Several federal health employees who were laid off this week received reduction-in-force notices instructing them to contact Anita Pinder for discrimination complaints. However, Pinder, the former director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), passed away last year.
The inclusion of Pinder’s name in the notices, which were sent to employees on Tuesday, highlights ongoing issues within the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce. The oversight has been described as a significant misstep by colleagues and staff who knew Pinder, leaving them shocked and disheartened.
Karen Shields, a former colleague of Pinder, criticized the lack of communication surrounding the error. “They couldn’t have run it past the people at CMS who attended her funeral and knew she died,” said Shields. “This is a lack of communication. There is just a better way to do this.”
One of the notices reviewed by The Washington Post directed laid-off CMS employees to contact Pinder if they believed their termination was due to discrimination, citing factors like race, religion, or disability. The notice included Pinder’s email address, phone number, and a deadline of 45 calendar days for filing an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint.
Although CMS has yet to respond to requests for comment, Pinder’s position is listed as vacant on the agency’s website. However, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) still had her name listed as a director on a page reviewed in March. Members of Pinder’s family could not be immediately reached for comment.
Pinder was not the only former employee whose name appeared incorrectly in the notices. At the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), laid-off employees were instructed to contact a staff member in the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity. However, the contact listed had departed the agency nearly a month before the notices were sent, according to another message obtained by The Washington Post.
The inclusion of Pinder’s name in the notices had already been reported by STAT, which highlighted the ongoing issues with the reduction-in-force process. In a tribute posted on Pinder’s obituary wall, a former colleague at HHS wrote, “May her light live on through her loved ones and those touched through her knowledge and mentorship.”
Shields expressed her pain over the error, reflecting on Pinder’s deep commitment to her colleagues. “She would have been someone, even though her job would have been on the chopping block, she would have helped,” said Shields.
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