agency Logs | Yes | Multi-agency | |||||||||||||
| 30 | New FOIA demands filed requesting audit trail of internal routing & override logs | FOIA Requests | Yes | Thomas Coates | |||||||||||||
| 31 | All responses reference conflicting documents — none signed/certified by Cox (EEO-DIS-PROC-CTL breach) | EEO-DIS-PROC-CTL | Yes | Cox | |||||||||||||
| 32 | Claimant invokes adverse inference due to post-vacatur noncompliance and federal retaliation indicators | Yes | Thomas Coates | ||||||||||||||
| 33 | VEC and EEOC both receive internal escalation codes (FTR-AC-008, ADJ-ESC-422, SOP-CL-083) | VEC and EEOC internal codes | Yes | VEC, EEOC | |||||||||||||
| 34 | VEC sends Benefit Year End Reminder (B-FWC-001) despite active Commission order | VEC Reminder Mail | Yes | VEC | |||||||||||||
| 35 | Claimant's legal team prepares Section 1983 civil complaint for deprivation of rights | 42 U.S.C. § 1983 | Yes | Legal Team | |||||||||||||
| 36 | Claim entered into Federal/State inter-agency claim review process, backed by documented FOIA and retaliation violations | Multiple Federal and State statutes | Yes | Multi-agency | |||||||||||||
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