Chip Rogers, AFFT CEO 

 

When Nia Lucas, a mother, U.S. Army veteran, and former employee of the Small Business Administration, contacted her union for help, she expected a routine request for representation. Instead, her situation became the center of a legal battle that would ultimately expand civil rights protections for millions of federal workers.

 

Lucas had approached the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) seeking assistance with a workplace dispute. According to court documents, the response she received was not support but discriminatory treatment. The union’s local president allegedly sexually harassed her, then told her she had “no right or need” to attend an arbitration hearing because she was a nursing mother, adding that “having a newborn was a burden to the union.” When she filed a complaint about his conduct, another union official called her a derogatory name and threatened to “ruin her federal career.” Soon after, the union informed her that it would no longer represent her, saying it “did not want to represent disabled mothers of newborns.”

 

Lucas attempted to bring discrimination charges, but they were dismissed. At the time, the Federal Labor Relations Authority—the agency responsible for handling federal-sector labor disputes—did not have a confirmed General Counsel, leaving it unable to prosecute unfair labor practices. Without administrative recourse and facing the loss of union representation, Lucas filed suit in federal court under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

Her case raised a significant question: could a federal employee sue a union for discrimination under these civil rights laws? The answer had major implications far beyond Lucas’s individual allegations. Unions representing federal workers play an important, often mandatory role in workplace disputes. If they engaged in discriminatory behavior, it was unclear whether federal employees had the same legal remedies available to private-sector workers.

 

Americans for Fair Treatment filed an amicus brief in the case, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to affirm that unions, like employers, can be held accountable under federal civil rights statutes. The brief argued that denying employees this path to justice would leave workers vulnerable in situations where unions failed in their duty to represent them fairly.

 

In August 2025, the D.C. Circuit issued its decision, ruling in Lucas’s favor. The court held that federal employees may sue their unions for discrimination under Title VII and the ADA, a precedent-setting determination that clarified the responsibilities unions have toward the workers they represent and strengthened protections nationwide. The decision established that unions cannot claim immunity when accused of violating civil rights law, and that federal workers have a direct means to challenge discriminatory treatment.

 

For Lucas, the ruling marked the end of a long and difficult effort to seek accountability. For millions of federal workers, it marked a shift in the legal landscape, affirming that they are entitled to the same civil rights protections as employees in any other sector—and that those protections extend fully to the unions charged with representing them.

 

Her case, which began as a request for assistance, has now become a landmark in federal labor and civil rights law, ensuring that public employees facing discrimination have a clear and enforceable path to justice.