The termination of Administrative Judge Karen Ortiz from the EEOC illustrates a pivotal conflict over transgender rights within the agency. Ortiz opposed President Trump's executive order defining gender as binary and criticized the agency's compliance, which led to a significant deprioritization of transgender discrimination cases. Her critiques, communicated in a widely circulated email, criticized Acting Chair Andrea Lucas' leadership and raised alarms about the agency's retreat from civil rights protections for transgender workers. Her firing follows a broader trend within the agency to align with the current administration's directives.
In her mass February email criticizing the agency's efforts to comply with Trump's order, Ortiz told Lucas, 'You are not fit to be our chair much less hold a license to practice law.'
Ortiz stressed that the EEOC was abandoning its commitment to protecting transgender rights, classifying gender identity-related cases as its lowest priority, a stark departure from its previous stance.
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