A legal advocacy group is suing the federal government over its decision to scale back workplace protections for transgender employees. Democracy Forward filed the lawsuit after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began changing how it enforces anti-discrimination laws under President Donald Trump’s executive order.
Legal challenge targets rollback of transgender workplace protections
The order, signed earlier this year, directs federal agencies to apply laws based on biological distinctions between men and women. In response, the EEOC started rolling back protections related to gender identity in January.
The EEOC is the main federal agency that enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws for private employers. It investigates complaints and can file lawsuits when employers violate federal rules, including those related to sexual harassment. For state and local government employers, the EEOC investigates claims first, then may refer cases to the Department of Justice for possible legal action.
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Democracy Forward’s arguments and lawsuit details
Democracy Forward, in partnership with the National Women’s Law Center, argues the agency’s actions violate federal civil rights law and leave transgender workers vulnerable to discrimination. The complaint filed Wednesday in Maryland says the agency is blocking transgender employees from filing complaints, dismissing ongoing cases, and stopping funding to state and local agencies that investigate gender identity discrimination.
“For over 60 years, the EEOC’s mandate has been to protect workers from discrimination, not to pick and choose who is deemed worthy of protection based on political interference,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward.
EEOC leadership’s stance on gender identity policies
On Jan. 28, the EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas made it a priority to defend what she calls the reality of binary sex, including protecting single-sex spaces at work.
She ordered the removal or review of content on EEOC websites and materials that promoted gender identity language. Lucas said she can’t unilaterally change some policies, including harassment guidance and strategic plans, which require a majority vote. She voted against those documents and has criticized sections that define misgendering or bathroom access based on gender identity as workplace harassment. Despite her opposition, those policies are still in place.
According to a report by The Washington Post, a July email from EEOC field operations director Thomas Colclough instructed staff to only move forward with certain types of cases brought by transgender workers. The message said the agency would process complaints clearly tied to hiring, firing or promotion, but would not investigate claims related to workplace harassment based on gender identity.
How the Supreme Court ruling factors into the dispute
The EEOC refers to the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision to support its stance, noting that the ruling focused specifically on employment discrimination and did not address issues like access to bathrooms or locker rooms. In Bostock, the Court ruled that firing someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on sex.
Democracy Forward says the EEOC’s “Trans Exclusion Policy” contradicts the Supreme Court ruling and breaks federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
The lawsuit uses an example of a transgender employee who faces years of workplace harassment, including slurs, threats and physical attacks, would have had their case fully investigated by the EEOC in the past. That investigation could have led to a finding of discrimination, a lawsuit or a settlement. Now, the policy blocks the EEOC from taking any action on such complaints just because of the worker’s gender identity.
The complaint also accuses the current administration of targeting transgender people through this policy, describing it as part of a broader effort to strip transgender individuals of protections in government services and daily life.
