Cathy Harris

Cathy Harris is a Partner at Correia & Puth. She joins the firm with a wealth of experience in employment law as both an advocate and an adjudicator over nearly three decades. She has litigated cases on behalf of both federal employees and federal agencies in nearly every aspect of employment law, including class actions, sexual harassment and sexual assault cases, sexual orientation and gender identity cases, discrimination of all kinds, whistleblowing, disciplinary issues, investigations, and retirement matters. She also has extensive experience representing employees and employers in the private sector in federal and state courts, severance and contract negotiations, and mediation.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Harris served as a member and Chairman of the United States Merit Systems Protection Board, which adjudicates appeals brought by federal workers. The Senate confirmed Ms. Harris to the Board on May 25, 2022, and she was sworn in as a member of the Board on June 1, 2022. She served as Acting Chairman until 2023, when she was confirmed by the Senate as Chairman.

In 2025, President Trump purported to remove Ms. Harris from her position on the Board, contrary to federal law. Ms. Harris sued to defend the rule of law and secured a favorable ruling in federal district court. The case is currently on appeal. According to a decision by the Supreme Court, Ms. Harris cannot resume her duties on the Board until the litigation has fully concluded. Ms. Magazine recently recognized Ms. Harris in its Profiles in Courage (https://msmagazine.com/2025/05/07/profiles-in-courage-in-defense-of-fired-federal-workers-cathy-harris-took-on-the-trump-administration-and-won/).

Prior to her public service, Ms. Harris was co-manager of the firm of Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris, PLLC, in Washington, DC, where she practiced employment law for over two decades. Her civil trial and appellate litigation practice included extensive administrative law practice before the MSPB, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, the Foreign Service Grievance Board, and the U.S. Personnel Appeals Board, as well as in private sector matters before federal and state courts. She served as the chair of the firm's Sexual Harassment and LGBT Practice sections. She represented individual employees in the public and private sector, as well as federal agencies. She has wide experience in the litigation and settlement of federal sector employment class actions, including achieving a liability finding in the longest running federal sector class action at the EEOC, and multi-million dollar settlements representing thousands of federal employees in cases involving sex and race discrimination. Ms. Harris also conducted investigations regarding sexual harassment, discrimination, and other employment-related matters, including for federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations.

Throughout her career, she has received numerous awards and recognitions, including as a 2017 "Lawyer of the Year" in the practice area of Employment Law-Individuals in Washington, DC by Best Lawyers, as Lawyer of the Year in 2010 by the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association, and by Super Lawyers. She is a sought-after speaker at national conferences, including the Federal Circuit Judicial Conference, the Federal Circuit Bar Association Bench and Bar Conference, the American Bar Association, the DC Bar, FDR, NELA, MWELA, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's EXCEL conference, including training EEOC's administrative judges in employment discrimination class actions.

Ms. Harris graduated from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC with honors in 1997, where she was a member and editor on the George Washington Law Review. She received the Michael D. Cooley award for most successfully maintaining her compassion, vitality, and humanity during law school and was elected to give the salutatory address at commencement. Ms. Harris received her undergraduate degree from Brown University in 1994. Prior to joining Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris, PLLC, she was an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office. Ms. Harris also served as an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University Law School from 2001 to 2004. Ms. Harris is admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia, Maryland and New York.

Due to government ethics rules, Ms. Harris is not currently representing clients before the MSPB.