The federal organization responsible for ensuring the civil rights of workers has initiated proceedings to dismiss a New York administrative judge who has consistently opposed directions from the Trump administration, including an executive order established by President Donald Trump. This order categorizes male and female as two distinct, unchangeable categories.
Following Trumpโs directive, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has decided to retract at least seven ongoing cases involving transgender workers who have claimed discrimination. It is also treating new cases related to gender identity discrimination as minimal priority, marking a significant shift from its previous interpretation of the law concerning civil rights.
EEOC Administrative Judge Karen Ortiz, who openly criticized the agencyโs Trump-appointed leader, Andrea Lucas, in a February email sent to over a thousand colleagues, was placed on administrative leave recently. In addition, she was notified that the leadership sought to dismiss her, accusing her of extremely unprofessional behavior.
โThe particular issue of concern is that your February email ultimately reached several press outlets, possibly resulting in serious reputational damage to the agency,โ read the notice she received.
On Monday, an EEOC spokesperson declined to comment on the ongoing termination procedures concerning Ortiz. However, the notice clarified that the action concerns not her disagreement with agency policy, but the disrespectful manner in which she communicated her disagreements.
In her February email, which condemned the agencyโs adherence to Trumpโs order, Ortiz criticized Lucas saying, โYou are not fit to be our chair much less hold a license to practice law,โ and she further stated that she wouldnโt compromise her ethics or duty to uphold the law. This email appeared on Reddit and attracted over 10,000 upvotes.
In response, the EEOC suspended her email access for roughly a week and issued a written reprimand citing โdiscourteous conduct.โ
Ortizโs actions were highlighted in a White House proposal from April 18 aimed at simplifying the dismissal of certain federal employees, portraying Ortiz as an example of government workers who utilize system protections to oppose presidential policies.
Even after acknowledgment from the White House, Ortiz seemed undeterred and remarked that Trump essentially offered her a larger platform.
Since Trumpโs administration, the EEOC has faced significant changes. Trump removed two out of three Democratic commissioners, an unprecedented action that removed a key obstacle in his objective to dismantle diversity initiatives and withdraw protections for transgender and nonbinary workers. Jocelyn Samuels, one of the removed commissioners, pursued a legal challenge against her dismissal, arguing it breached the Civil Rights Act, which established the EEOC as an independent bipartisan entity protecting workersโ rights. This dismissal had left the agency without the necessary quorum to make crucial decisions, but Trump has proposed Brittany Panuccio, a Florida assistant U.S. attorney, for one of the open positions. Panuccioโs confirmation would restore the quorum and give Republicans a 2-1 majority, paving the way for substantial policy adjustments, including revisions to agency guidance on enforcing civil rights legislation.
Since February, Ortiz continued to voice her opposition to the agencyโs new direction, most recently via an April 24 email sent internally with the subject โIf Youโre Seeking Power, Hereโs Power,โ along with a link to the 1985 hit โEverybody Wants to Rule the Worldโ by Tears for Fears.
โAbsorb the lyrics,โ Ortiz urged Lucas in her email. โThink about what youโre participating in.โ This resulted in her email access being suspended yet again.
Ortiz is gearing up to contest her dismissal by collaborating with her attorneys and union on an appropriate response strategy. She has 15 days to reply to the dismissal notice and may request to extend this period, alongside seeking representation.
During a recent phone interview, Ortiz commented, โIโve been quite the thorn in the agencyโs side. But, honestly, itโs justified.โ