Legal Groups Sue EEOC Over Transgender Worker Discrimination Enforcement

Legal groups including Democracy Forward, the National Women’s Law Center, and Maryland’s FreeState Justice have sued the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), accusing it of unlawfully refusing to enforce workplace protections for transgender workers. The lawsuit claims that under Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, the EEOC has complied with President Donald Trump's executive order recognizing only two unchangeable sexes by dropping lawsuits, stalling new cases, and halting payments to agencies investigating gender identity discrimination. Since January, the EEOC has limited investigations into discrimination complaints from transgender workers, processing only certain claims that directly align with the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock ruling while excluding others such as workplace harassment. The plaintiffs argue this “Trans Exclusion Policy” violates federal civil rights law, the Constitution, and Supreme Court precedent by denying transgender workers full protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Lucas has publicly stated her priority is defending the "biological and binary reality of sex," and has defended agency actions as compliance with presidential directives. The EEOC has declined to comment on the lawsuit, referring inquiries to the Department of Justice, which has not responded.