A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report examined proposed changes to how discrimination complaints filed by federal employees are handled.
The changes were proposed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in an August 2026 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
EEOC said the changes are designed to “streamline” and accelerate the complaint process, identifying pre-complaint counseling and administrative judge hearings as particularly burdensome and ineffective.
Among the proposed changes are eliminating mandatory pre-complaint counseling, removing the option for employees to request an administrative judge hearing before an agency issues its final decision, and ending administrative class-action proceedings.
Under the proposal, federal employees would begin the discrimination complaint process by filing a formal complaint directly with their agency. Agencies would investigate complaints and issue final decisions, which employees could appeal to the EEOC. The commission could refer cases to an administrative judge on appeal when a hearing is considered necessary or efficient. The EEOC would retain final authority over appeals.
The proposal would also eliminate administrative class-action proceedings. Instead, agencies would process the claims as individual complaints for the employees involved.
CRS Analysis
The CRS report outlines options for Congress to consider.
Congress could continue allowing EEOC to establish the procedures, establish its preferred procedures through legislation, or direct EEOC to conduct rulemaking within congressional guidelines.
In its analysis, CRS noted that not all EEOC members agreed with the commission's assessment that pre-complaint counseling and administrative judge hearings are burdensome and ineffective, or that agencies and the EEOC lack the resources and capacity to process class complaints.
CRS cited Commissioner Andrea Kotagal, who voted against releasing the proposal and said its limitations on class complaints “will make it harder for federal employees to challenge discrimination and easier for agencies to evade responsibility.”
CRS also identified agency staffing as a consideration, citing media reports of widespread staff cuts at federal agency EEO offices in 2025.
“If Congress chooses to weigh in on the federal-sector EEO process, it may consider what resources to allocate and how changes in the process affect burdens on federal agencies,” the report stated.
