EEOC experienced security incident involving contractor’s ‘unauthorized’ access, email says

The agency at the center of the Trump administration’s efforts to overhaul U.S. anti-discrimination regulations in workplaces is reviewing the matter with law enforcement.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was impacted in an internal data security incident that occurred around a year ago, and involved a contractor’s employees mishandling sensitive information in one of the agency’s systems, according to a notification email obtained by Nextgov/FCW.

The breach in the EEOC’s Public Portal system, which the agency was made aware of around Dec. 18, involved unauthorized access of agency data that may have exposed personally identifiable information of its employees. The notification was sent Wednesday by the EEOC’s data security office.

“Staff employed by the contractor, who had privileged access to EEOC systems, were able to handle data in an unauthorized (UA) and prohibited manner in early 2025,” it reads. “Upon discovery, the EEOC ...