Trump takes unprecedented action at EEOC

President Donald Trump’s second term has just begun, and there has been a flurry of activity within the federal government. While the overall focus seems to be on the series of Executive Orders (EOs) the president signed since taking office, there are also big things happening at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a bipartisan commission comprised of five presidentially appointed members. The EEOC also has a presidentially appointed general counsel (GC) who is responsible for enforcing the federal laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace. Here’s what you may have missed.

Trump fires General Counsel and two commissioners

It was no surprise that President Trump terminated EEOC GC Karla Gilbride just a few days into his second term. President Joe Biden did the same thing when he took office, firing then-EEOC GC Sharon Gustafson, and the termination was upheld.

What came as a surprise, however, was the termination of two EEOC commissioners, Chair Charlotte Burrows and Vice Chari Jocelyn Samuels. Such a move is unprecedented in the EEOC’s nearly 60-year history. Burrows and Samuels may challenge their terminations in court.