Federal suit alleges university fired employee after she complained of race discrimination related to mandatory DEI training

ST. LOUIS — Washington University, a private research university in St. Louis, violated federal law when it fired an employee in retaliation for her opposition to race discrimination and filing a discrimination charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency alleged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the suit, the employee, who worked as a senior program manager at Washington University’s Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, complained to both the university and the EEOC that she was separated from her colleagues because of her race during a mandatory training session provided by the University’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She complained about the incident internally in January 2025 and later filed a charge with the EEOC in July 2025. After, her supervisors retaliated against her by transferring her job responsibilities to other employees and eventually eliminating her position completely in November 2025, resulting in her termination, the suit said.

“Despite expressing in advance that being separated from her white colleagues during a DEI training would make her uncomfortable, a black employee was subjected exactly to that treatment. After she filed a charge with the EEOC, the employer decided to eliminate her position,” said acting EEOC General Counsel Catherine L. Eschbach. “Employees have the right to oppose and complain about race discrimination in all aspects of their employment, including trainings, without fear of retribution.”

The alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits retaliation for opposing race discrimination or filing a charge of discrimination. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. The Washington University, Case No. 4:26-cv-01289) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“Federal law protects workers who complain about race discrimination in the workplace, regardless of whether those complaints are made inside or outside the employer’s organization,” said David S. Davis, director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District.

For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC’s St. Louis District Office has jurisdiction over discrimination charges and agency litigation in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and a portion of southern Illinois.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.