By David Hood-Nuño and Bianca Flowers
April 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas allegedly violated professional conduct rules of the Virginia State Bar by refusing to enforce key provisions of federal civil rights laws, according to a complaint submitted to the bar Thursday, shared with Reuters.
The Legal Accountability Center, which focuses on filing complaints against individuals and institutions alleged to have violated professional conduct standards, asked
the state agency to investigate whether Lucas breached her ethical obligations by directing EEOC investigators to stop processing certain categories of discrimination claims and by sending unauthorized information demands to 20 major law firms.
Those letters, sent on official EEOC letterhead in March 2025, sought extensive data on firms’ diversity, equity and inclusion practices, including demographic information related to race, sex, hiring, promotions and compensation, the complaint alleges. Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Donald Trump's administration has cracked down on diversity efforts nationwide, targeting universities, major corporations and non-profits.
"The EEOC does not have the unilateral authority to demand the information sought from these law firms because the EEOC had no pending investigation or charge against these firms," the complaint states. "These letters are nothing more than an effort to intimidate and scare these employers into abandoning their DEI efforts, in violation of Title VII - the very federal law the EEOC is supposed to enforce."
Michael Teter, the center's executive director, said he hopes the bar will investigate and issue a public reprimand of Lucas, one of four actions the bar can take. It wouldn't affect her role leading the agency, but could give companies more of a shield to oppose the agency's efforts to affect companies' behavior.
"Those who receive her letters are not going to feel the same kind of need to respond if she has been sanctioned," said Teter. "I think that they will have a greater appetite for challenging her or disregarding her letters for which she had no authority to send."
A spokesperson for Lucas, who is licensed in Virginia, said the EEOC declined to comment.
In an interview with Reuters in December, Lucas confirmed that federal inquiries were underway, saying that companies were on notice that any perceived DEI programs linked to hiring, promotion, or compensation would come under scrutiny.
The EEOC in February sued a Coca-Cola bottler for hosting an event that excluded men and also launched an investigation into whether Nike discriminated against white employees and job applicants.
DISPARATE IMPACT
The complaint alleges that Lucas instructed agency investigators not to pursue any charges alleging "disparate impact discrimination," a legally recognized provision under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and codified in the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
Trump signed an executive order last April instructing federal agencies not to enforce laws that prohibit policies and practices with discriminatory impacts that are often unintended - curbing "disparate impact" liability.
According to the filing, claimants bringing such charges are instead issued "right to sue" notices, forcing them to pursue costly litigation on their own without the benefit of an EEOC investigation or potential settlement, the center said.
The complaint states that from January 20, 2025 through July 2025, Lucas stopped all EEOC investigations into discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. A July 1, 2025 internal EEOC memo cited in the complaint told investigators to pause processing such charges.
Reuters wasn't immediately able to verify the allegations.
"Any bar association is going to be pretty careful or cautiously conservative in its use of disciplinary functions, especially if they're officials acting in an official capacity. These actions, she didn't just undertake unilaterally as chair of the EEOC." said David Glasgow, a pro-DEI advocate and expert on DEI legislation.
The Virginia State Bar has the power to publicly reprimand Lucas, suspend her law license or revoke it completely if it finds wrongdoing. David Lopez, who served at the EEOC under Democratic and Republican presidents, said it's important to communicate to the public that elected officials, particularly lawyers, are required to abide by ethics rules.
"This is a reminder of those obligations," he said.
(Reporting by Bianca Flowers in Chicago and, David Hood-Nuño in Washington; Editing by Kat Stafford and David Gaffen)
