WASHINGTON — A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau examiner has accused the agency of assigning Black employees greater responsibility without corresponding pay or promotions, then retaliating against him after he filed a discrimination complaint.
Thaddeaus Sims, a Black compliance examiner hired in 2014, named acting CFPB Director Mark Paoletta in a federal lawsuit in Washington. Paoletta is named in his official capacity; the suit does not name individual managers as defendants, although it identifies managers Sims alleges took part in the retaliation, according to National Mortgage News.
Sims worked on examinations involving mortgage lenders and servicers, auto servicing and other areas in the Southeast. He said he had regularly received strong performance reviews before becoming subject to heightened scrutiny.
Allegations First Made in 2024
The allegations begin in the summer of 2024, when Rohit Chopra led the bureau, and extend into 2025, after the Trump administration moved to reduce the CFPB’s staff and activities. Sims filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint in July 2024 following several management decisions and alleges that bureau officials retaliated against him afterward, National Mortgage News reported.
Sims had sought to advance a lawsuit since last fall and filed a new federal complaint last week. The complaint does not say whether he remains employed by the CFPB. Neither his attorney nor a bureau spokesperson responded to National Mortgage News’ requests for comment Friday.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
