Federal Agency Sued Over Transgender Employment Protections Failure

Legal Organizations Sue EEOC Over Discrimination Policy

Two progressive legal organizations have filed a lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), alleging that the federal agency has been failing to enforce workplace protections for transgender workers. The lawsuit, filed by Democracy Forward and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) on behalf of FreeState Justice, claims that the EEOC and its acting chair, Andrea Lucas, are violating federal civil rights law, the Constitution, and Supreme Court precedents by refusing to process certain discrimination complaints from transgender employees.

The EEOC reportedly stopped processing charges related to sexual orientation or gender identity in January, following an executive order issued by former President Donald Trump. This order declared that the U.S. recognizes only two unchangeable sexes—male and female. In April, the agency instructed its staff to consider gender identity discrimination charges as meritless and put them on hold.

A July email from Thomas Colclough, director of the EEOC’s field operations, revealed that the agency would only handle cases that clearly fall under the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. That decision ruled that firing someone because of their gender identity violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, the email stated that the EEOC would not investigate other claims, such as workplace harassment, that are tied to gender identity.

The lawsuit, filed in Maryland district court, refers to the EEOC’s new policy as the “Trans Exclusion Policy.” It argues that this policy deprives transgender workers of the full range of charge-investigation and enforcement protections available to other employees. The complaint highlights a scenario where a transgender worker who experiences years of anti-trans slurs, threats, and physical attacks would previously have had their case investigated. Under the current policy, however, the EEOC would not take any action.

An EEOC spokesperson directed inquiries to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gaylynn Burroughs, vice president for education and workplace justice at NWLC, criticized the EEOC under Lucas’s leadership, stating that it is promoting discrimination. She emphasized that transgender workers deserve protection against harassment and that the EEOC is legally obligated to ensure this.

Andrea Lucas, who has served as an EEOC commissioner since 2020 and became acting chair in January, has consistently prioritized defending what she describes as the “biological and binary reality of sex.” During a Senate confirmation hearing in June, she defended her decision to dismiss several EEOC cases involving transgender workers, claiming they conflicted with Trump’s “two sexes” order.

Lucas has also opposed the EEOC’s anti-harassment guidelines, which state that gender identity discrimination is prohibited by Title VII. She argued that biological sex is real and immutable and that acknowledging this does not constitute bigotry. Despite her opposition, Lucas cannot unilaterally remove or modify the anti-harassment policy, as it was approved by the EEOC in a previous vote.