Lawsuit alleges agency paused all federal-sector discrimination class claims
In a court document filed Thursday evening, EEOC Chief Operating Officer Sharon Rose said an administrative judge issued an order halting a sexual harassment case on behalf of two female prison guards “in error” and described the order as an “isolated incident.” Rose also told the court that the EEOC has transferred the case to another administrative judge, who on Monday issued an order scheduling further proceedings.
The lawsuit was filed by a labor union and the two female prison guards. It accuses the EEOC of indefinitely suspending their case as part of a wider effort to halt all federal-sector class claims pending before the agency’s administrative judges.
The complaint cites an administrative judge’s order dated Dec. 10, 2025, which stated that the sexual harassment case had been paused and that the “notification applies to all class cases in the federal sector.”
The EEOC is the federal agency charged with enforcing laws prohibiting employment discrimination.