Issues

Issues are the “acts of harm” you suffered at the hands of your management official(s): termination, suspension, warning, denied accommodation, denied sick leave, denied annual leave, denied promotion, denied bonus, denied hire, harassment, and denied terms and conditions of employment (such as FMLA, OWCP benefits, health insurance, lunch break, etc.).  "Discrimination" or "retaliation" can never be the "issue" or “act of harm” despite the perfect normal sense of the word.  You cannot be discriminated or retaliated against without the act of harm you suffered.  

Bases

Bases are the protected classes identified in the anti-discrimination laws as follows: African-American,
Caucasian, Black, White, Color (dark brown, light brown, etc.), Age 40 or older (month and year of birth), Sex (male or female), National Origin (Mexico, Russia, Kenya, etc.), Ancestry (Mexican, Russian, African, etc.), Disability (back
injury, asthma, PTSD, depression, etc.), Religion (Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, etc.), sexual
orientation, and Retaliation (prior EEO activities including your prior reasonable accommodation requests, any protest or complaint regarding discrimination (against you or your co-workers) to your supervisor, or providing witness statement on your co-workers EEO case, etc.).