EEOC denies ordering blanket halt of federal class discrimination cases
The EEOC says a judge's order pausing a prison guards' harassment case was an isolated error, but plaintiffs point to several other stalled class complaints.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has denied issuing a directive to suspend all federal-sector class discrimination complaints, saying a recent order that paused one such case was an administrative error.
The denial comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and two female correctional officers from a federal prison in Louisiana. The plaintiffs allege the agency indefinitely suspended their sexual harassment class complaint as part of a wider effort to halt all similar cases.
The lawsuit cited a December 10, 2025 order from an administrative judge stating the case was paused and that the notification applied to all class cases in the federal sector.
In a court filing on Thursday, EEOC Chief Operating Officer Sharon Rose stated the judge issued the notification "in error" and that it was an "isolated incident." The agency has since reassigned the case to a new judge, who issued an order scheduling further proceedings on Monday.
The Justice Department, which is representing the EEOC, sent a letter to the plaintiffs offering the same explanation and asking them to withdraw their motion for a preliminary injunction. The letter stated that the processing of federal-sector class complaints should not be suspended.
However, Joseph Sellers, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the evidence contradicts the government's claim. He noted that lawyers are representing federal workers in at least five other class complaints that have been stalled for months, including cases against the FBI and the Department of Defense.
Sellers pointed out that administrative judges in two of those cases only issued scheduling orders this week, after the lawsuit was filed. He said the timing suggests the suspension was not an error but a deliberate action.
"The timing speaks for itself. We have evidence of a number of cases that were stayed. It is not an isolated incident as the EEOC seems to claim," Sellers said.
The plaintiffs have indicated they are open to discussions with the Justice Department to resolve the matter without further court action.
The EEOC has recently overhauled its civil rights enforcement priorities, focusing on diversity and inclusion policies, dropping cases on behalf of transgender workers, and abandoning tools for investigating systemic discrimination. These changes have led to several lawsuits against EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas.