“In the letter to employees, obtained by The Associated Press, officials said the department needs “all OCR staff to prioritize OCR’s existing complaint caseload.” The office handles everything from complaints about possible violations of disability rights to racial discrimination.
The Office for Civil Rights had a backlog of about 20,000 discrimination cases when Trump took office in January. Since then, with a significantly reduced workforce, the backlog has grown to more than 25,000, AP reporting has shown using department data.
Trump officials have defended the layoffs even as complaints pile up, saying the office wasn’t operating efficiently, even at full staff.”
Education Department taps ex-staff to ease complaint backlog | AP News