US civil rights agency denies issuing order halting all federal class discrimination complaints
- The EEOC said an administrative judge erred when he appeared to pause a sexual harassment class complaint filed by female prison guards.
- A union and two prison guards had sued the agency, saying federal-sector class discrimination cases were being indefinitely suspended before EEOC administrative judges.
- EEOC Chief Operating Officer Sharon Rose told the court the judge's notice was an isolated incident, and the case was reassigned to another judge who scheduled further proceedings.
- The Justice Department told plaintiffs that processing of federal-sector class complaints should not be suspended and asked them to withdraw their injunction request.
- Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they have evidence that several other class complaints have also been stalled for months.
- The EEOC said neither the commission nor Chair Andrea Lucas had issued any directive to suspend class cases.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission denied that it had ordered all federal-sector class discrimination complaints to be halted, after a union and two female prison guards sued the agency over a sexual harassment case that had been paused before an administrative judge. The plaintiffs had pointed to a Dec. 10 notice saying the case was paused and that the notice applied to all federal-sector class cases.
In a court filing Thursday evening, EEOC Chief Operating Officer Sharon Rose said the judge's notice was issued in error and described it as an isolated incident. She said the case was transferred to another administrative judge, who then scheduled further proceedings.
A Justice Department letter sent Monday to the plaintiffs made the same argument, saying processing of federal-sector class complaints should not be suspended and asking them to drop their motion for a preliminary injunction. The agency also said no directive, written or verbal, had been issued by the commission or Chair Andrea Lucas.
The plaintiffs' lawyers said the government's explanation does not match what they have seen in other cases, arguing that several federal-worker class complaints have been stalled for months, including matters involving the FBI and the Defense Department. They said they are willing to discuss a resolution with the Justice Department outside of court.
美国民权机构否认下令暂停所有联邦集体歧视投诉
美国平等就业机会委员会否认曾下令暂停所有联邦部门的集体歧视投诉。此前，一个工会和两名女狱警就一起被搁置的性骚扰集体案件起诉了该机构。原告援引了一份12月10日的通知，称该案被暂停，且通知适用于所有联邦部门集体案件。
在周四晚提交给法院的文件中，EEOC首席运营官Sharon Rose表示，涉案法官的通知是错误发出的，并称这是一起孤立事件。她说，这起案件已转交另一名行政法官，后者随后安排了后续程序。
司法部律师周一发给原告的信件也作出了相同说明，称联邦部门集体投诉的处理不应被暂停，并要求原告撤回临时禁令申请。EEOC还表示，委员会或主席Andrea Lucas都没有发布过暂停集体案件的书面或口头指令。
原告律师则表示，政府的说法与他们在其他案件中的观察并不一致，并称还有多起联邦雇员集体投诉已被搁置数月，包括涉及联邦调查局和国防部的案件。原告方面表示，愿意与司法部就此进行庭外沟通。