June 30, 2026, Washington, D.C.—Former forensic analysist and U.S. Army veteran Jaqueline Wilson today prevailed before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a disability discrimination complaint against the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). In a final decision on liability and damages, an Administrative Judge (AJ) held that the BOP subjected Ms. Wilson to a hostile work environment based on her disability when, for years, it permitted a coworker to taunt Ms. Wilson about her disability of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Ms. Wilson’s career at the BOP spanned more than thirty years. In her most recent role, Ms. Wilson served as a forensic analyst, a job in which she processed and analyzed data from electronic devices confiscated from prisoners in the federal prison system. According to the Judge’s finding of facts, Ms. Wilson worked in close quarters with a coworker who, after learning she had PTSD, consistently harassed her over the course of three years by calling her “bipolar,” “crazy,” “stupid,” and frequently using the word “retard” in her presence. The coworker also told her to “take her meds.”
Notably, the Judge found that the coworker’s remarks were objectively offensive, both when directed at Ms. Wilson and when directed at others. When Ms. Wilson reported the harassment, the BOP failed to remedy the situation. In fact, one supervisor told Ms. Wilson that she needed to learn to “pick her battles” with the harassing coworker. That same supervisor admitted he rarely monitored the workplace after Ms. Wilson raised concerns of harassment.
“Ms. Wilson’s victory shows that a coworker’s pejorative remarks based on disability can create a hostile work environment, even when the remarks are not always directed at the individual with the disability,” said Lisa Sandoval, Ms. Wilson’s attorney. “This decision should serve as a call to action for federal agencies to properly train supervisors to timely act when an employee complains about a coworker’s behavior that could constitute discrimination or harassment. Failing to act can lead to years of severe personal suffering for employees enduring workplace harassment.”
Upon finding the Agency liable for discriminatory harassment, the AJ ordered the Agency to pay Ms. Wilson non-pecuniary damages and full attorney’s fees at current Laffey rates. The AJ also ordered the Agency to restore more than 190 hours of Ms. Wilson’s leave, increase Ms. Wilson’s annual performance rating, and post an electronic notice to employees assigned to the Agency’s Central Office, Intelligence Section, stating that a finding of unlawful coworker harassment based on disability has been made and that federal law prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability, as well as retaliation for exercising one’s rights under these laws.
Federal employees are protected from disability discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Rehab Act”). The Rehab Act also prohibits the federal government from harassing employees based on disability. Disability harassment occurs when a supervisor, coworker, or other individual subjects a federal employee to unwelcome conduct based on their disability, and the unwelcome conduct is so severe or pervasive that it interferes with the employee’s working conditions. A federal agency is liable for the harassment if it fails to remedy the harassment after the employee reports it, or if the agency otherwise should have known about the harassing behavior and did not correct it.
Ms. Wilson is represented by Lisa Sandoval and Juliana Lord of Atkinson Law Group.
Katherine Atkinson, Managing Partner of Atkinson Law Group, noted the importance of the Administrative Judge’s finding regarding the objectively harassing nature of the comments – “Calling a coworker ‘crazy’ and using the word ‘retard’ in the workplace is discriminatory. In addition to concluding that such words are objectively offensive, the Administrative Judge held that the comments here were both severe and pervasive.”