Karen Ortiz, an administrative judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), has taken a stand against what she calls the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine civil rights protections.
In an act of defiance, Ortiz sent an email to over 1,000 EEOC colleagues, calling on them to resist new policies that she claims are contrary to the agency’s mission.
Ortiz’s email was a response to an internal message from acting EEOC chair Andrea Lucas titled “Fork in the Road,” which offered employees the option to resign amid government cost-cutting measures implemented under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Ortiz responded with a pointed statement: “A Spoon is Better than a Fork.”
Her concern deepened when her supervisor directed EEOC judges to pause all LGBTQ+ cases and forward them to Washington for review.
This move aligned with an executive order that recognized only two “immutable” sexes: male and female. Ortiz condemned the directive as an attack on civil rights and urged her colleagues to resist complying with what she called “illegal mandates.”
However, shortly after sending the email, Ortiz discovered it had been mysteriously deleted. Undeterred, she continued to speak out.
“I know I take a great personal risk in sending out this message,” she wrote. “But, at the end of the day, my actions align with what the EEOC was charged with doing under the law. I will not compromise my ethics and my duty to uphold the law. I will not cower to bullying and intimidation.”
Ortiz’s bold stand has sparked national attention. Her email was widely shared on platforms like Bluesky and Reddit, where it received over 10,000 upvotes. One Reddit user declared Ortiz “AN AMERICAN HERO,” while another called her a “freedom fighter bringing on the fire.”
Despite this public support, Ortiz faced immediate retaliation from the EEOC. The agency revoked her email privileges for a week and issued her a written reprimand for “discourteous conduct.”
When contacted for comment, an EEOC spokesperson declined to discuss internal personnel matters but noted that the agency has a longstanding policy against unauthorized mass emails.
A month later, Ortiz remains resolute.
“It was not really planned out, it was just from the heart,” she told The Associated Press. “This is how I feel and I’m not pulling any punches. And I will stand by what I wrote every day of the week, all day on Sunday.”
Ortiz describes her email as a “love letter” to her colleagues, meant to inspire action.
Though she has received private messages of support, she acknowledges that fear prevents many federal employees from speaking out. “Retaliation is a very real thing,” said Richard LeClear, a U.S. Air Force veteran and EEOC staffer who is retiring early to avoid serving under the Trump administration.
Ortiz, a Columbia University and Fordham Law graduate, has worked in federal service for 14 years, six of them at the EEOC.
Aware of the risks she faces, she has retained legal counsel and maintains that her actions are protected whistleblower activity.:
“If they fire me, I’ll find another avenue to do this kind of work, and I’ll be okay. They will have to physically march me out of the office.”
Her unwavering stance is rooted in her upbringing. As the daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1950s, Ortiz was raised with a deep appreciation for civil rights.
“It’s in my DNA,” she said. “I will use every shred of privilege that I have to lean into this.”
Ortiz had envisioned ending her career at the EEOC, but with the agency’s shifting policies, she is unsure what the future holds.
“This is how I wanted to finish up my career,” she said. “We’ll see if that happens.”
