DOE Asks Fired Employees To Return To Tackle Civil Rights Backlog

A spokesperson said there are no plans to permanently rehire laid-off staff, despite the department's legal challenges over the March firings.

The U.S. Department of Education is asking hundreds of employees it fired back in March to return to work temporarily. The request from the Education Dept. comes as the agency faces a backlog of school discrimination cases.

In an email obtained and first reported by USA Today, the Education Department is asking around 250 fired employees in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to return around Dec. 15, acknowledging that it’s facing a sizeable caseload of civil rights complaints. The OCR is responsible for investigating discrimination based on race, color, sex, disability, and national origin.

When President Donald Trump took office for a second term in January, the OCR had a backlog of 20,000 discrimination cases, according to the Federal News Network. Since then, the department has shrunk by 4,100 workers as Trump made good on his campaign promise to reduce the federal workforce.

A spokesperson said there are no plans to permanently rehire laid-off staff, despite the department’s legal challenges over the March firings.

“The Department will continue to appeal the persistent and unceasing litigation disputes concerning the Reductions in Force, but in the meantime, it will utilize all employees currently being compensated by American taxpayers,” Julie Hartman, spokesperson for the department, told the Federal News Network in a statement.

Education Department Dismisses Thousands of Civil Rights Complaints

Civil Rights advocates and former department officials have sounded the alarm since the layoffs at the Education Department, following the agency’s dismissal of thousands of civil rights complaints at a rapid rate earlier this year.

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, the department dismissed more than 3,000 civil rights complaints between March 11 and June 27.

OCR received 4,833 complaints, opened 309 for investigation, and opened 26 directed investigations. Court documents reveal that nearly 100 of the complaints were resolved due to insufficient evidence during the investigation. An additional 290 complaints were resolved through voluntary agreements, settlements, or technical assistance.