Federal workers targeted for DEI-related activities file class action complaint

By ALEXANDRA OLSON
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A group of federal employees targeted for dismissal because of their involvement in diversity, equity and inclusion activities has filed a class action complaint against the Trump administration.

The complaint alleges that the ongoing mass firings unlawfully target federal employees based on their perceived political views, infringe on their First Amendment rights and violate anti-discrimination laws by disproportionally affecting workers who are not white men.

The complaint was filed before the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent federal agency, by the American Civil Liberties Union, Democracy Forward and two law firms. It was filed on behalf of Mahri Stainnak, a 16-year federal employee who was working at the Office of Personnel Management when they were dismissed as part of President Donald Trump’s executive order to eliminate DEI programs from the federal government.

According to the complaint, Stainnak had been working as director of OPM’s Talent Innovation Group — a position that was not DEI-related — upon receiving a “Reduction In Force” notice citing Trump’s executive order. Stainnak had previously held the position of deputy director OPM’s Office of DEIA.

The complaint alleges the federal government is violating the “Reduction in Force” system by firing Stainnak and other employees for their past work or activities instead of eliminating actual roles related to DEI. In doing so, the complaint said the Trump administration’s orders “betrays their partisan political goals by targeting employees, not positions, for RIFs.”

Some employees were targeted for participating in employee resource groups or DEI trainings, rather than their current roles, the complaint said. It cites Trump’s past remarks calling DEI work part of “leftist ideology” and a “woke” political agenda as evidence that the government is for their “presumed political affiliation.”

A spokesperson for the Justice Department, named as a defendant in the complaint, did not immediately reply to request for comment.

The complaint before the Merit System Protection Board, an independent federal agency, is a required step for exhausting administrative procedures before eventually filing a civil lawsuit in federal court, said Kelly Dermody of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein and Mary Kuntz of Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch PC, the attorneys representing the workers.

The complaint identifies three other federal employees, currently on administrative leave, who will be added to the complaint when their dismissals officially take effect next month. Dermody and Kuntz said the complaint will continue to be amended to add more federal workers as their dismissals take effect.

Dermody and Kuntz said their investigation and interviews with employees indicate that the firings disproportionally affected workers who are women, people of color and LGBTQ in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

The complaint demands that the government provide a list of employees who were placed on leave or fired because of the DEI executive order, along with their race and gender.

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