A labor union and two female prison employees have filed a lawsuit accusing a U.S. civil rights agency of unlawfully halting their sexual harassment case. The suit claims the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a wider order to indefinitely suspend proceedings in all federal-sector class claims.
The lawsuit alleges that the EEOC ordered an indefinite suspension of federal-sector class complaints that are pending before the agency's administrative judges. These judges handle discrimination complaints from federal workers.
The two women, correctional officers at a federal prison in Louisiana, have a pending certified class complaint against the Federal Bureau of Prisons. They allege that prison management failed to prevent and correct widespread sexual harassment by inmates against female workers, including rape threats, unwanted touching, and nudity. The officers, Deanna Chelette and Alexzandria Boyd, are joined in their lawsuit by the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing federal workers.
The reason for the EEOC's suspension directive, which had not been publicly disclosed, is unclear, as is the number of cases affected. The EEOC referred questions to the Department of Justice, which declined to comment.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs stated in the court filing that the EEOC provided "no reasoned explanation for a blanket policy that halts an entire category of discrimination cases." The lawsuit seeks to have the suspension directive vacated.
"Without an explanation, it's hard to infer what the EEOC’s intentions behind this were, but it’s hard to ignore that this is part of a broader campaign at the EEOC to undermine the ability of employees to protect rights that Congress has provided to them under the civil rights laws," said Joseph Sellers, co-chair of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll’s civil rights and employment practice and one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.
The class complaint claims that management at the Federal Correctional Complex in Pollock, Louisiana, failed to stop inmates from sexually harassing female workers. Declarations from eight other women described similar harassment and management's response, and the class complaint was estimated to include at least 182 women. The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not respond to requests for comment.
According to the lawsuit against the EEOC, Administrative Judge Erania Ebron certified the class in March 2025. However, in December, Ebron issued a notice pausing the case until further notice.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that the suspension violates the EEOC's own regulations for handling federal worker complaints promptly. The lawsuit states that during the seven months the case has been halted, Chelette, Boyd, and other women "have been subjected to, or are at risk of, ongoing and escalating sexual harassment that continues to go unremedied. They have no information about when, if ever, their case will continue."
"Management is just sort of emboldened and taking even less corrective action, sending the message to the inmates that you can sexually harass and abuse these female staff and get away with it because we’re not going to do anything to do you," said Heidi Burakiewicz, an attorney for the plaintiffs and founding partner at Burakiewicz & DePriest.
While the number of paused cases remains unclear, the attorneys filing the lawsuit stated they represent federal workers in at least five other stalled class complaints, including cases against the FBI and the Department of Defense. The plaintiffs could opt out of the EEOC process and pursue their case in federal court, but attorneys noted this would require them to build their case anew and secure class status from scratch, a process that could take years.