A Black woman is accusing the United States Department of Agriculture of gender, race and age discrimination.
Felicia Harper filed her complaint in federal court against the USDA and Secretary Thomas Vilsack.
According to the complaint, Harper – who is over 40 – initiated an informal administrative complaint on April 5, 2023. She received her Notice of Right to File a Formal Complaint on June 1, 2023 and subsequently filed her formal Complaint of Discrimination against the USDA with the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center’s Office of Civil Rights on June 13, 2023. A Final Agency Decision was issued on December 27, 2023.
The plaintiff alleges that she was not assigned duties appropriate for her role as a Personnel Security Specialist but was instead performing duties of a Human Resource Liaison. Despite being promised a permanent position after serving as Acting Chief of Staff from May 2021 to June 2022, she says this did not materialize.