The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission agreed to settle an employee’s discrimination lawsuit just over a month after a jury trial in the case ended in a mistrial, according to a Monday court filing.
The plaintiff in Kandan v. Lucas, an Indian-born U.S. citizen who works as an enforcement manager at EEOC’s New Orleans field office, claimed that the commission discriminated against her on the basis of her sex, race and national origin. Specifically, she alleged that EEOC passed her over for a promotion to field director in favor of a Black male employee who was “groomed” for the role by the district director, also a Black male.
EEOC motioned for summary judgment, arguing last year that the promotion decision was made consistent with its typical practice. But a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana permitted the case to move forward, holding that a reasonable jury could find that the nonpromotion was discriminatory.
An EEOC spokesperson said the commission does not comment on personnel litigation matters.
Kandan served as a rare instance in which EEOC, the federal agency tasked with enforcing employment antidiscrimination laws, faced allegations of workplace discrimination. That fact featured prominently in the plaintiff’s original 2024 complaint. The complaint noted that while the plaintiff “believes in the EEOC and its mission [...] she has experienced the very discrimination she sought to prevent from within the EEOC.”
