The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has denied issuing an order that would halt all federal class discrimination complaints, attributing a recent suspension to an administrative judge's error. The agency stated that the order was an isolated incident and not a directive from the commission or its chair.
This statement comes after a labor union and two female prison guards sued the EEOC, alleging that their sexual harassment case had been indefinitely suspended as part of a broader effort to halt federal-sector class claims before the agency's administrative judges. The lawsuit cited an administrative judge's order dated December 10, 2025, which stated the sexual harassment case was paused and that this "notification applies to all class cases in the federal sector."
In a court document filed Thursday evening, EEOC Chief Operating Officer Sharon Rose stated that the judge issued the notification "in error." Rose further informed the court that the case has been transferred to a different administrative judge, who issued an order on Monday scheduling further proceedings. A letter from Justice Department attorney James Harlow to the plaintiffs on Monday offered the same explanation and requested the withdrawal of their motion for a preliminary injunction. Harlow stated, "In short, Defendants agree that processing of federal-sector class complaints should not be suspended."
Attorneys for the plaintiffs contend that the government's explanation is contradicted by evidence. Joseph Sellers, co-chair of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll’s civil rights and employment practice, said the suspension was not an isolated error. He noted that attorneys 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 to the timing of the scheduling orders, issued this week only after the lawsuit was filed, as evidence that the suspension was not a mistake.
"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 lawsuit was filed by the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing federal workers, and two correctional officers from the Federal Correctional Complex at Pollock, Louisiana. Their class complaint alleges that management failed to address sexual harassment of female workers by inmates.
Under the Trump administration, the EEOC underwent significant changes to its enforcement priorities, including a shift away from policies aimed at diversity and inclusion and a reduction in tools for investigating systemic discrimination. These changes have led to several lawsuits against EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas.
Rose stated in her court filing that neither the commission nor Lucas had issued any directive, written or verbal, to EEOC administrative judges to suspend class cases. The EEOC referred questions to the Justice Department, which had not immediately responded to a request for comment.