In a significant shift in civil rights enforcement, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has moved to dismiss six cases involving workplace discrimination against transgender and gender nonconforming employees, citing President Donald Trump’s recent executive order as justification. This decision marks a drastic departure from the agency’s previous stance, which had upheld protections for LGBTQ+ workers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The cases, spanning multiple states including Illinois, Alabama, New York, and California, involve allegations of discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination based on gender identity. The EEOC’s decision to withdraw its support for these cases has left many transgender individuals and advocacy groups questioning whether the federal agency will continue to enforce anti-discrimination protections for gender-diverse workers.
A Reversal in Policy
Just last year, the EEOC updated its guidance to specify that workplace discrimination, including misgendering and denial of gender-appropriate restroom access, constituted harassment under federal law. This guidance aligned with the 2020 Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which affirmed that discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation was prohibited under Title VII.
Now, under Trump’s executive order declaring that the federal government will only recognize two immutable sexes—male and female—the EEOC argues that these cases may no longer align with government policy. The dismissed cases include:
- Alabama: A hotel employee was fired hours after disclosing their nonbinary identity to their employer.
- New York: A transgender housekeeper at a hotel was allegedly fired after complaining about persistent misgendering and transphobic remarks from a supervisor.
- Illinois: Three cases, including one where a transgender employee at a Wendy’s franchise was subjected to invasive questioning about their body by a supervisor, and another where a transgender cashier at O’Hare International Airport was harassed, outed, and fired.
- California: A Lush Handmade Cosmetics store manager was accused of sexually harassing three gender-nonconforming employees.
Political Shake-Up at the EEOC
The EEOC’s sudden withdrawal from these cases follows a controversial reshuffling within the agency. Trump recently dismissed two Democratic commissioners before their terms expired, eliminating a potential roadblock to his administration’s push to redefine civil rights law. The administration also replaced the EEOC’s general counsel, Karla Gilbride, with Andrew Rogers, who has signaled support for Trump’s gender policies.
Acting EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, a Republican appointee, has since reinforced the agency’s shift in priorities. In a statement, she declared her intent to uphold what she described as the “biological and binary reality of sex and related rights.” She also ordered the removal of the agency’s pronoun display option from internal communications and directed that all complaints implicating Trump’s executive order be escalated to headquarters for review.
Advocates Express Concern
Former EEOC General Counsel David Lopez, who served the agency for over two decades, called the EEOC’s actions unprecedented and discriminatory. “For the country’s anti-discrimination agency to discriminate against a group and say, ‘We’re not going to enforce the law on their behalf,’ itself is discrimination. It’s a complete abdication of responsibility,” Lopez stated.
Jocelyn Samuels, one of the Democratic EEOC commissioners fired by Trump, echoed similar concerns. “The administration’s efforts to erase trans people are deeply harmful to a vulnerable community and inconsistent with governing law,” she said in an email statement.
Sarah Warbelow, vice president of legal at the Human Rights Campaign, called the decision a deliberate attack on workplace protections for LGBTQ+ individuals. “This is the inevitable outcome when the EEOC is weaponized to greenlight discrimination against American workers,” she said.
The Bottom Line
In the fiscal year 2023, the EEOC received over 3,000 complaints alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the highest number since the agency began tracking these cases in 2013. However, information regarding LGBTQ+ workplace protections on the EEOC’s website has reportedly been removed, with some pages now leading to error messages stating, “The requested page could not be found.”
With the EEOC’s new stance, many fear that transgender and nonbinary workers will be left without federal protection against workplace discrimination. While advocacy groups are mobilizing to challenge the administration’s policy changes in court, the immediate reality remains grim for transgender workers facing workplace bias.
For transgender individuals and their allies, this shift represents more than a legal setback—it is a fundamental threat to their ability to work and live free from discrimination. As legal battles loom, the question remains: will justice prevail, or will workplace protections for transgender Americans continue to erode under the current administration?
