BOP Officers Sue EEOC Over Apparent Freeze in Federal Class Actions
A case involving Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) correctional officers is at the center of a new lawsuit which aims to force the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to resume processing federal-sector class action cases. The lawsuit comes after the agency reportedly paused federal-sector class action proceedings since December of last year.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and two BOP employees against the EEOC and EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. The lawsuit alleges the EEOC violated the Administrative Procedure Act and its own regulations by effectively halting the processing of federal-sector class action discrimination and harassment complaints.
“The EEOC has a legal responsibility and obligation to keep our federal workplaces free from discrimination and retaliation, and the agency’s refusal to process these cases is a clear abandonment of its mission,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a statement.
While the EEOC did not publicly issue a directive ordering a halt, the lawsuit says administrative judges have issued indefinite stays or otherwise paused federal-sector class action proceedings since December 2025.
Louisiana Prison Case at Center of Lawsuit
The case at the center of the lawsuit involves two female corrections officers working at a federal prison in Pollock, Louisiana.
Deanna Chelette and Alexzandria Boyd initially filed a case in 2024 and received class action certification in March 2025, with about 200 total plaintiffs. The plaintiffs claim that inmates routinely verbally harass female correctional officers and subject them to “exhibitionist nudity,” public masturbation, rape threats, and unwanted touching.
According to AFGE, the plaintiffs and other female officers at the prison have faced ongoing and escalating sexual harassment, with no remedy for relief.
AFGE also argues that the EEOC is in violation of its own regulations which encourage the use of class action cases as a cheaper and faster manner for resolving cases of discrimination or harassment, and that such cases “shall be processed promptly.”
EEOC Position
An EEOC spokesperson declined to comment to Federal News Network on the lawsuit or to comment on why the commission appears to have paused work on federal sector class complaints.
The lawsuit comes as the EEOC has made other changes to its processes since President Trump took office, which include ending a 60-year-old requirement for private sector employers to submit workforce demographic reports.
